Quote: (07-29-2016 12:02 AM)wi30 Wrote:
I come from a marketing/management/distribution background and my buddy works in IT and software. Splitting it three ways would be a win/win/win and all bases would be covered.
If this would be your first partnership, I'd only have this perspective to add:
Partnerships sometimes seem like an easy way to boot-strap resources and knowledge, but they are far more of a liability than they are almost always worth.
In my opinion, partners are the single largest risk factor for a new business with an otherwise viable idea, and the more partners the bigger the risk. Even one partner drastically raises the risk of implosion/failure and is undesirable. I'd do everything in my power to avoid a partnership, and would only agree to one after he was vetted for personality, background, and home-life stability.
If you partner with married guys or guys to be married, you have to realize that you are actually also partnering with their wives who will have a lot of power to tear the whole thing down; if not by a direct stake should a divorce happen but also by their influence over their husbands. A marriage is a legal partnership between two people, and you are considering partnering with a person in that other partnership.
Two partners, in my mind, is almost a non-starter. I'd think long and hard about bringing on another person, and avoid it at all costs even if it means putting off the project until you can acquire the resources that he would bring to the table without having to add another partner. If you really think that your idea is solid, which is the only reason you should pursue it, then make sure to eliminate such wildcard risk factors.
And, just so I'm not misinterpreted, I don't think that even a good-on-paper partner is worth the risk. It would be an option of absolute last resort.