What I Look for Before Saying “Yes” to a Business Partner
People often ask me what I look for before saying yes to working with someone.
Experience?
A perfect CV?
Industry connections?
Honestly — none of those come first.
After years of building businesses and working with founders, I’ve learned that partnerships don’t fail because someone lacked skills. They fail because of energy, mindset, and resilience.
And you really see that when things get hard.
Because startups are hard. They’re exhausting. Messy. Emotional.
It’s hard when three investors say no in a row.
It’s hard when stock goes missing.
It’s hard when you have to fire someone you once believed in.
Those are the moments that reveal who you’re really building with.
Here’s what actually matters to me.
Experience?
A perfect CV?
Industry connections?
Honestly — none of those come first.
After years of building businesses and working with founders, I’ve learned that partnerships don’t fail because someone lacked skills. They fail because of energy, mindset, and resilience.
And you really see that when things get hard.
Because startups are hard. They’re exhausting. Messy. Emotional.
It’s hard when three investors say no in a row.
It’s hard when stock goes missing.
It’s hard when you have to fire someone you once believed in.
Those are the moments that reveal who you’re really building with.
Here’s what actually matters to me.
1. Passion — and not just for the money
If you’re only in it for the exit, the motivation runs out fast.
Money isn’t enough to carry you through the days when nothing seems to be working. I look for people who care deeply about what they’re building — not just what it might be worth one day.
Passion doesn’t mean being loud or flashy.
It means showing up when it’s inconvenient.
Money isn’t enough to carry you through the days when nothing seems to be working. I look for people who care deeply about what they’re building — not just what it might be worth one day.
Passion doesn’t mean being loud or flashy.
It means showing up when it’s inconvenient.
2. They’ve failed before — and survived it
This might surprise people, but failure is a green flag for me.
I want to work with someone who’s been knocked down before and found a way back up again. Because that moment is inevitable in startups.
What matters isn’t avoiding failure — it’s how you respond to it.
The ability to pick yourself back up is, in my experience, one of the most important traits in a founder or business partner.
I want to work with someone who’s been knocked down before and found a way back up again. Because that moment is inevitable in startups.
What matters isn’t avoiding failure — it’s how you respond to it.
The ability to pick yourself back up is, in my experience, one of the most important traits in a founder or business partner.
3. Resilience beats brilliance every time
I almost don’t care about anything else.
I don’t want to work with someone who stays down after a setback, constantly complains, or only sees the obstacles.
That mindset kills momentum.
The opposite — optimism, pragmatism, problem-solving — is what builds great businesses.
It’s not about pretending everything is fine.
It’s about believing things can be fixed.
I don’t want to work with someone who stays down after a setback, constantly complains, or only sees the obstacles.
That mindset kills momentum.
The opposite — optimism, pragmatism, problem-solving — is what builds great businesses.
It’s not about pretending everything is fine.
It’s about believing things can be fixed.
4. Energy alignment matters more than titles
You can teach skills.
You can hire experience.
But you can’t force alignment.
Before I say yes to a partnership, I pay close attention to how someone reacts under pressure, how they talk about past failures, and whether they bring solutions or just problems.
If the energy is wrong, it doesn’t matter how good the opportunity looks on paper.
You can hire experience.
But you can’t force alignment.
Before I say yes to a partnership, I pay close attention to how someone reacts under pressure, how they talk about past failures, and whether they bring solutions or just problems.
If the energy is wrong, it doesn’t matter how good the opportunity looks on paper.
Why this matters more than ever
Startups don’t fail because the idea wasn’t clever enough.
They fail because the people building them couldn’t weather the reality together.
Choosing a business partner isn’t a business decision — it’s a long-term relationship decision. And the cost of getting it wrong is huge.
That’s why I’m selective.
Because the right partner doesn’t just help you build a company — they help you survive it.
They fail because the people building them couldn’t weather the reality together.
Choosing a business partner isn’t a business decision — it’s a long-term relationship decision. And the cost of getting it wrong is huge.
That’s why I’m selective.
Because the right partner doesn’t just help you build a company — they help you survive it.