Six Cs to check when going into business with a friend

“Don’t go into business with your best friend”, they said.

They were wrong.

As my best friend and I approach eight years since launching our first business Wedshed together (and 31 years since meeting in the schoolyard), we’re big believers that mixing work and playmates has unmatched upside.

However.

It’s no fluke that we’re now work wives for life (I mean it, we can’t see a future when we’re not building something together. Currently, a second startup in the gifting space).

And if we keep the analogy of marriage going (only appropriate, given our industry wheelhouse), it’s a union that requires love, respect and an intuitive understanding of your business partner.

Thinking about heading down this path with a mate?

Here are our five C’s to check for a successful “til death/sale/exit do you ‘part” friends-as-founders partnership.

1. Chemistry: you’ve got to really gel.