Habiba incredible work you have been doing, massive congratulations and I hope you fundraise all the money you need!
I have one question, if you can share publicly. It seems that the organization is challenging enough for two co-founders, and as you mentioned being a sole CEO has its risks. What do you think could have prevented the other co-founder from leaving so soon?
As we run an incubation program, I am particularly interested as we are trying to build partnerships that are really exciting and fulfilling for all co-founders, but not being naive about the real day-to-day challenges of co-building, and maintaining momentum when there are so many other exciting and important things to also do in the world.
Co-founders moving on is an interesting topic that I’ve changed my mind on a bit over time.
Looking at AIM-incubated organisations there were a few initially that kept the same two co-founders for a long while. But more recently there has been more diversity of routes:
Organisations doing really well with only one founder from the start
A bunch where where one founder left around the 2 year mark and it seems like the right decision for the org. (By then you’ve built something that exists a bit beyond the two of you and having one organisational leader building an exec team around them could make more sense. )
I think that generally has pushed me (and I think others at AIM) to think that two co-founders staying for the long haul isn’t always the ideal to strive for. As I understand it, AIM’s messaging in the incubation program at the moment has shifted a bit to accommodate that.
Some other things to note:
There can certainly be cases where a co-founder leaves because of conflict, or especially early on, or it might not have been ideal timing for the organisation
There have been organisations initially in category 1 and 2 that then did bring a second person into the exec team who is co-executive again, and
I think more traditional wisdom in other sectors can often be that they’d love to see founders really be driven by their commitment to this project and stick it out for a long time.
I think that didn’t directly answer your question but hope that helped!
We operate a mental health coaching service for charity founders. We’ve worked with 40 or 50 now. We get the inside details people don’t share publicly for PR / relationship reasons.
Looking back, almost everyone agrees retrospectively that their co-founder breakups happened too slowly. You won’t hear about this publicly because it’s a terrible career / PR move to be anything but freakishly civil towards your current and former co-founders.
Especially if you’re pairing co-founders as part of your programme, I’d urge you to consider the opposite stance. If it’s not working out, make it easier for people to break up amicably and quickly.
Two practical things you can do as an incubator:
1. Above all else, prioritise founder selection and pairing. This the only fuck-up that cannot be repaired. Good duos can self-train or learn from experience, raise their own money, pivot out of a shitty TOC.
2. Encourage them to express disagreements / unhappiness promptly. Of the co-founder breakups that seemed preventable in retrospect, almost all involved feelings getting bottled up and hardening into irrecoverable resentment. The more agreeable the founders, the greater the risk this happens.
Habiba incredible work you have been doing, massive congratulations and I hope you fundraise all the money you need!
I have one question, if you can share publicly. It seems that the organization is challenging enough for two co-founders, and as you mentioned being a sole CEO has its risks. What do you think could have prevented the other co-founder from leaving so soon?
As we run an incubation program, I am particularly interested as we are trying to build partnerships that are really exciting and fulfilling for all co-founders, but not being naive about the real day-to-day challenges of co-building, and maintaining momentum when there are so many other exciting and important things to also do in the world.
Thanks for writing the post, really insightful!
Thanks Verónica!
Co-founders moving on is an interesting topic that I’ve changed my mind on a bit over time.
Looking at AIM-incubated organisations there were a few initially that kept the same two co-founders for a long while. But more recently there has been more diversity of routes:
Organisations doing really well with only one founder from the start
A bunch where where one founder left around the 2 year mark and it seems like the right decision for the org. (By then you’ve built something that exists a bit beyond the two of you and having one organisational leader building an exec team around them could make more sense. )
I think that generally has pushed me (and I think others at AIM) to think that two co-founders staying for the long haul isn’t always the ideal to strive for. As I understand it, AIM’s messaging in the incubation program at the moment has shifted a bit to accommodate that.
Some other things to note:
There can certainly be cases where a co-founder leaves because of conflict, or especially early on, or it might not have been ideal timing for the organisation
There have been organisations initially in category 1 and 2 that then did bring a second person into the exec team who is co-executive again, and
I think more traditional wisdom in other sectors can often be that they’d love to see founders really be driven by their commitment to this project and stick it out for a long time.
I think that didn’t directly answer your question but hope that helped!
We operate a mental health coaching service for charity founders. We’ve worked with 40 or 50 now. We get the inside details people don’t share publicly for PR / relationship reasons.
Looking back, almost everyone agrees retrospectively that their co-founder breakups happened too slowly. You won’t hear about this publicly because it’s a terrible career / PR move to be anything but freakishly civil towards your current and former co-founders.
Especially if you’re pairing co-founders as part of your programme, I’d urge you to consider the opposite stance. If it’s not working out, make it easier for people to break up amicably and quickly.
Two practical things you can do as an incubator:
1. Above all else, prioritise founder selection and pairing. This the only fuck-up that cannot be repaired. Good duos can self-train or learn from experience, raise their own money, pivot out of a shitty TOC.
2. Encourage them to express disagreements / unhappiness promptly. Of the co-founder breakups that seemed preventable in retrospect, almost all involved feelings getting bottled up and hardening into irrecoverable resentment. The more agreeable the founders, the greater the risk this happens.
Sorry for the unsolicited advice. Best of luck!