Six Cs to check when going into business with a friend

February 8, 2023

Wedshed co-founders Melany McBride and Amy Parfett (r).

“Don’t go into business with your best friend”, they said.

They were wrong.

As my best friend and I approach eight years since launching our first business Wedshed together (and 31 years since meeting in the schoolyard), we’re big believers that mixing work and playmates has unmatched upside.

However.

It’s no fluke that we’re now work wives for life (I mean it, we can’t see a future when we’re not building something together. Currently, a second startup in the gifting space).

And if we keep the analogy of marriage going (only appropriate, given our industry wheelhouse), it’s a union that requires love, respect and an intuitive understanding of your business partner.

Thinking about heading down this path with a mate?

Here are our five C’s to check for a successful “til death/sale/exit do you ‘part” friends-as-founders partnership.

Chemistry: you’ve got to really gel. You’re friends already but is there something extra special there? You’ve lived or travelled together extensively and stress-tested the relationship? You’ve already worked together on a different project? You see the world the same way and share values? You share a passion for the same problems and opportunities? Whatever it is, there’s gotta be some zing in there.
Complementary: it helps if you have different areas of expertise so that you can focus on different areas of the business. It’ll get you where you want to go faster.
Compatibility: ask yourself this — can you imagine spending your life with this person? Because you will. You’ll spend a large portion of your days together — possibly more time than with your romantic partner. If you think your mate is more “quick fling” material, don’t go there.
Communication: can you have hard, honest conversations? Building a business will be one of the most challenging, stressful, rewarding things you’ve ever done. You need to have a shared vision, roll up your sleeves and do *the thing* and be able to both give and accept feedback on your ideas with as little ego as possible. Can you share your inner-most fears and dreams with this person? And trust they’ll be received with an open mind?
Compassion: you need to be sensitive to the ebbs and flows of life for each other. Things will come up, plans will change, you’ll both need to hold the fort at different times. If you trust each other’s dedication with your whole heart, you’ll be indestructible as a duo. If you question it, it’ll end up being a thread that your mind picks at until the whole thing unravels.
Compartmentalise (and connect): snuck a bonus C in there. Make sure you catch up outside of work and nourish your friendship. Of course, the lines of personal and work life blur but remember to treat this relationship as one of THE most important relationships you’ll ever have. Because it is.

If you focus on these C’s, the reward is unbeatable and it leads to the seventh C: you get to celebrate all the wins — big and small — with one of the people you adore the most in the world.

PS. bloody love you Mel. I count my lucky stars we’re on this journey together.