I want to admit something most founders never will.

In my fourth startup, I called employees co-founders.

Not because they took the risk with me.

Because investors felt better when the deck said co-founders instead of solo founder and his team.

So we played the part.
five faces on the slide.
Two titles on LinkedIn.
One person actually losing sleep over payroll.

None of them ever felt the risk the way I did.
They could not. They were not supposed to.

This is the part the startup world will not say out loud.
The co-founder myth is mostly investor theater.

Solo founders look risky, so companies get dressed up to look like the thing investors prefer.

Founders play along.
Employees accept the title.
Investors get the box ticked.
Nobody calls the lie.

The one time I had a real co-founder, in my second company,
we skipped the formal agreement for four years.
By the time I asked for one, the clauses did not match what we needed.
It almost broke the company.

So I have lived both sides.

The painted-on co-founder.
The real one without the paperwork.
Both versions cost me.

If you are looking for a co-founder, ask why.
If you need a builder, hire one and pay them.
If the deck just looks lonely, that is not a co-founder problem. That is a story problem.

A real co-founder is someone who would still be there if the company became worth one dollar tomorrow.

Everyone else is staff in a costume.

If you have a co-founder right now, would they take a salary cut next month if you asked?

Or are you the only one who would?

𝗞𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗻𝗮 𝗟𝗮𝗸𝗮𝗺𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗶 | 𝗘𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗿 · 𝗩𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 · 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿
Writing at the intersection of AI, capital, and the future of the human job market – sharing my life lessons, reflections, and honest takes from the founder-investor’s seat.