Struggling to find a partner who shares your vision? The Cofounder’s Hub is your ticket to finding the perfect co-founder and unlocking the key to a successful startup. We had a chat with its founder, Tanis Jorge, who will be headlining some of our Vancouver Startup Week events in June!
Q: What inspired you to start a company focused on training founders looking for co-founders, and what have you learned through this experience?
A: Having had the opportunity to build multiple businesses with the same cofounder over 20+ years, I was often approached to advise founders on how to improve their partnership. I realized that there were few resources available to do so, leading to countless partnerships failing and their businesses following suit. This inspired me to share wisdom from 20+ years in a partnership and multiple cofounders that I interviewed in a book called The Cofounder’s Handbook!
Q: What are some common mistakes you see founders make when trying to find a cofounder, and how do you advise them to avoid these pitfalls?
A: One major mistake people make is that they assume that because someone is their friend, they would make a great business partner. That isn’t always the case. Friends may not have complementary skills and expertise that are crucial for running a successful business. Furthermore, you must be willing to discuss difficult topics and be able to separate the personal relationship from professional disagreements. Work ethics and financial goals may also differ. Always, and I mean always, vet your cofounders.
Q: Can you share a success story of a founder you worked with who benefited from your programs, and how they have progressed since then?
A: We had a set of partners who took our Discovery Session and came across an issue where they held very different opinions on how it would be tackled. The issue was how they would handle the “founder perks” within their business. One founder felt that they should be able to use merchandise for personal use free of charge and the other felt that they should pay full retail to ensure fairness. They reached out for a consultation and we were able to assist them in creating a process that worked for the both of them. They both recognized this would have caused dire consequences for the company if they hadn’t addressed it sooner.
Q: What is your long-term vision for your company, and how do you plan to continue supporting founders in the years to come?
A: Our aim at The Cofounder’s Hub is to streamline and maximize every minute that cofounders work on their relationship. By hosting Find Your Cofounder meetups, we will facilitate introductions and assist in securing a match. Additionally, we will be offering retreats where cofounders will take 2 to 3 days to undergo a partnership intensive. These events will assist in vision and execution planning, undertaking important conversations, identifying potential issues that could arise, team building, and of course networking with other cofounders.
Finally, we will be offering services to an industry that has the most to lose when partnerships go sideways; Venture capitals and investors. We will be packaging programs and resources that they can utilize within their portfolios to ensure that at least one key risk to success in their business is mitigated.
Q: You’ll be headlining quite a few events - what are you most excited about at the upcoming Vancouver Startup Week in June?
A: I’m excited about our Meet Your Cofounder event and the Fireside and FAQ sessions we will be having. I really believe partnerships in Vancouver will flourish by us contributing our skillset to these events!
Tune in for part 2 and 3 of Tanis’ blog series to learn more about how someone can leverage the events offered and key tips for someone who may be looking for a co-founder at the Vancouver Startup Week in June! Be sure to follow Tanis on LinkedIn and Instagram to learn more!