Business strategy partner

I'm a big fan of new ideas and new ways to do things. About 6 weeks ago, I met Don who's now my *business strategy partner*. We meet every week for an hour (more time and more times if needed). I tell him about my business. He tells me about his business. I tell him what I know. He tells me what he knows. But Don and I have separate businesses. I don't own any part of his business. He doesn't own any part of my businesses. We don't share code (unless it's open source). We are not partners in the general partnership sense or the cofounder sense. We are just sort of part of a two-person mastermind group. We fit. I'm the "doer" who doesn't know much but I learn by running out and screwing up and I push Don to "do". Don's the "knower" who has studied everything so he tells me the best stuff to know. In the end, Don gets me aimed in a better direction. In the end, I get Don moving at a lively pace in the pretty good direction that he's already aimed at. We're sounding boards for each other which is huge since we're both solo founders. I met Don in a paid course. I paid $197 and Don paid for an extra upgrade so he paid $1,197. (That was a great signal.) The course isn't even about business; it's about writing books. We quickly realized that we are doing startups and other similar businesses, too. For me, paid courses are a great people filter. 1. When I met Don, I knew that, at least, he had a few $100s because he bought the course. I don't waste time on wannapreneurs who have $0 to spend on their startup, either due to poverty or being cheap. If you only have $0 to invest in yourself, you're not worth my time. 2. When I met Don, I knew that he was serious about his own business. If people risk their money to pay for a course, they are saying, **"I'm serious enough about this subject that I'm willing to risk my money to do this."** When people show up on free social media, they are saying, "I have nothing better to do with my time." Don is reliable af. We've got the next 4 weeks planned to discuss 2025 for him, then 2025 for me, and I know that he'll be there. Don is solid. He's proved it. So, you don't have to settle for some flake or crook as a cofounder who you met on social media and will screw you and your startup over in 6 months. There's safer, better ways to vet and work with founders.