【Lesson #1 - On picking co-founders】
Co-founder disputes are often the crux of any startup failure. You’ll likely be constantly relying on each other for tactical and emotional support for the better half of 10 years. That’s why picking the right one is paramount in building a successful startup. To help share some insights on this topic, I spoke with Alan Chan, the Co-founder and CEO of Omnichat (AW#16), an HK-based company that provides a chatbot plugin for e-commerce sites to automate marketing and improve customer conversions. Looking back on his excruciating decision to replace a co-founder previously, Alan shares his thoughts on what you should look for when seeking out a co-founder and how to properly vet for commitment and establish trust from the get-go.
—-
I started my company in early 2017 and released the MVP shortly thereafter. I handled all the BD efforts in the beginning, cold calling hundreds of what we in Hong Kong call “upstairs” stores (boutique retail shops located in high rise buildings) to test out my product, until I eventually got 200 users onboard. Despite the fact that the initial version was filled with bugs, 20% of the users still came back every month to use our product. So, I thought it was the right time to find a co-founder to accelerate our BD efforts and overall handle the business side of things while I hunkered down on the product.
I chose my best friend of 20 years as my first co-founder. But it ultimately didn’t work out. It was probably around the time of when we joined AppWorks Accelerator #16 in March 2018 where we kept butting heads and it became evident that our expectations for the business and overall commitment were misaligned. Ending our working relationship was one of the most difficult decisions that I’ve had to make in my life. In retrospect, I missed some things. I was the one who convinced him to quit his job, but I also failed to adequately evaluate whether or not he’d be suitable for the startup lifestyle and the commitment that he was willing to make. It’s not normal work that we do; we don’t have set hours or a salary, and we need to grow very fast and constantly go knocking on people’s doors for money or business while failing a thousand times in the process.
Being a founder can be incredibly frustrating and disheartening for anyone without a strong resolve. I was of course quite naive back then. I had already generated some traction and painted a very rosy picture. I thought it would be easy to scale up once we got some investor money—little did I know haha. But at the end of the day, even beyond complementary skill sets, the most important thing between co-founders is trust. It’s better to have some sort of working relationship before, as only then will you see how they behave under stress and react to criticism and setbacks. If you don’t have a prior working relationship, then go through some sort of trial period or co-work on a few projects to properly understand each other’s working and communication styles. Just like in dating, you’ll need to go on a few dates to properly align on a few fundamental things such as shared values, interests, and commitment before tying the knot.
Applications for AW#22 are now open to founders targeting SEA, AI/IoT, or Blockchain/Defi -> https://bit.ly/2Jy1br8
align investor 在 許文昌 Man-cheong Facebook 的最佳解答
英資英傑華旗下資產批評匯控和渣打支持尚無細節的國安法,好。
U.K. asset management firm Aviva Investors, a top 20 shareholder in both banks, expressed concern that the banks had backed the law despite a lack of clarity about its potential impact.
“We are uneasy at the decisions of HSBC and Standard Chartered to publicly support the proposed new national security law in Hong Kong without knowing the details of the law or how it will operate in practice,” David Cumming, the chief investment officer for equities at Aviva Investors, said Tuesday.
Aviva Investors is among the largest European fund managers, running £346 billion ($439 billion) at the end of last year.
“If companies make political statements, they must accept the corporate responsibilities that follow,” Mr. Cumming said. “Consequently, we expect both companies to confirm that they will also speak out publicly if there are any future abuses of democratic freedoms connected to this law.”
Tom Tugendhat, a British lawmaker who chairs U.K. parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, said in an email: “Businesses championing authoritarian powers should remember that other customers’ views on human rights may not align with those of the Chinese Communist Party.”
align investor 在 Findit平台 Facebook 的最讚貼文
【協同宣傳】Meet Your Match Taiwan
只要繳交一份公司簡報,即可被亞洲頂尖創投們看到:)
準備好你的公司簡報,跟亞洲創投認識一下吧!還有24小時可以報名~
由KKFund 帶領,召集95+亞洲各國頂尖創投
讓你有機會一次參與到史無前例的創投大集合
產業包含生醫、電商、AI、大數據、Fintech、媒體、娛樂、APP等等...
📍資格:台灣新創或在台灣有營運團隊並且至少一個創辦人在台灣
📍創投名單:https://medium.com/@kk_info/meet-your-match-taiwan-5ab5acb5c475
📍報名:4/17(五)中午12點前截止 https://forms.gle/JY7paaCcnoKMi9hM9
Meet Your Match Taiwan is now entering the final 24 hours! This is your chance to connect with over 95 of the top APAC investors - show off your business, and make an impression on them.
Singapore-based KK Fund, with the support of TSS, has convened these investors to meet with startups from Taiwan through an online meeting. Don't miss out on this opportunity for your company! Be prepared to select the investors that align with your business and upload your deck.
📍Eligibility:
Startups based in Taiwan; with operations and at least one founder based in Taiwan.
📍Application Process:
Submit before 17th April 2020, 12:00 pm Taiwan time - https://forms.gle/JY7paaCcnoKMi9hM9
📍Details and Investor Information: https://medium.com/@kk_info/meet-your-match-taiwan-5ab5acb5c475