• 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

  • Holding a successful meeting

    Make sure everyone is clear about the meeting time and location. If you are the one hosting the meeting, show up. Woody Allen has a quote, “80% of...

  • Choose

    When I was in my final year of high school, my family couldn't afford to send me to university, so I looked for scholarships that would enable me to...

  • A regularly pleasant airport experience

    One day, as if overnight, all the airport check-in people and desks disappeared.  In their place appeared computerised self-tagging stations.  Across the...

  • Why I wear odd socks

    Whenever I go and collect my laundry from the laundry room and have to go back out into the hallway for my second load or to go to the toilet, I...

  • Chinese History Museum

    The Chinese History Museum invited me to be part of their exhibition on notable Chinese Australians. In February, over Chinese New Year, my mum came to...

  • Fetch Robotics

    I visited Fetch Robotics as part of a field trip for a Stanford course I took. Fetch Robotics sold to Zebra Technologies for $290 million in 2021....

  • Speaker in the USA!

    I received my USA visa to do speeches in the USA several months ago.  I’m very excited about spreading my messages and telling my stories all over...

  • City of Darwin Robotics Workshop

    I was invited to Darwin for National Science Week on 19 August where I ran a robotics workshop for the kids.  The next day, I gave a speech to 400...

  • Being your word

    If you tell people you are going to be at X location at X time, people take your word for that. If you’re not there, they decide that next time,...

  • My lockdown life

    Lockdown is certainly a change of pace for me. I used to fly around the world twice a month! Now I’m stuck inside my 768 sq ft apartment for months...

Enter your email address to receive my latest blog posts: 

 

Scroll to Top