<div class="bbWrapper">So for picking a partner I keep things pretty simple, mostly because I have had some really bad ones in the past.<br />
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<li data-xf-list-type="ul">I had partners that once they developed the MVP of the product, pretty much became unreliable. They built it, tested it for a day, then gave me little to no instruction on how to use it and expected me to just market and sell and handle customer service. Which would have been fine, except they "up'd and vanished" and would take days to get back to me if I had questions. This caused issues when we had tech problems. They wanted 50% but only put in the upfront work, none of the backend.<br />
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<li data-xf-list-type="ul">I had partners who handled the money ( Paypal account, or other ) and then lied to me about our sales/income and stole from me. I only found out years later when some friends of mine happened to travel and visit one of my old partners and he went into detail about how he stole from me to them thinking they wouldn't tell me.<br />
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<li data-xf-list-type="ul">I had partners that ended up never fully committed. They would do everything 40% and never gave it their all. I'm not talking about they would do 2 projects and me to 8 in a week. I mean anything at all they did, it would only come out 40-50%.<br />
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<li data-xf-list-type="ul">I had partners that wouldn't put a dime into anything. I would be working and need to invest in something we both agreed on and would go ahead and purchase it myself to keep an early non-profitable company going at the start. Only to find out they were never going to put a dime of their money into it and help with the cost of it.</li>
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So after a lot of that ( and more ), I got really defined about what roles I would play in any partnerships and how I would test or deal with possible partners.<br />
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A lot of these are my personal preferences and they work for me. They may not work for you. You might not agree with something I agree with.<br />
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However, it's not about the specifics of what I post.. it's about having a game plan and thinking through what you need and want. That's what's important in the below.<br />
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Here are my thoughts on what worked with my current partnership compared to the ones I had prior:<br />
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<li data-xf-list-type="ul">I didn't look for, or even want/need, a partner in the beginning. That's not to say I truly didn't need one. I just wasn't ( at that time ) looking for or considering one. He came to me asking questions about my product, not asking me about a partnership.<ul>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">I wasn't in the mindset "I desperately need someone else", therefore I was able to take my time in finding a good match if it did happen</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">My partner didn't come at me like he wanted to be a partner, he just wanted to help make my product better</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">In partnerships prior, I started out thinking I needed someone to help me which put me in "desperate" mode always looking.<br />
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<li data-xf-list-type="ul">I knew a lot about my partner before he became a partner. We were on the same forum, ran in the same circles. Was in the same Skype groups. I interacted with him somewhat and could read all his backstory and gauge some things about him.<ul>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">This was true about some of my prior bad partners too. Although they didn't have much of a history for me to verify and gauge as my current partner did</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">Because I could look back in Skype chats, forum posts, etc.. I had an idea of the type of work ethic and personality he had.<br />
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<li data-xf-list-type="ul">Even though it wasn't a trial, the relationship started that way. He offered suggestions to a product I made and he worked on it a lot for a little while. At some point after a few weeks, I suggested we be partners.<ul>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">Notice no agreement was made upfront about being partners until a working relationship began. We never formally agreed on a partnership or trial, but it worked out that way. He offered value upfront and executed and expected nothing in return. He ended up doing a great job and got 50% of the company instead.<br />
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<li data-xf-list-type="ul">At some point, I decided I wanted to "test him" a bit. How would he respond to X? Does he care about Y? I wanted to do this when I thought he might be comfortable in the relationship to really get his true reactions.<ul>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">Sometimes I planned to be up late at night just so I could ping him on Skype AND email. I did this at different times and days over a few months randomly. I wanted to see if he would respond or not to issues after hours and late nights. Would he ping me back in a few minutes, hours, or not at all and treat it like, "I only work 9-5"?<br />
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<li data-xf-list-type="ul">I did the same thing on the weekends a few times</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">We didn't have defined roles early in the relationship like I did with other partnerships. In other relationships there was a clear "you're the the coder, I'm the marketer" type roles. We didn't really have that. So with that advantage I could lob him issues and questions about marketing and see his mindset and reactions. Same with code issues. I was able to fully see his thought process and what he could take on as issues that might ( and did ) come up in the future of the company. Also same about business issues ( like banking, etc ).<br />
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<li data-xf-list-type="ul">There was no sense in doing anything less than 50/50. I don't care you brought this to the table or that. You want someone that can grow your business and handle issues if you can not. Why should they get less than 50% for that, because you think you "invented or started or brought" more upfront to the table? That means nothing in 12 months if the other person helped you grow it and keep it.<ul>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">At one point I even offered/gave my partner 75% of the company so I could work and focus on other things</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">He gave me back the full 50%. That's some trust.</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">Think back yourself to when you were an employee. Did you love getting paid $10 an hour to make someone else rich? No you didn't. Do you want your partner to feel that way too? You might not think they would getting 10% of the company, but that's still ( in my mind ) cheating them out of the potential. Of note, yes 50% only works if there are 2 partners. Obviously you can't have 4 and do 50%<br />
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<li data-xf-list-type="ul">Instead of being reactive ( like prior partners ), he was proactive. In past relationships I was always coming up with the ideas, solutions, and future roadmap. It was refreshing to have someone else help in this procedure and even spearhead it.<br />
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<li data-xf-list-type="ul">Do you feel that if you walked away for a month, your partner could handle the business? I'm not saying you should walk away for a month. I'm not saying the business would be 100% fine when you came back. However, can you trust your partner to run it and run it to where it wasn't a mess when you got back? Sure some things might slip, but could it sort of run?<ul>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">What if you had to go into rehab for a month?</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">What if you needed to scale back to part time work to help you elderly mother for a month?</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">What if your house burned down and you needed to adjust to that</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">Death in the immediate family, etc</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">You don't know how long it would take you to recover and your state of mind once you thought you bounced back. Can your partner really take things on without you for a while?</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">I'm not talking about automation here, I'm talking making tough calls and business choices</li>
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Some of what I posted you won't know until you are rubbing elbows with your partner, but that's why you need a relationship before you start as partners. Kinda like how you would date someone until you knew they were right, and then married them. In all reality, you're essentially in a marriage and the company is your kid.<br />
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