It’s true that any company or organization rests on the hard work and dedication of the founders. They have toiled a lot to make the organization bigger and better with each passing day. Having a cofounder is one of the success factors for any startup; with shared responsibilities and expertise in particular fields, two are always better than one. However, you cannot expect an individual to be consistently good and there are times when one of the founders fails to deliver.
In most of the cases, where one of the cofounders fails to deliver, it goes on with multiple issues like disagreement, hard feelings and so the venture ends up as a failure. If you are at a stage, where differences and disagreements have already spoiled the environment, you might find help with a detailed article on How to Avoid Fights Between Founders.
Talk about the problem
The cofounder may also have some issues including difficulties or personal life issues that hinder his progress. So, when you sit together and talk about it, you will actually find the root cause. In case, if this is some personal issue, you should step forward and provide support in any possible way. In case if it is too much work and he needs a helping hand, you may consider hiring the required resource.
Related Readings:
How to Hire Stellar Employees for Your Startup
5 Tips for Startups to Hire Smartly & Effectively
HireOwl; Making it Easier for Startups to Hire the Best Student Interns
If this is not the case, and the cofounder is not delivering because he is disinterested in the work and doesn’t want to do what he is supposed to do, you may deal it in some other ways.
Let’s see!
Assign him an advisory role
This is the safest option. After a certain time, for founders reputation and designation becomes of paramount importance followed by money. Thus, the organization can assign advisory role to the non delivering founder. With this responsibility on his shoulders, the individual will be answerable not just to the other cofounder, but also to the board of directors and this should also be the concern for his reputation in public. As a result, he must have to deliver!
Make way for a steady exit
Rather than the founding partner, the top bosses of the organization should convince the founder about the ill effects of his continuing disinterest in the work. It’s not that he should be demoted but instead should be given lesser critical tasks and slowly reduce his or her work scope if he maintains the disinterest.
Involve him in non-strategic roles
Rather than involving a non delivering founder in core business, the organization shall assign him various non-strategic roles, i.e. supervision, documentation, research etc. This way he still remains the face of the organization and deals some of the most critical tasks while not being the part of strategic team.
Wrapping it up!
You may take further actions as needed, but most important is to talk. Discuss the issue with the founder who is low on score and tell him how it is affecting the company’s overall performance. Make him realize how important he is for the organization and so how much is expected from him! Healthy discussions can not only resolve the issue, but will also bring more improvements!
Related Readings:
Startup Team is Not Getting Along; How to Get Different People Work Together?
How to Develop a Team of Leaders for Your Startup
