Solo or Cofounder?

Who this is for

Founders deciding whether to bring someone in — either in the abstract, or with a specific person already in mind and a conversation about equity coming.

What you'll actually decide

Whether you need a cofounder or something cheaper that solves the same problem, and if you do need one, what they must bring. Half the company is the most expensive thing you will ever spend, and this works out whether the gap you're filling is worth that price or whether it's a hire, a contractor, or an advisor.

What first-time founders get wrong here

Recruiting a cofounder for loneliness and calling it a skills gap. The second is bringing someone on with no vesting because the friendship makes it feel unnecessary — which is exactly the situation vesting exists for.

The first 10 questions

This is where the conversation starts. Each answer shapes what gets asked next.

1. 01What are you building, and where are you in the journey — idea, prototype, launched? What's prompting the cofounder question right now?
2. 02What's your own background — which parts of building this can you personally do well (product, code, sales, domain expertise), and which feel out of reach?
3. 03Have you built something alone before, or worked in a close partnership? How did each actually go?
4. 04Is there a specific person you're considering as a cofounder, or is this still abstract?
5. 05What gap are you really trying to fill — missing skills, more hands, accountability, or not wanting to be alone in this? Be honest about which it is.
6. 06Could a contractor, a first hire, an advisor, or a fractional expert fill that gap instead of half your company? What would that actually cost?
7. 07Is "investors prefer teams" part of your reasoning — and if so, are you actually planning to raise?
8. 08How do you handle pressure and decisions when nobody's watching — what does your track record honestly say about sustaining motivation alone?
9. 09A cofounder means roughly half the equity, shared control, and a relationship that statistically often fails. Which of those costs bothers you most, and why?
10. 10What would have to be true for a cofounder to be worth roughly half the company to you?

+ 3 more questions across discovery, validation, and the creative brief — each one adapting to what you've already said.

Related business planning project types

• Which Idea Do I Pursue?Choose which of your ideas deserves the next year of your life — founder fit, reachable customers, and honest excitement, compared side by side.
• Quit Your Job or Nights-and-Weekends?Decide whether to go all-in on your startup or build it nights-and-weekends — what the leap actually costs, what staying actually costs, and what would have to be true either way.
• Value PropositionArticulate exactly what your product does, for whom, and why it's worth paying for — with enough precision to use in a pitch, a landing page, or a sales conversation.