How many founders are enough for one company?
Business Marketing with Nika
40 replies
Sometimes, when there are many founders in companies, it has its pluses, but also minuses. Do you prefer more founders? If so, why? What problems do you have to deal with with more founders?
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André J@sentry_co
Depends on the type of founders. Two idealists is impossible. An idealist and a pragmatist (Ref: Steve jobs And Steve Wozniak), that can work. But still hard. 😅 3 founders? They made a movie about that: "The three body problem". It's all chaos. I won't happen in a million years. 😂
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@busmark_w_nika 😂 Sorry my mistake. Typo. Three not tree. Here is the link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt454... (it's also a book and an astro physic phenomenom) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Th... (basically reasoning about 2 objects is easy, 3 is impossible, too chaotic)
@busmark_w_nika It comes out soon. It's very cool. Its one of the biggest cultural works coming out from China in recent time. Both the books and the movie.
Mailforge
1 is enough, 2 is great and 3 is excellent
It depends on the stage of development. If you are talking about an early-stage startup then it might need a co-founder for diverse perspectives and support.
Co founders should bring skills that the other founders lack, for instance technical expertise, marketing, or finance.
The ideal number of founders can vary depending on the dynamics and needs of the company.
2-3 is ideal. But more important than the number is that you have the RIGHT people
I think there’s no specific number.
Solopreneurs can be as successful as a founder team of 3 or 4. However, when it comes to investors, for example, they see it being a solopreneur as a risk - due to everything relies on one person and if anything happens.. :)
Also, more founders potentially mean each compliments each other, so more elements are covered whether its marketing, development, customer support etc.
FlowChartGPT
1 founder - which is the entire premise behind my latest newsletter!
Everyone has a different experience. But based on general statistics, companies with 2-3 founders are the most successful.
One, trust me :-D I have twenty years of experience as a founder.
@pdovhomilja How many years as a solo founder?
Launching soon!
@pdovhomilja wow, that's impressive! Just wondering, how did you deal with periods of burnout, if you had any? :) I am asking because to my experience (much less than 20y) co-founders usually support each other a lot
@nadiaaesty I burned out two times. The first time, it was because I achieved all my goals much sooner than I had expected. The second time, it was about two years ago, just because I made a big mistake. If you can, here is my short story: https://twitter.com/dovhomilja/s...
less is more
The 'right' number of founders for a company really hinges on the balance of skills, decision-making bandwidth, and the ability to share the startup's vision and workload, Nika. More founders can mean a richer skill set and more hands on deck, but it also raises the stakes in aligning visions and managing conflicts.
I believe 3 tops. 2 is the ideal. If you've known them and their work style for 6+ months, they could qualify for a founder.
I think one is the best, because I met the situation that these two guy did not communicate in a timely period.Then the project became troublesome because of it.
The ideal number of founders for a company really hinges on the balance between diverse skill sets and the ease of decision-making; too many can lead to conflict, but the right mix can spur innovation. Personally, I prefer a smaller, cohesive team of founders where roles are clear and communication is streamlined, ensuring agility in business operations.
Determining the ideal number of founders for a company is a nuanced decision influenced by various factors such as the business model, industry, and personal dynamics. While some successful companies are founded by solo entrepreneurs, others thrive with multiple co-founders bringing diverse expertise and perspectives to the table. It's essential to assess your unique circumstances and consider the skill sets required to drive your venture forward. Additionally, leveraging resources like AiToolsKit.ai can complement your team's efforts by providing a range of AI, SEO, writing, YouTube, and social media tools—all for free. Whether you're a solo founder looking to streamline your workflow or a team of collaborators aiming to optimize your strategies, AiToolsKit.ai offers valuable resources to support your journey and help your company succeed. https://bit.ly/ph-product-AiTool...
There isn't a specific number of founders that is universally "enough" for a company. It ultimately depends on the nature of the business, its goals, and the skill sets needed to execute those goals effectively. Some successful businesses have a single founder, whilst others have several co-founders. It's more about having an appropriate combination of skills, vision, and teamwork to propel the business ahead.
Although you could start with one, you will need to hire or learn a lot which will slow down your progress in the early stages. The consensus seems to be 2-3 depending on the skills. More than 5 seems to be too many chefs, also the dilution would be crazy later.
We have 3, our skills cover most things, from design, dev, and marketing, it also helps a tie breaker as long as you agree you are not allowed to sit on the fence.
If you take a random sample from YC's companies (https://www.ycombinator.com/comp...) list you will probably find the average is 2-3.
Also the same with the top 30 by revenue. There are 7 solos, 12 with 2, 10 with 3, 0 with 4, (Doordash had 4), and 1 with 5.
The numbers from YC
Seven With 1: Coinbase, PagerDuty, Matterport, Momentus,
Flexport, Scale AI, Benchling
Twelve With 2: Dropbox, Amplitude, Gitlab, Stripe, OpenSea, Brex,
Deel, Rippling, Reddit, Checkr, Monzo Bank, and Whatnot
Ten With 3: Airbnb, Instacart, Doordash, Weave, Faire, Gusto,
Rappi, Zapier, Webflow, and MessageBird
Zero With 4:
One With 5: Ginkgo Bioworks
PerceptInsight
2 is a company, 3 is a crowd.
I feel the ideal number of founders should not exceed 2, too many complications and clash of opinions
I'm a solo founder :)