Goodfellas (1990)
Working with multiple co-founders has a critical moment. I ask them to describe the desired future of the company in 3-5 years. They eagerly dive in, revealing what they thought was "obvious to everyone."
Suddenly, it turns out they envision... very different companies.
Growth rate, geography, team, or scale can all differ. Not to mention plans to sell shares and levels of personal involvement. Sometimes, the company's value differs several times over.
The question is—can the partners make decisions today?
Different destinations affect literally everything:
Success indicators,
Strategic priorities,
Team composition,
Investor and creditor involvement,
Exit strategy, and so on.
Clearly, partners will often clash, increasingly frustrated by each other's "stubbornness" and "stupidity." Employees will also suffer, trying against all odds to reach the goals. But which goals?
It's obvious why partners need to regularly align interests. But what if there's only one owner? Sometimes the situation is similar.
The founder believes he (or she) has a clear vision for the business. Until he starts describing it in numbers and words. How much he doesn't know about himself!
Sincerely yours,
-Alexander
About me:
As a business therapist, I help tech founders quickly solve dilemmas at the intersection of business and personality, and boost company value as a result.
How can I help you?
If you've long been trying to understand what is limiting you and/or your business and how to finally give important changes a push, then The Catalyst Session is designed specifically for you. Book it here.