Moe has started and sold over 12 startups and has lived the life of an entrepreneur for over two decades. Those who know him best describe his style as to-the-point and challenging, with lots of humour.
If you’ve co-founded a company and you’re the person that did (or still does) all the mundane legwork, then you’re a technical co-founder. You’re the one doing most of the… well... doing. Using a ship analogy, you’re the person behind the wheel who’s steering the vessel. You make ‘Ship happen’. Now, batten down the hatches because I plan to get serious mileage out of this nautical analogy.
If the role you’re playing is starting to feel a lot like the same ‘ship’ different day, then you’re going to want to hear what I have to say because you’re stuck in Groundhog Day (I didn’t mean for that to rhyme, but ah, what the hell: rub a dub-dub).
I’ve been a co-founder of 12 businesses, playing both strategic and technical roles, so these are familiar waters to me. I’ve helped steer with shares ranging from 50/50 to 25/75, in industries from F&B to technology, photography, music production, wellness and a concierge service. I have also been the MD caught in between two co-founders. So I obtained every single development badge you can think of and studied the co-founder relationship inside and out.
Crucial co-founder communication and a healthy relationship need to happen now... or you’re probably sunk.
If you’re scrubbing the decks stuck in mundane tasks instead of really setting sail, it can be easy to start resenting a co-founder that doesn’t seem quite as onboard as you are. You have no choice. There seem to be no options.
Choice matters. If you’re doing all the dirty work, it isn’t fair and without mediation to establish structure, stability and systems to break the cycle, you’re just not in the same boat as your co-founder. Obviously, that’s heading for troubled waters.
You’re trapped in the engine room when you’re supposed to be the one at the helm navigating things. Well, that’s what happens when you spend too much time in your business and not enough time working on your business.
Stop getting caught up in the minutiae, tedious box-ticking and start captaining the whole vessel where it needs to go. You have specialised skills but you’re anchored in a torrent of meetings and other admin keeping you from doing what you’re really good at. You need help. Preferably from someone with a map and other sophisticated navigational systems.
You probably don’t want to rock the boat, but if you and your co-founder aren’t on the same wavelength, a capsize is inevitable.
You need guidance to ensure that you have a specialised crew aboard that will be the most effective in their roles as you begin to chart your course. A highly-skilled crew will allow you to be able to zoom out and be more of a generalist and take in more of that ocean view as you learn about different aspects of the business.
You need the right team structure and the best systems in place to do that.
It’s also important to consider that the crew that launched you and got you here may not be the right crew to get you there, where you’re hoping to dock and explore new territories and trade opportunities (maybe I am going a tad overboard with this analogy).
Structure, stability and systems: without these, you’re lost at sea.
When you have these things in place you can start to take in more of your surroundings. It’s like you’re up in the crow’s nest with a decent set of binoculars. You can get a real idea of where you’re going.
With perspective and accurate projections, it’s easier to determine if you and your business are on course to your ideal destination or headed towards the rocks the lighthouse is trying to warn you about. You can see what’s coming from miles away and you can be assured that the coast is clear to speed up your progress at a rate of knots.
With the best crew in place, you will achieve the structure your business needs to remain shipshape.
A steady stream of income is what provides the stability you need to keep your ship moving forward, it functions like the fuel needed to keep the engine running and the propellers turning.
But what happens if one of your best crew members jumps ship? That’s when you’ll need systems in place to ensure that you remain buoyant and keep going full steam ahead.
These systems could also alleviate human error and stop many of the other financial leaks your business may be haemorrhaging.
Eventually, these systems would also allow for replicability, which is essential for growth and scalability allowing you the ability to turn your ship into a fleet if you so choose!
If you’re not equipped to have challenging yet essential communication with your co-founder, it’s almost impossible to keep things on course. Like any relationship, this exchange is key.
Without the structure of specialized and highly-skilled crew, you won’t have the choices and freedom you will need to steer your business through the troubled waters that are inevitable during any voyage.
To ensure that your business doesn’t tip over, you need the stability of a steady stream of income too to fuel your propulsion and forward movement.
Not having systems in place means you don’t have a lifesaver to toss out when things go man overboard.
In the absence of systems, there is no scope for replicability or any feasible growth on the horizon. Without replicability you won’t easily be able to raise the funding needed (your fundability) in order to scale (scalability) or even sell; meaning that your ship will never reach the shore of success, no matter how you define that success.
That sounds like more of a “nay-nay, captain” than an “aye-aye, captain”.
Well, guess what? These choices matter and I have a map to help you ashore.
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