So I've been reading a lot about angels and venture capitalists outrightly acquiring or investing in some Nigerian tech startups (Truppr, Jobberman and most recently hotels.ng) and I got to think how these businesses were able to attract these really hard to find set of people to invest in businesses located in what many describe as an unpredictable territory (Nigeria, Africa) and of course the obvious answer pointed at the founders, the people behind these start ups. Those whose ideas became the million dollar internet businesses originating from Nigeria. The goals and visions they had and how they were able to bring them to life.
In the case where the business has just one founder as in the case of hotels.ng and truppr, the sole proprietor first pictured what he wanted to do and how he wanted his product to serve and then he diligently pursued his dreams until it came to life and he never stopped till he took it to a level where it became interesting for the investors to come in and rescue him.
In the case with co-founders like Jobberman, a set of people pretty much came together to do what the sole founder did on his own. Of course this should be a much faster process in terms of achieving results considering the collective efforts of those involved towards achieving a purpose.
Which would you rather go for? A sole proprietorship or a partnership? The answers would vary for different people with more people inclined to lean towards the partnership side however, there's a reason the sole entrepreneur choose to do his thing alone.
The kind of person you choose to become a partner could either make or break your business venture and this also applies to our personal relationships as well.
Before you choose a partner either in business or in personal relationships, you should ask yourself these questions:
In the case where the business has just one founder as in the case of hotels.ng and truppr, the sole proprietor first pictured what he wanted to do and how he wanted his product to serve and then he diligently pursued his dreams until it came to life and he never stopped till he took it to a level where it became interesting for the investors to come in and rescue him.
In the case with co-founders like Jobberman, a set of people pretty much came together to do what the sole founder did on his own. Of course this should be a much faster process in terms of achieving results considering the collective efforts of those involved towards achieving a purpose.
Which would you rather go for? A sole proprietorship or a partnership? The answers would vary for different people with more people inclined to lean towards the partnership side however, there's a reason the sole entrepreneur choose to do his thing alone.
The kind of person you choose to become a partner could either make or break your business venture and this also applies to our personal relationships as well.
Before you choose a partner either in business or in personal relationships, you should ask yourself these questions:
- Do your goals align?
Do you trust this person enough to associate with them? - What would be the role of each one involved in this partnership?
- In the case of conflicts, how are we going to resolve it?
- Do we have a document (contract) defining the roles of each partner to use as a future reference in the case a member defaults on what was initially agreed?
I've seen people go into relationships and in a very short time become filled with regrets just because they never took time to answer these questions honestly to themselves.
So knowing al of these, which would you rather go for? Run solo or have a partner?
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