Finding a great co-founder is incredibly hard. Running your own business is a challenging task already, but making it a successful one takes a lot of skills, energy, resources and time.

CB Insights has put together an amazing list of reasons why startups fail. Forming the wrong team is on the list, along with creating a product that nobody wants and running out of cash.

Since it is an important topic, I’d love to share my findings based on my experience while running AlphaGamma together with my brother and co-founder, Eric Gopak. Here are the 5 pointers to help you with identifying a great co-founder.

🔮🤔 5. You share the same vision for your venture

You need to be able to see through what direction your company is taking; what kind of value it offers to the society; what positive change your venture brings to the world.

No matter how you define success of your business for the months years and even decades to come, the definition has to be shared with your co-founding team.

🤹📚 4. You have a complementary skillset

Running a growing business requires a broad set of skills. It happened naturally that Eric and I have an extensive experience in IT, media, business development and operations.

We realized down the line that our knowledge and skills are complementary in running a successful media company, and this combination helped us withstand proverbial bumps on our way.

🤜🤛 3. You got each other’s back

Entrepreneurship is not for everyone and it is definitely not an easy task.

While an entrepreneurial journey is incredibly rewarding – emotionally, mentally and materially – it sometimes feels like a roller-coaster ride filled with uncertainty, stress and mistakes.

Make sure that you and your co-founders are able to support each other no matter the circumstances.

😇💖 2. You share the same values

Moral values, discipline, work ethics. The values you share with your co-founders determine the effort you give to your daily tasks, what you promise and what you deliver to your customers, employees, investors, and you set an example to your entire team.

Your values formulate your thoughts. Your thoughts result in actions. The actions you take form the company culture at your venture. Values of co-founders = company values.

🥳🙌 1. You enjoy each other’s company

As an entrepreneur, you do spend a lot of time together with your co-founders. Especially in the early days, weeks, months and years of your business.

You will probably spend more time with your team than with your romantic partner, friends or family. Make sure you are having fun while working on your epic business.

To sum up

Our journay has just recently started and we’re still figuring out a lot of aspects while growing AlphaGamma. As a result, this list is not extensive as it might take me a book to mention all of the intricacies and nuances, but I would love to hear from you.

What has been your experience working with your co-founding team? Which of these pointers did you like the most? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!