How to Find (and Keep) the Perfect Cofounder
Four Levers for Startup Success by Tim He of CherryTree
👋 Hi, it’s Mudassir, and welcome to Prodcircle Insider, a weekly newsletter on Growth, GTM, Product, and Fundraising to help companies scale faster.
Today’s newsletter is a kind contribution from a friend, Tim He.
Tim is a Founder of Cherrytree. He has been a co-founder and author of a book & went on TV to talk about cofoundership, and taught ~1000 uni students.
Subscribe to his Newsletter here
“Cofounders are for startups what location is for real estate” - Paul Graham.
The story of entrepreneurship is a story of reinvention.
Airbnb reinvented travel by normalizing sleeping in strangers’ homes. Netflix started as a DVD rental service and reinvented itself before reinventing the entertainment industry.
But to change the world, you need first to survive it.
And for that, the most precious resource is a strong cofoundership.
Think of the entrepreneurs who’ve come before us. The first merchants, craftsmen, and landowners realized that combining strengths, whether in skills, capital, or networks, was the key to survival.
Today, we’re living in an age of two undeniable truths:
It’s never been easier to find a co-founder.
It’s never been easier to grow your company.
But, not all cofounders, as with all growth, are created equal.
Harvard Business School professor Noam Wasserman wrote that 65% of startups fail due to co-founder conflicts. On the other hand, strong cofounderships are what brought you the companies you love today - Apple, Google, Microsoft, Notion, Airbnb, Spotify, Slack, Instagram, etc.
After working with half a dozen cofounders and interviewing hundreds more, I’ve found the 4 levers you can pull to build your dream cofoundership: compatibility, trust, resistance, and effort.
1. Compatibility: The Foundation
A great cofoundership starts with alignment—personally and professionally.
🔹 Personal Compatibility
Values and vision for the future
Risk tolerance (short-term and long-term)
Cultural, faith, and political leanings
🔹 Professional Compatibility
Complementary skill sets
Work and communication styles
Reactions to conflict and stress
2. Trust: The Glue
Trust is earned through both character and competence.
🔹 Character Trust (Do I trust who you are?)
Integrity and honesty
Consistency and reliability
Vulnerability and boundaries
🔹 Competence Trust (Do I trust what you do?)
Proven expertise and track record
Willingness to learn and grow
Clear, effective communication
3. Resistance: The Pressure Test
Every startup faces resistance. The question is: can your cofoundership withstand it?
🔹 External Resistance – Market downturns, investor pressure, competition
🔹 Internal Resistance – Personal doubts, misaligned motivations, burnout
4. Effort: The Differentiator
Every relationship, business or personal, requires work.
Because in the end, the strongest cofounderships aren’t just about finding the right person. They’re about building the right partnership.
If you want to learn more about how to build your dream cofoundership, check out Cherrytree.
After starting multiple companies, I can testify how important is it to have the right co-founders. These are the people you will go in trenches with. You need to count on them when the going gets tough. Check out Tim’s work at Cherrytree.
I hope you enjoyed it. Give my friend a follow. I’m sure you will love what he has to say.
Talk to you next time,
M
p.s we are planning something different. I’m interviewing some of the best companies to learn about their growth so keep an eye out on playbooks and practical guides behind building unicorns and great brands.