Do You Need a Cofounder

While venture capitalists often prefer founding teams, being a solo founder is a common and highly viable path in the bootstrapped SaaS world. More than half of independent SaaS companies are run by a single founder.

You do not need a cofounder. Bringing on a partner is effectively a marriage, and a bad cofounder relationship is one of the fastest ways to kill a startup.

The Solo Founder Path

Pros: Simplicity. You make all the decisions and retain 100% of the equity. There are no cofounder disputes.
Cons: It can be lonely and mentally taxing. You are responsible for everything.
Success Factor: Successful solo founders almost always have a strong support network (mastermind groups, mentors, founder friends) to act as a sounding board and provide emotional support.

The Cofounder Path

Having a partner in the trenches can be incredibly valuable, but only if it's the right partner.

A Framework for Evaluating a Cofounder:

Are your skills complementary?
- The ideal pairing is often a technical founder (who can build the product) and a marketing/sales founder (who can sell it). Too much skill overlap leads to arguments in one area and neglect in others.
How well do you know this person?
- Have you worked with them before under pressure? Don't start a company with someone you don't know well. "Date" first by working on a small, time-boxed project together.
Are you legally protected?
- Talk to a lawyer.
- Crucially, all founder equity must vest over time (typically 4 years). This prevents a founder from leaving after a few months with a huge chunk of the company, which can make the business unfundable and unsellable.
Do they add significant value?
- Will this person make the company grow substantially faster or be significantly more valuable? If you are on the fence, the answer is no.

Be wary of starting a company with more than two founders. The complexity of decision-making and interpersonal dynamics increases exponentially, as does the likelihood of having a "weak link" who doesn't pull their weight.

Tags: #SaaS #founder #cofounder #team-building #equity #vesting #startup-advice