Business partners can be joint venture partners, numerous owners of an existing company, or co-founders of a startup. In every situation, a partner can either be a benefit, providing fresh perspectives and abilities to the company, or a liability, complicating every choice and lowering your level of lifestyle pleasure.

Before you sign away your equity, you must conduct the necessary research to come to that conclusion. As a former startup investor, I frequently assisted founders with their due diligence, and I believed that founders should do the same for investors and co-founders.

Their hobbies and abilities are complementary to yours

A company partner or co-founder should complement your abilities with their experience and knowledge while also being helpful in terms of form and style. Furthermore, you must comprehend how the roles will be split to your mutual benefit in order to avoid arguments over every duty and every resolution. Also, your commercial interests are similar, for instance, both of you might be interested in investing in commercial plots in Rudn Enclave. New chances, more opportunities for both!

In my experience, the majority of technology entrepreneurs are neither exceptionally knowledgeable or interested in either finance or marketing. Thus they benefit hugely from finding a partner who has skills and interest in these domains. The same benefits also apply to a joint venture.

It’s a pleasure to be around this individual

If you don’t like this individual right now, your dislike will only grow when you deal with challenging joint business challenges. Watch out for indications of negativity or sadness as these might have an impact on both your professional and personal fulfillment. Make sure you can have fun together at all times.

Happy people are the most optimistic and make the best business partners, in my experience. According to a recent study, successful business people are also those that are happiest. Recognize that success does not precede happiness; rather, the reverse is true.

His or her constituents clearly have confidence 

Here you need to seek the perspective of three or more people, not recommended by your prospective partner, who has worked closely with this partner in the past. Don’t worry about coming across as sneaky, as the candidate should be doing the same thing to you, too. Don’t ignore any big red flags.

In today’s economy, with more and more employees working remotely, assessing trust may seem especially difficult. In fact, many say trust is easier to assess now, with the clear reliance on regular and effective communication, and results from relevant leaders.

Negotiations are conducted maturely, with feelings included

As long as disagreements can be rapidly resolved without emotional outbursts or enduring animosities, having constructive arguments about strategy or any particular topic is excellent for generating new possibilities. Early discussions should be watched for signs of emotional immaturity; at best, expect a tumultuous relationship.

In reality, I as well as many other business advisors now concur that emotional intelligence, as opposed to IQ, or logical intelligence, is more important in business. We all recognize that business associates, team members, and clients are individuals, not machines.

This seems like a solid fit based on your gut feeling

Avoid being caught trying to convince yourself to join this partnership due to factors outside of your control, such as having access to funds or potential future business contacts. Remember that business partnerships are similar to marriages in that they require both logical and gut-level support to endure and prosper over the long run.

One of the main causes of business and startup failures, in my experience, is ineffective communication between business partners, especially co-founders. Real due diligence should be done as soon as possible before it is too late to withdraw.

If you work hard enough, one plus one can be made to equal three or more instead of zero. You won’t have to go back if you start right away. Right business partner can make or break a deal so you have to ensure your business vibes and acumen are on the same page.