Cofounder Conflict is Healthy and Normal
by Julia EnthovenTwo months ago, I tweeted “TIL that cofounder conflict is best resolved over tacos.” A lot of founders appreciated the tweet (IndieHackers RTed), but my investors did not. A few hours later, one of my investors messaged me “Are you and Eric okay?” Then, that Friday, a potential investor told me that I could never show cracks in my cofounder relationship, that it was a very dangerous red flag to investors for a company looking to raise money soon. I’m not sure if the warning was related to the tweet, but they were certainly solemn words.
This article is a confessional to break the mold. Eric (my cofounder and CTO) and I are doing great and have an excellent working relationship. Our startup - an online image and video editor called Kapwing - is thriving, and we’re growing a team and user base together. But we definitely argue. Conflict is a natural and important part of building a healthy company culture with diverse perspectives. Any founder, advisor, or investor who says otherwise probably either hasn’t built a thriving startup or has built one riddled with group-think.
In this article, I want to address the unspeakable: cofounder conflict. It’s not uncommon, and it doesn’t mean that your company is falling apart. If you’re having problems with your cofounder, you should proactively address and fix them, just like you would any other problem with your business, rather hiding from the issue.
Read more on the Kapwing Blog
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Excellent article Julia! Honest and fun to read. Thanks for the tips, it really helped me to understand about the deep relationship between cofounders and how to make it work.
All the best for both of you!!!
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It is perfectly fine to argue and disagree with co-workers, as long as it doesn't interfere with your ability to deliver.
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If cofounder philosophy about running the business is drastically different it's better to part ways asap.
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Hi Julia! HUGE fan of your blog posts - they're super interesting and super useful to me as a founder. When I launch I'm planning on adding a blog and modeling it mainly off of your advice.
It has always seemed, to me, that the incentives are in all the wrong places for honest communication between founders and investors. I hope investors don't actually believe that startups can be a conflict-free environment. Do you think there is anything that can be done to open up communication channels in a more truthful way?
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