Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
More than two fifths (43pc) of company founders are forced to buy their co-founders out of their businesses due to rifts and power struggles.
The most common reason for founding teams to split is a difference in opinions over the company’s direction, according to a survey by venture capitalist Fuel Ventures.
Of the 43pc of founders who’d been forced to buy out their fellow co-founder, more than two thirds (71pc) said it was due to “a difference of opinions for the company’s direction”, while 18pc said they felt their former partner “didn’t reciprocate their beliefs/values”.
And nearly all of those founders who’d split said the schism was triggered by “a single specific disagreement”, following a period of dispute or unrest within the founding team.
Nearly three quarters (73pc) of founders said they would never co-found a business again. And 81pc of those who would consider co-founding a business again said they would only do it with someone “they knew well”.
As to why entrepreneurs felt they needed a co-founder, 57pc of those surveyed said they felt more confident and comfortable having someone to run the business with, while one third (32pc) said they felt obliged to have a