I want to admit something most founders never will.<\/p>\n
In my fourth startup, I called employees co-founders.<\/p>\n
Not because they took the risk with me. <\/p>\n
Because investors felt better when the deck said co-founders instead of solo founder and his team.<\/p>\n
So we played the part.
\nfive faces on the slide.
\nTwo titles on LinkedIn.
\nOne person actually losing sleep over payroll.<\/p>\n
None of them ever felt the risk the way I did.
\nThey could not. They were not supposed to.<\/p>\n
This is the part the startup world will not say out loud.
\nThe co-founder myth is mostly investor theater. <\/p>\n
Solo founders look risky, so companies get dressed up to look like the thing investors prefer. <\/p>\n
Founders play along.
\nEmployees accept the title.
\nInvestors get the box ticked.
\nNobody calls the lie.<\/p>\n
The one time I had a real co-founder, in my second company,
\nwe skipped the formal agreement for four years.
\nBy the time I asked for one, the clauses did not match what we needed.
\nIt almost broke the company. <\/p>\n
So I have lived both sides. <\/p>\n
The painted-on co-founder.
\nThe real one without the paperwork.
\nBoth versions cost me.<\/p>\n
If you are looking for a co-founder, ask why.
\nIf you need a builder, hire one and pay them.
\nIf the deck just looks lonely, that is not a co-founder problem. That is a story problem.<\/p>\n
A real co-founder is someone who would still be there if the company became worth one dollar tomorrow. <\/p>\n
Everyone else is staff in a costume.<\/p>\n
If you have a co-founder right now, would they take a salary cut next month if you asked? <\/p>\n
Or are you the only one who would?<\/p>\n
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\nWriting 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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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