Planning to start a business with your best friend?
You know how every semester there are these group assignments that you need to submit for which you end up having to work with a team of exceptionally terrible people who bail on you, then you just sit there, 12 minutes before the submission time, in a pool of tears and sweat, trying to round up the courage to submit a group report you wrote all by yourself? Well, don't let your business end up like that. Partner up with friends.
Your best friends push you to go beyond your limits and achieve things that you never thought you could. They won't make you feel like you're working hard to catch up to their standards, they will make you want to strive to be the best version of yourself. But that's not all you need from a partner - your co-founders need to have skills and expertise in fields you may not be well-adjusted in. They need to be able to do things that you can't. Plan with the right friends, and take the right steps before jumping on the start-up bandwagon.
Adjustability
The most convincing argument against starting a business with people you aren't well-acquainted with is the long period it takes for you to get used to working with them. If you start a business with your friend, exchanging ideas is a million times easier, building trust isn't a problem because you already have each other's backs, and you can always call out on their shortcomings because they will value your opinions. Plus, they can do the same for you. As Sabrina Rahman, the co-Founder of Newton's Archive said about what to look for in a partner, "One, chemistry, because without it there's no point. Two, you genuinely need to like the people because doing a business with them means spending a lot of time together, and you don't want business to be a drag. And most importantly, trust, because if you can't trust your partners than your business is doomed from the start." All of these qualities, and more, you can find in a friend.
Fixing your roles
If you are friends with your co-founders, you probably already know what they are capable of doing best, and what they are not. Your partner should have a significant value proposition that you lack. It might feel natural to collaborate on all areas of your business together, but that doesn't always work. For example, if you are good with finances, it's best to stick to making the budget and helping your mates stay within it. You'd know better than to use your limited ideas about design to meddle with your creative-head's work. Making suggestions to one another is always important, no doubt, but remember that teams work the best when the teammates have their own lanes and they stay within them.
Scheduling
When fixing a schedule, think of the convenience of all parties involved. You probably already know your friends' schedules, so it'll be a lot simpler. Nahiyan Nasser from GorurGhash Apparels made it easier to explain: "It's difficult to manage time for a business. So we communicate between ourselves on what needs to be done, and when. And we allocate work accordingly. For example, since Ali and I are from NSU and have exams in different times of the year compared to Fahim(our friend/partner from IBA), we have to take most of the load during his exams and he has to do the same for us when it's our turn to sit for exams." Basically, fix what has to be done at which time, and by whom, based on how available each of you can be.
Ideas
The best thing about having your friends as partners is that the best ideas can come out of nowhere. Your next best business decision could grow out of coffee-shop banter, or just pop up while playing games together at a sleepover. Since you spend free hours with them willingly anyway, you are always around one another, and sometimes you don't even need to make separate slots in your schedule to brainstorm.
Risks
It's best to know from beforehand that someone who is amazing at being a friend might not always prove to be the best at being a partner. Even then, there remains a possibility that you may not work well together all the same. Different people have different methods and perspectives, and sometimes yours won't match your friends'. Nonetheless, that's okay- your friendship does not have to get affected by your differences at work. When the workload gets too heavy, it might get too difficult for one of your friends/co-workers to keep investing time into your startup, and they may pull out. Make sure that if things get to that point, you are prepared, just like you would be if you were working with any other set of people.
If things don't work out…
It's still a business at the end of the day, and you need to know your priorities. If you are friends, even if your start-up doesn't take off very well, you can always share the failure with one-another instead of pointing fingers. Kazi Sabita Ehsan, co-founder of Layers Bakery, describes what that feels like: "We were best friends since junior school and thought doing business together would be a great idea. When we both realised the toll it was taking on our friendship and the strain it was creating, we both knew where our priorities were. So the decision to end the business was mutual and almost unspoken. We just knew."
Susmita Newaz is a literature major who lives on tea and sweet toast. Reach her at [email protected].
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