# Finding Co-Founders

Honestly there are so many ways, and it is a matter of preference with an abundance of luck as it always is with most things in life.

Here are some common ways, and some pros and cons:

## Someone you know

The idea of starting with a friend sounds ideal, and most likely you are not looking for a co-founder if you've got a friend who you share the passion for entrepreneurship to launch a startup with. The trust is already built supposedly at least based on your friendship. You have to worry less about clashes than before. Also if in a startup you are expecting yourself to work many hours on the project, who's better to do it with than a friend. However, managing personal and professional boundaries and being effective as a team is not always easy. You don't want to build a frat startup with no professional grounds, but you also don't want to lose your friendship. Here are some great tips:

[Co-founding with friends](https://www.fastcompany.com/90544122/i-cofounded-two-startups-with-my-best-friend-here-are-5-ways-we-made-it-work)

[Staying friends & co-founding](https://www.ycombinator.com/library/4Z-how-to-stay-best-friends-with-your-co-founders)

[Thread about friends/co-founding](https://www.reddit.com/r/startups/comments/38sxw2/please_give_me_advice_for_founding_a_startup_with/?ref_source=embed&ref=share)

The most common advice that comes up is a Founder's Agreement, which can be intimidating if you are starting a company with a friend. People compare it to a pre-nuptial agreement which seems a bit off base to me, because in this case the agreement is not over a relationship or the assets of the relationship, there needs to be a clear separation between the building of a company and the human relationship. Here is an article explaining why a Founder's Agreement is always the way to go:

## Founder's Agreement

[Founder Agreement advice by HBS](https://www.hbsaccelerate.org/people/founding-team/reasons-to-write-a-formal-founders-agreement/)

[Zipcar story - Lack of agreement](https://www.theverge.com/2014/4/1/5553910/driven-how-zipcars-founders-built-and-lost-a-car-sharing-empire)

## Founding Startup in Relationship

Wanted to do it with your romantic partner or husband/wife ? It sounds terrible at first and there has traditionally been a lot of stigma around the topic, but read this article by TechCrunch for some optimism:

[Married co-founders](https://techcrunch.com/2020/02/14/married-co-founders-are-a-startups-secret-weapon/)