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Hey, I’m Tim! ☕

First, I’d like to welcome Mira Evans to the team as our new Marketing Intern!

A current student at the University of Washington, Mira was also the previous international champion of DECA, a prestigious high school business competition.

Has your cofoundership hit a wall? I think I know why.

Over the past 6 years, I’ve spoken to thousands of cofounders.

Some were high school students just getting started. Others had several multi-million dollar exits.

Despite their differences, they all asked the same core questions about cofoundership:

• What makes us unique as cofounders?

• Where is our cofoundership headed?

• Why is it so hard to grow our relationship and the business at the same time?

All those things, and their trickle-down effects (lack of direction, difficulty fundraising, poor company culture) stem from the same root cause:

A lack of a clear cofoundership strategy.

Lost in Translation

Do you feel like you’re fumbling in the dark? When things go well, you think you’re lucky and when things go bad, you don’t know what steps to take.

That’s fine. Normal, even. Expected.

If you’re having those same thoughts, you’re not the only one.

Let’s decipher some of these common feelings and what they actually mean.

“I’m not sure what makes us unique as cofounders.”

Translation: You became cofounders based on compatible skills (engineering, marketing, etc) which are inherently not as unique as you think. You haven’t taken the time to dive into what makes your personalities unique compatible.

“I can’t communicate with my cofounder the way I want to.”

Translation: You’re lacking in one or more of the four C’s: commitment, competence, coordination, compassion. You might not even know which one you’re missing. But until you address that, you’ll feel like you aren’t connecting 100%.

“We have periods of ups and downs but they’re unpredictable.”

Translation: The ebbs and flows of the company’s trajectory are affecting the trajectory of your relationship, rather than the other way around. You’re not yet equipped to use the company as a means to strengthen your friendship

“We disagree, it’s amicable, but we’re not sure what to do next.”

Translation: You don’t know whose priorities matter more at this given point in time. You both very well could be “correct.” But without answering the question, you’ll constantly be in a tug-of-war.

Sound familiar?

You can solve all these problems with one system.

You shouldn’t only be able to break down the component pieces of your cofoundership and their subcategories, but also be able to connect them all together.

And that’s what I teach.

But if you want to DIY, go through each of these branches and have a discussion with your cofounder to see where y’all stand.

How I Can Help

Figuring out your cofounder strategy on your own could take longer than you can afford.

We each have our blindspots too. It’s hard to see the full picture when you’re lost in the maze.

I won’t be able to build your cofoundership for you, but I can help guide you along the way. A bird’s eye view.

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Thanks y’all,

Tim He

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