Guide 03

Before committing to a cofounder

Mapped

The situation

You are about to treat someone as a cofounder: a block of equity, a public title, or the authority to bind the company. Affection, speed, or the fear of building alone is doing some of the arguing.

The decision at stake

Whether this person should be a cofounder, on evidence of how you work and disagree, and what alignment you will write down before you announce it.

This guide is mapped. You can answer the questions and keep a note. The full essay, contrasting examples, and the longer branch for founders who have already acted are not written yet. Output to aim for: Cofounder working-evidence note.

Questions to start the note

This guide is mapped, not finished. The situation, the decision, and the questions are here so you can start a record. The full evidence, the contrasting examples, and the longer “already acted” branch are not written yet.

1.Your name
2.Company, if any
3.The person you would call a cofounder
4.What have you already shipped, sold, or broken together, and what did you disagree about?
5.What will each of you own for the next six months, in sentences you could both sign?
6.Have you agreed what happens to unvested equity if one of you leaves in the first year?
YesNot yetNoUnsure
7.How will you decide when you disagree, and who has the final say on product, hiring, and spending?
8.What salary, time, and outside commitments does each of you actually have?
9.Have you talked about a breakup while you still like each other?
YesNot yetNoUnsure
10.What would a trial period show you that a title would hide?
11.If you have already split equity or announced the partnership, what is still unsigned?

Saved on this device.

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