Originally posted on LinkedIn
Finding co-founders/partners is really hard… but worth it. I’ve been back and forth on this several times. Here’s my real story and lessons learned (across 5 companies 👀 )
10 years ago at El Palomo, I went solo. A total noob at entrepreneurship, no industry knowledge (though selling flowers was actually lovely 🌸 ) and no partner — what could go wrong? ☠️ Broke in 6 months.
👉 Lesson - better to go with someone. Accountability is vital and with more people efforts multiply, they don’t just add up.
Then at PrestaGente we went with Julio Molano and some of my first investors Felipe Cadavid Dario Palacio Isaza (rockstars). Much better experience (we sold!).
At Beriblock we had an extra partner that ultimately ended up being a net negative.
👉 Lesson - Don’t accept “payment in kind” (cash is king), NEVER outsource development to an external company if you’re a tech startup, put everything in writing, and read the fine print on everything.
👉 I also learned how important it is for me to have a co-founder who is fully committed full-time and taking the same “risk” as me — otherwise incentives don’t align.
At Finco I found the ultimate partner, Oscar Corredor. Same age, same risk, same values, same fire to create. Absolute rockstar 🧨 The downside — he’s one of my best friends. We crushed it at Finco, but the rollercoaster strained our friendship for a while.
👉 FOR ME (very personal), I never go into business with family or friends.
Now, I’m lucky to have met Camilo Bonilla. He wasn’t the first person I considered for this project. But he was the one most aligned in values, on the same “professional page” (all in), and with the same end vision for the project. We’ve only been at it 3 months, but honestly, things are going great.
👉 Work styles have to match. The other people I almost teamed up with are excellent, but we have incompatible work styles and it wouldn’t have worked.
What else do you think is important when looking for or choosing partners/co-founders?