finding the right partner?

[ziwang55]

i find it very hard to find the right partner to start a business. so far i went through two people. one is willing to work. which dont have any knoledge about anything. and the other knows about it. but dont do anything. and i cant trust them. especially i just moved into this city. is it safe to go solo?

[akula]

no man, this is bullshit
you're gonna waste your time with these guys
find a successful competitor and ask to join their team, that's one way to "get in" with the right people

[leonyu]

Agree with akula, you need to find the one can help you.

[ashleyg]

If you can't trust them in the first place, why even think of partnering with any of the two? Bringing a partner into your business is a marriage of sort. You've got to share the same vision or else it won't make sense to partner with someone who can't help your business.

[SmallBusinessOwner]

i find it very hard to find the right partner to start a business. so far i went through two people. one is willing to work. which dont have any knoledge about anything. and the other knows about it. but dont do anything. and i cant trust them. especially i just moved into this city. is it safe to go solo?

Having a business partner is nuts. If you lack the knowledge and/or financial resources to build a business, here's my advice, based on what I did: Get a job and work your way up from the bottom, save money to start your own business, and never accept equity financing from a partner. Partners are for wimps. Real men have ownership in companies by themselves and hire help either on contract or they hire employees. They retain complete control over everything and they never partner up with anyone. UNLESS, they can't afford to pay someone who is willing to work for part ownership. And, the original person (you) is willing to walk away at anytime and lose all their investment. If you're willing to lose all your money to someone else, partnering is a good idea. Otherwise, It's terribly unwise on so many levels. Hope this helps.

[ziwang55]

i agree with all of you guys. so its either i should do this all by myself or i should join a team. how can i find a team to join if i do. and if i go solol what are somethings i should look out for?

[Fanatik]

Zi, it depends on what your business is focused on. Partnering isn't a bad idea for some, but a partnership you have like the one you described, is not one you should be a part of. You need to go separate ways with the bad eggs.

Partnerships are there to provide top-cover for the areas you're not comfortable with, or for things that you can't do. An example:

I run certain aspects of the business, whereas my CSO does extremely well with the financial aspects and the legal points of the business. I am a computer geek, so I manage the technology aspect of the business, as well as the formation of some future strategies and timelines for getting certain things done. We both collaborate to figure out the necessary intricacies on who we need, when we need them, whether we're in a position to contract out work, etc.

You should have prosperous relationships with your partner(s). You should fill gaps where they fall short, and vice-versa. Your expertise or knowledge ends somewhere, and that's where your partner(s) should pick up the slack. Again, it's dependent on your business model, etc.

J

[ziwang55]

oh i see. so its how to take advantage of the team by each persons expertise on certain things. well im starting a clothing line soo. i do not really know how i can find anyone that can help me and i do not know what i need help with so far.

[akula]

i agree with all of you guys. so its either i should do this all by myself or i should join a team. how can i find a team to join if i do. and if i go solol what are somethings i should look out for?

have a look at google news or databases like pwcmoneytree to find interesting startups that have closed significant rounds of vc funding
watch out for joining a team which is broke and operated by pompous lunatics that have more delusions of grandeur than cashflow

[Fanatik]

Zi, I would seriously PM Akula and/or pick his brain if you need advice in the VC area; the man knows his sh!t.

[terryxu]

find the one already?

[ziwang55]

okay ill pm him. and i havent found anyone. but people wants to be apart of it. i dont want them to join with the lack of experience

[ashleyg]

oh i see. so its how to take advantage of the team by each persons expertise on certain things. well im starting a clothing line soo. i do not really know how i can find anyone that can help me and i do not know what i need help with so far.

Start with your strengths and weaknesses. It may help to draft a job description for yourself first. Check out what skills and experience you can offer to the business and what skills and experience you'll need to find in a partner. Remember, partnership or working with a team is a complementary relationship, meaning, you should complement each other's skills and knowledge. Then get the word out (like what you just did in this forum). Anybody in your business network can give you referrals though it is important to exercise caution in deciding whom to inform.

[ziwang55]

and this is what happened last night. i was discussing this with my friends and they were lacking many skills. then i was like ill just work on this alone for now. and he was like actually this is a good idea. i know a kid that can draw. and we are gonna take ur idea and make some designs our selves. the only reason i didnt want to work with him was because he told me to get a credit card and pay for the credit card every month. i was like thats a bad idea. and he was arguing with me. any thought on this situation?