Red Flags When Choosing Business Cofounders - A Tech Founder's perspective

After 15 years building startups as a technical founder, here are the critical red flags I've encountered that every technical founder should watch for: 🚩 1. **Disconnected from Their Target Market** - They're trying to solve problems for people they don't know or understand - No existing network or connections in their target industry - Can't demonstrate deep understanding of customer pain points 🚩 2. **Treating You as "Just the Tech Guy"** - Not valuing your strategic input beyond coding - Dismissing your vision and ideas for the business - Poor collaboration and one-sided decision making 🚩 3. **Equity Red Flags** - Offering low equity while expecting you to build the core product - Unwilling to discuss fair equity splits - Only fair if they already have paying customers or significant traction 🚩 4. **Waiting for the Perfect Product** - Not doing any marketing or sales until the product is "ready" - Using product development as an excuse to delay customer engagement - Lack of parallel progress in business development 🚩 5. **Financial Behavior Issues** - Unclear about sharing costs and revenues - Delayed payments or reimbursements - Lack of transparency around money matters 🚩 6. **Blaming Product for Lack of Growth** - Always saying "we can't grow because the product needs X feature" - Not talking to customers or gathering feedback - Refusing to iterate based on real market needs 🚩 7. **Self-Centered Leadership** - Never asking about your perspective or wellbeing - Only focused on their own vision and needs - Poor team communication and collaboration The Bottom Line: A strong founding team needs mutual respect, shared vision, and complementary actions. Your co-founders should be actively building the business while you're building the product. What red flags have you encountered? Share your stories - our experiences can help others avoid similar situations.