Tell me more ×
Answers OnStartups is a question and answer site for entrepreneurs looking to start or run a new business. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 3 down vote favorite
1

Question: I think my wisdom (for lack of a better word) in terms of product and marketing has surpassed my co-founder. As a result, we are hardly on the same wavelength in terms of how we should drive our business.

What should I do?

Background

My startup has been running for slightly more than two years now; and we haven't been very successful thus far (to put it bluntly).

My co-founder has a technical background but he's day-to-day activity is business development. He is highly skilled in the art of business networking. Face-to-face business is his forte but marketing is not.

He is also well-read person and far from a redneck (if you will). However, he don't put as much attention and focus the intricacies of building a product and the innovation of marketing them as I do.

People grow over the years, and now I find myself having a hard time to stay on the same wavelength with him (like we did when we first founded the business).

Case in point

Some examples to demonstrate my points...

  • His insights into how our product should solve a particular problem is not strong. His idea are often a me-too without any specific angle.
  • He resists the idea that our product should focus on a specific vertical (as opposed to catering for everybody). Excluding customer segments feels like an offending idea to him.
  • The possibility of tackling a market from afar (without even stepping foot into the country) seems unfathomable to him.

... among others.

Disclaimer

My relationship with him is still very good. He's a good-natured guy, anyone who work with him will have a pleasant experience. I would recommend him to anyone anytime if asked. There are still many things that we do agree on.

I realize the pretense of this thread might make me sound slightly arrogant, but that is not my intention. I truly believe that everyone has his own unique strong suit; and I'm not better than anyone as a person.

But I am looking for way to bring a sense of direction into our startup again. And I find that it's difficult to do when we are not on the same wavelength.

Lead him?

If your answer is "educate him" or "lead him" (along that line), then I'd like to follow up asking how can I do it in such a way that feels like "I know more than you, so take my word for it"?

I like to think of this place a collective mentor; so please do enlighten me.

share|improve this question

5 Answers

up vote 2 down vote

Though question.

Can you convince him to perform an experiment? I believe so because your co-founder is described by you as a smart person and certainly he will understand that one should not deny something without facts to sustain it. So, convince him that you need to be convinced that his marketing strategy is better than yours.

Tell him that you would like to perform a small experience for the sake of your business. Get a "special version" of your product that has your marketing ideas on it and ship it your way. If you're right, you will have a solid proof of how things should be done.

share|improve this answer
up vote 2 down vote

Tell him to read http://answers.onstartups.com once a day and he will have outgrowned you in no time :D

Joking aside, you should try to clearly divide your roles and responsibilities. If you feel you have a stronger sense of marketing, try to convince him to let you handle that part of the business. If he is good at business development, let him handle it.

You could also try making a deal with him. Ask him to entirely trust you - no questions asked - for a fixed period of time. If after the given period you aren't able to prove yourself, then agree to trust him in return. Given what you wrote, I have no doubt you'll be able to convince him you're the wisest marketer ;)

share|improve this answer
up vote 1 down vote

The best way to deal with this is to lay out the facts. If you are not meeting your business objectives, then something has to change. It's pretty clear that your level of frustration is high and that if you don't do something about this, then it will decay into something bad.

Both Fernando and Oli make good points about doing experiments and to have him trust you but it seems to me is has to be deeper than that. What I would recommend is for the both of you to discuss your business expectations/objectives and how those will be achieved. Find the common ground where both of you agree. Then, figure out where you disagree and then make some agreements to try different things.

The critical thing is to write down this plan and have both of you agree. Set some time limits for these plans and then track their progress. Clearly the business is not meeting your (and probably his) expectations and that needs to change.

share|improve this answer
up vote 1 down vote

I am going through a similar situation with one of my co-founders. The best thing to do in my experience is to have a conversation about where each persons strengths are best suited. It is not easy to tell someone that you think you are better than them at some things but if you stay positive and point out areas that the other individual is stronger than you, it just might work. This will allow both of you to focus on your strengths which is better for the startup. You will probably have to come to a decision and consistently remind your co-founder of the agreement before you start to see a change, but if you keep at it I think you will see some positive results.

share|improve this answer
up vote 0 down vote

You do need some conversations about where things are going. As founders you should have a regular schedule to discuss longer term things (as opposed to the day to day stuff).

Perhaps you can set measurements for the things you do so you'll both have data to base decisions on.

Another idea is to have a consultant do an analysis of why you aren't hitting your goals. [Full disclosure - I'm a consultant] Sometimes another set of eyes helps and maybe he will hear things from an outsider that he's not hearing from you. In that respect a partnership is often like a marriage.

And keep in mind, any of these ideas might go both ways.

share|improve this answer

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.