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Few months ago, I got a job in a quite small software company. Recently my CEO offered me the opportunity to open a branch of our company in another country and to have me as the CEO of this new branch. The new branch will be opened in the country I was studying in while I'm working in another country and the new branch will be responsible for marketing our existing products while developing new technologies.

My CEO suggested to have some local people in the new company which I may know of, and there are some friends which we have studied together. And our friendships had its own rises and falls. I can trust them as a friend.

I haven't had the experience of opening a new company, and I can say I'm a bit nervous/confused/lost.

I trust my CEO since he will finance the new company, and people would not blow their money off on things they are not sure about, but to have any of my friends on board... I am not sure how to evaluate people as partners in business.

My questions are:

  1. What characteristic should a friend have to be considered a good partner?
  2. Is it a good idea to bring a friend on board for just knowing the market and having connections?
  3. Do you need to be a close friend with your partners?
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Sounds like you're in way over your head, but it's also a brilliant opportunity. I'm not sure this question is answerable though with the amount of information given. – Anonymous Jan 15 at 10:53
yes...I know... actually there is no answer to this type of questions, but I was hoping to get some hints from some people who have already past these stages, and have some experiences in choosing a partner... – mrz Jan 15 at 11:06
Questions: Will the new branch be opened in the country you studied in and you will live there as well (or will you remote manage)? Did you+friends all live in the same location / interact face 2 face while attending school? – jimg Jan 15 at 14:13
I am suppose to live in that country. Well the plan is Me and My CEO and a "local" friend open a company there. And yes me and my friends were roommates for a year, and we were close friends for 2-3 years. And like all friendships we had argued on stuff. – mrz Jan 16 at 7:23

3 Answers

up vote 1 down vote accepted

Before I was a founder, I was told over and over again that going into business together is like getting married. It's all too true.

After six months, we had the same friends, ate together all the time, went to the same social functions... I finally realized how crazy it was when I was telling a story at a party and I realized he'd heard it 1 million times before.

You will also fight like married couples, so make sure you choose someone that has strong opinions but is willing to take criticism and give the other party credit when they are wrong.

Other things you should look for:

Smart, but not egotistical. Confident, but not arrogant.

But the most important thing is that you have to trust them completely. You have to know when they say "we're in this together", that really means for better or for worse. There's nothing worse than having a cofounder shopping for another job while you're struggling to keep the business open.

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Thank you for your answer, There's nothing worse than having a cofounder shopping for another job while you're struggling to keep the business open ... so true – mrz Jan 16 at 7:25
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I think the most important thing is that you communicate very well with them. You need to be able to be brutally honest with each other and have no problem raising concerns if you have them.

A lack of communication will doom any business relationship.

Other than that, make sure they are actually suited to the job and not just someone you want to help with a good opportunity.

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Honesty is very important as you mentioned, I wont see that being a problem with my friend, but with my CEO... I don't know, since he is elder than us, and in our culture there are issues with honesty, like people prefer to hide something that rises an argue rather than actually discuss it. But you cannot know for sure if you don't try. – mrz Jan 16 at 7:33
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I agree with the comment that this is an awesome opportunity and you should surely not let it go just because you don't have a partner from that local place. So my first suggestion would be, try to get a partner but don't think you can't do it alone. May be, you can do far better with a partner, but still you can do it alone and as your CEO trusts you, you must be someone trust worthy and believe me, even if you can't find someone now, you can find someone anytime on the way so just don't fill the position of a pearl with a stone because the stone came first.

Now the point about choosing the right fit for being your partner. There are many things to look in a partner like complimentary skill set, knowledge, experience, trust etc etc. But the most important thing I think is belief in you and your idea. He should be passionate about working with you. Not someone who wants to work with you because he don't have anything better to do. He should be supporting enough not to leave you in bad times. All these qualities are most likely to be found in a close friend, but if you can find someone who has a good trustworthy background and is passionate about working with you in your company can be a right fit.

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Yeah that is why it has been bugging me a lot past couple of weeks, because it is truly a great opportunity and I just dont want to blow it off. Thank you for your answer, and I will keep in mind your hints. thanks. – mrz Jan 16 at 7:33
Alright... :) All the best... :) – Sourabh Jan 16 at 7:52

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