Finding a partner or making a hire takes time

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Tips for entrepreneurship with friends

Ileana and her best friend used to practice flamenco. It was that taste for dance that led her friend to start a cultural events production company, a project to which Ileana was invited, first as a consultant and then as a partner.

I thought "It doesn't sound bad, I can undertake and what I would contribute is my knowledge and time." In other words, I didn't ask for a salary. Red Flag No.1

When she accepted, her best friend had already included in the partnership two other people with whom she had discussed some plans and ideas that were not consulted with her. Red Flag No.2

Although they managed to bring their first flamenco dancer from Spain to México , getting a theater and a space in the busy cultural schedule was a huge challenge, and they ended up spending almost all the proceeds on theater rent. Red Flag No.3

They did not lose heart and continued with the operations. Over time, Ileana realized that there was not very good communication among the team, nor clarity about responsibilities, inputs and next steps. The atmosphere among the partners worsened when her friend became a partner of one of the partners. Red Flag No.4

After a series of red flags and 3 years of receiving an uncompetitive salary, misunderstandings and little recognition, Ileana finally decided to leave the operation to remain only as a partner. That friendship with her dance partner had deteriorated and she was never the same again.

Although there are bad experiences in the art of entrepreneurship with friends, there are also some outstanding examples.

We've repeated this story hundreds of times ad nauseam, but it's worth doing it again: Fuckup Nights originated in a bar in the City of México, while 5 friends sipped mezcals and reflected on the abundance of success stories and the need to share failure in the professional world.

Although Fuckup Nights went from being an underground event at México, to a global movement in more than 300 cities around the world, the founding friends of the movement have encountered obstacles that they have been able to somehow overcome as a society. And that's why we asked them for some tips to keep the friends + business formula from becoming a dreadful fuckup. friends + business formula from becoming a dreadful fuckup.

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Clarity and difficult conversations

Looking for a partner or making a hire takes time and, sometimes, you never really get to know a person. Having a friend as a partner can save you some surprises, it is a person you already know in the different aspects of their life, you know how they behave in the workplace, in times of crisis, their talents and you even know the passion they share on the same topic or type of business.

Despite the affinity or common passions you may have with a friend, in the day-to-day running of a project, many of the short- and long-term problems are expectations, both financial and managerial. When these expectations are not clearly expressed in a team, it is likely that efforts, decisions and priorities are divided and focused in different directions.

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My recommendation is not to start a business with a friend except when you and your friend(s) are the ideal people to create it. Founding a company requires different skills and principles than a friendship relationship.

If you are going to start or have already started a partnership with a friend, I recommend being as clear as possible about the vision of the company in terms of impact, size and culture, the responsibilities of each person and the repercussions based on positive or negative results. Also make it clear who is the ultimate decision maker. 50/50 or consensus relationships damage company results and friendships..

-Pepe Villatoro, Co-founder of Fuckup Nights

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Talking about clarity of roles, trade-offs and putting everything in writing is fundamental to making a partnership work, not just between partners who are friends, but between partners in general.

Blake Mycoskie, entrepreneur and author, stresses the importance of defining boundaries and having the difficult conversations. He advises making everything clear at the beginning and being direct when talking about sensitive and uncomfortable topics. If today there is a disagreement that is not talked about, in a few years it can become a problem.

Do you think it's fair, how do you feel about it, is there anything you want to say? For Blake, it's important to address these difficult conversations before making it official and putting it in writing with the lawyers. Don't leave anything that can be misconstrued.

Communication and difficult conversations should be a habit in any society.

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It's not you, it's the business

As in the case of Ileana and the dance event production company she founded with her friend, entrepreneurship with friends opens the debate on scenarios where you have to choose between business or friendship.

And this is where clarity of roles, compensation, etc., must be mixed with another very important point: not to take anything personally.

Don't take anything personally, this is not about you, it's about the business. Always look out for the best interests of the organization. A partnership is like a marriage where the company is your child. In a divorce proceeding there are laws that look out for the best interest of the child and I think also co-founders, especially when they are friends, have to put ego aside and look for the best interest of the organization.

We have had to make decisions that are not always the best for some of us personally, but they are the best for Fuckup Nights. I think that common purpose is what has helped us stay together over the years.

-Leti Gasca, Co-Founder of Fuckup Nights

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Having a clear vision of the how and why of a company, it will be easier for the partners to make more congruent decisions, even if they are complex decisions that conflict with some personal aspects. Like the decision to cut the founders' income during the events industry crisis to keep the payroll that helped to maintain afloat the movement in the midst of those uncertain times.

A professional project requires being the most professional and responsible version of ourselves, sometimes putting aside the informalities of any personal relationships, and being willing to be flexible. have difficult conversations.

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Flexibility

One of the advantages of a partnership with friends is the level of flexibility that can occur, resulting in an ease of having difficult conversations. Flexibility makes it easier to be willing to discuss complex issues and to consider the needs of everyone on the team with empathy.

Apart from compatibility of principles, in any partnership the key is flexibility, being open to your partners' life changes and understanding that people and their lives evolve, you are not the same 5 or 10 years later, probably in essence you are, but surely your life and the lives of the people you work with are not the same.You are probably essentially the same, but surely your life and the lives of the people you work with have changed, so the decisions we make are based on other factors.

To the extent that we adapt to these changes and face them in an empathetic and proactive manner, we will be able to have better societies and friends included in them.

-Carlos Zimbrón, CEO and Co-Founder of Fuckup Nights

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Samuel Villegas, entrepreneur and CEO, perceives as one of the cons of having a partnership with friends the changes between partners due to personal issues. To counteract this, it is important to have exit strategies, B plans and to have any scenario covered.

When we try to solve the dilemma of love + business = failure, we conclude that there is no universal answer to predict success or failure, there are many variables that come into play that define the course of a business. What is clear to us is that friendship can bring a more fun environment and generate a stronger sense of resilience. At the end of the day, you're probably going to fail, so why not do it with the best company?

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‍Ihave alwaysworked with friends, it would be counterintuitive to work with people with whom I could not be or develop a friendship....

It's not that I don't understand the risk in engaging in any project that involves payment, but that risk applies equally to friends and strangers. that risk applies equally to friends and strangers.

Personally, I prefer to start businesses with friends, it is fun and they are usually the result of common desires. The challenge is the development of the project, on that path have clear objectives and be honest, that will help in making decisions. And never, never lose respect for your partner/friend..

-Luis Lopez De Nava, Co-Founder of Fuckup Nights

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