The Art of

Finding a

Co-founderby Guy Kawasaki

The Art of the

Start, version 2.0

What Co-founders Should Share

VISION

What do customers need?How will the market evolve?How will technology change?

SIZE

What do customers need?How will the market evolve?How will technologychange?

What kind of company do we want?How big a company do we want?What will our future titles be?

COMMITMENT

What are our personal priorities?What sacrifices will we make?How long will we do this?

How Co-founders Should Differ

EXPERTISE

What can you do that I can’t?What can I do that you can’t?What can neither of us do?

ORIENTATION

Who’s got the microscope?Who’s got the telescope?Who’s got the gyroscope?

PERSPECTIVE

Young versus old?Engineering versus marketing?Male versus female?

Words of Wisdom

Don't rush

Take your time and do this right.

Think “marriage,” not “fling.”

Recruit to build, not to fund

Don’t hire to attract investors.

Hire to make your team stronger.

Plan for the worst, hope for the best

Make everybody vest, even you.

Do this now, before there’s

something to fight over.

Pass the Shopping Center Test

If you saw your potential co-

founder at a shopping center,

what would you do?

Leave to chance that you make contact?

Go to another shopping center?

Run right over?

If you’re strong initial reaction isn’t todash over to the person, do not make him orher your cofounder. This is the second mostimportant relationship you’ll ever make inyour life—maybe the most important, in fact. So go slow, do it right,and hopefully do itonce.

Photo credits: Jrm Llvrhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/jrmllvr/

This SlideShare is based on atiny part of Guy’s upcomingbook, The Art of the Start, Version 2.0.

If you like it, there’s a lot more from where this came.The book will be out in March, 2015.