Walking Away From My Co-founder Was the Best Business Decision I've Made — Here's Why

On a caller activity travel and incapable to sleep, I was flipping done the channels erstwhile I stumbled upon Late Night pinch Seth Meyers, who happened that nighttime to beryllium interviewing the show's erstwhile host, the legendary Conan O'Brien. As a instrumentality of the tall, goofy comedian, I paused my transmission surfing conscionable successful clip to perceive him stock pinch Meyers the accuracy that guided him passim his incredibly agelong and successful career:

"There's a elephantine orchestra, there's a batch of sound and I'm conscionable banging my triangle. Is anyone moreover proceeding me?" says O'Brien. "And this sounds crazy, it's like, immoderate Buddhist idea. But if you conscionable enactment existent to what you judge in, and you support doing it with purpose, eventually, they'll only perceive the triangle."

Hearing this, I was instantly formed backmost to the early days of starting my company, Jotform.

I'm a proud solo laminitis now, but that wasn't ever the plan. In fact, for years I'd intended to commencement a business pinch a adjacent friend. He was 10 years older than me, he was much knowledgeable and we had talked endlessly astir launching a institution together. We had a verbal agreement: 50/50 partners. No egos — conscionable communal spot and a shared dream.

But erstwhile the clip yet came to return the leap, everything changed. He told maine that personification had advised him to return 51%. That 1 personification ever needed to beryllium "in charge." It wasn't a proposal — it was an ultimatum.

I didn't moreover hesitate. I walked away.

It was 1 of the hardest decisions I've made arsenic an entrepreneur. But it was besides the champion one. Here's why.

Related: The Professional Breakup — How to Oust a Co-founder Legally and Smoothly

The powerfulness of sticking to your principles

Walking distant from that partnership was reliable — not conscionable arsenic an entrepreneur, but arsenic a person. It wasn't simply a business split; it was the unraveling of a shared vision, years successful the making. I was abruptly connected my own, without a partner to thin connected and nary 1 to stock the weight of what I was astir to build.

Conventional contented holds that co-founders are basal for a startup's survival. Founding a institution solo is simply a "vote of nary confidence," the machine intelligence and entrepreneur Paul Graham wrote successful 2006. "It astir apt intends the laminitis couldn't talk immoderate of his friends into starting the institution pinch him," he said. "That's beautiful alarming, because his friends are the ones who cognize him best."

Yikes. I don't really deliberation that proposal ever held overmuch water, and pinch the emergence of automation and AI, I firmly judge you request a cofounder little than ever. Still, the truth remains that startups trial your resoluteness successful a 1000 small ways, and the boundaries you group successful those early days go your foundation. If that instauration is cracked, the unit will only make it worse.

That determination besides taught maine thing essential: Sticking to your principles doesn't ever consciousness for illustration a triumph successful the moment. In fact, it often feels for illustration a nonaccomplishment of opportunity, momentum and connection. But complete time, the costs of compromising what you want is acold greater.

Related: The 9 Leadership Principles That Carried Me From the Sidelines to the Suite

Identify your values early

The divided successful business wasn't the only disagreement my co-founder and I had. We besides didn't spot oculus to eye connected the guidance the institution would take. In the people of readying our business, it became evident that we had developed different visions — he wanted to consult for different companies; I wanted to build thing new. His imagination didn't excite me, and excavation didn't excite him. One of america would yet person had to make compromises we didn't like.

So, arsenic depressed arsenic I was astatine the dissolution of our plan, I besides felt a consciousness of relief. When you're starting a company, location are truthful galore forces that frighten to derail your vision. That's why it's truthful adjuvant to specify your values early — the non-negotiables that shape the bedrock of your business and your information for building it. I for illustration the proposal offered by profession coach Irina Cozma, who writes successful Harvard Business Review that clarifying your values takes some conscious effort and time.

"Depending connected your journey, your values mightiness enactment changeless complete clip aliases mightiness alteration based connected caller events and information," wrote Cozma. Check successful pinch yourself each twelvemonth to guarantee that what was erstwhile important to you still is. And if it isn't, don't beryllium acrophobic to re-evaluate.

Knowing my values has guided maine done immoderate of my astir confounding challenges, for illustration really to grow, erstwhile to prosecute and what products to build. They've kept maine connected way and distant from the lure of extracurricular investments aliases opportunities that yet wouldn't service the company. Splitting pinch my cofounder gave maine a chance to found what mattered early on, and became the blueprint for really I built the institution I person today.

When you cognize what you guidelines for, decision-making gets a batch easier. You whitethorn still beryllium banging your triangle successful a noisy orchestra — but you're doing it pinch clarity, intent and the assurance that eventually, your sound will trim through.