• Blog
  • Archives
  • Bio
  • Awards
  • Speaking
  • Book
  • Contact

A co-founder worth fighting for

Published: Monday, 28 January 2013

My co-founder didn't want to work on my next start-up idea with me because he was too tired.

I didn't want to work on his next start-up idea because I didn't understand the business model.

So I thought about finding a new co-founder.  Which made me think about what makes a good co-founder.  At the most basic level, they have to

  • get along well with me
  • have complimentary skills
  • be ruthlessly authentic enough with me to hold me accountable

And it made me realise the relationship between co-founders is make-or-break for start-ups.  If co-founders don't get along, can't agree on things, or are too polite, the start-up is what suffers.

I didn't want to do a dance to find another co-founder I'd have to get used to spending 120 hours a week with, so I worked my hardest until I convinced my current co-founder to be my co-founder again in my next venture (I found out every single concern he had about doing another start-up with me over the course of a few weeks and allayed all of them).

Good things are rare and worth fighting for.

About Me

Marita ChengForbes named me a world's top 50 woman in tech & 30 Under 30. I founded Robogals and Aipoly and was Young Australian of the Year 2012. Currently working on robotics company Aubot. I'm the youngest Member of the Order of Australia (AM) and I give speeches around the world.

I tweet @maritacheng and I'm on Facebook.

Subscribe

Enter your email address to receive my latest blog posts: 

 

Random Articles

  • Forbes World's Top 50 Women In Tech

    I was pretty chuffed and surprised to learn that I was named a top 50 women in tech globally by Forbes magazine!  OMG! See the full list here.  And my...

  • What's in it for them?

    What's in it for the other person? If you look at everything from this perspective, you can get anything you want in life.

  • It’s not you

      If your teacher comments on your work and tells you it can be better; it’s not you, it’s your work.   If the person behind the counter snaps at you...

  • Robot repairs

    Robot troubleshooting on the fly in Sydney.

  • The Project Woman to Watch

    The Project called me a “Woman to Watch” and shot this short video.  It contains footage of a child going to school remotely using Teleport,...

  • World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts

    Spoke in Hong Kong at the the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) on 9 July.  The WAGGGS is the largest voluntary organisation...

  • One meeting can change your life

    Go out and make those connections, meet people, have conversations. It may land you a dream job.  My friend got an engineering internship in China by...

  • Show up

    Woody Allen once said that "eighty percent of success is showing up." To me, that means, you go to the meeting about the project.  You're there...

  • Hardy Group interview

    The Hardy Group invited me to speak with them about healthcare, robotics and leadership.  Here I am riffing about those topics!

  • A Day in the Life at Singularity University

    From June 13 - August 23, I am staying at NASA AMES Research Park, funded by Google, studying with 80 people from around the world in Singularity...

Enter your email address to receive my latest blog posts: 

 

Scroll to Top