📖 This article is part 3 of wider series on “How to find a co-founder” – you can check earlier instalments here.
So you’ve identified a promising candidate – someone who seems to check the big boxes of trustworthiness, commitment, and complementary skills.
How do you screen that person for long-term compatibility?
Picking a co-founder isn’t a casual hire; it’s more like choosing a business spouse. You’ll be making high-stakes decisions together, weathering crises, and essentially binding your professional fate to this person.
It pays to test the relationship before you formalise it.
Our founders shared a variety of approaches, from gut-feel heuristics to deliberate trial periods, to vet a co-founder match.
Here are some of the most valuable techniques and indicators they offered:
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1. The “time will tell” test – know them in varying circumstances:
Many founders believe there’s no substitute for knowing someone over time, especially under stress.
Mostafa Amin advises:
“I would say you need to know the person for at least one to two years before even opening the topic of becoming co-founders.”
Why so long? Because, as he explains:
“You really see people’s genuine reactions.”
That period of time shows their highs and lows, how they cope with setbacks, and how they treat others.
Mostafa himself applied this rule: before convincing his co-founders to start Breadfast, he’d known them and observed their character in different scenarios.
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