Ask HN: What questions did you ask (or wish you asked) your cofounder?

Hi! I finally met someone I really like and think she can really do something important for the mission. She seems to engage with idea just as much as I do and can definitely both embody it and bring specialized knowledge to the execution. I am already working with her to execute something I can't technically do. (Not Code BTW)

Nonetheless—I want to very thorough and make sure we get to know each other much more.

What questions should we be asking each other? What topics should we be broaching? How do we get to deeply know each other in as short of a time as possible?

The best way to learn this is by hearing about what y'all did or wish you did.

I have some ideas. First of all:

* Would you like to be a cofounder or just a service provider?

If yes, then I would ask Jason Lemkin's two questions:

* Are you willing to do this for the next 7–10 years? * And are you willing to go for 24 months until we have any real traction at all?

Then I think Mark Zuckerberg spending MONTHS vetting Sheryl Sandberg. He particularly wanted someone who wasn't afraid of people better than them. Possible question

* Who is better than you? Would you recruit them?

More ideas:

* What is your learning style? * Are you doing it for the likes, the mission, or the money? How do you rank these? * How would you manage a team? What would your weekly meeting structure look like?

Would love to get even more ideas from y'all! Thanks!

It's important to determine whether or not the person is qualified and capable. While questions have their merit I'd recommend a more creative exercise.

If you have the means, take a trip half-way across the world and live in close quarters for 3 weeks together (while you work to get the business off the ground). If you can't stand them by the end of the trip; walk away.

I've been working with my cofounder for 15 years now and together we've accrued more than ~$30M in combined revenue from a handful of projects. Being able to argue, disagree, make a decision, move on and then grab a beer after work like nothing happened is paramount. Your personal relationship with this person will be the first domino in every decision you make.

this site helps answer that one: http://www.backofanapkin.co.nz/start

Tread carefully starting a business with someone you don't know. If you decide to forge ahead, you'll need to get to know the person not just professionally but personally. I've seen several co-founder relationships (including my own) break down due to personal circumstances that could probably have been predicted had there been a stronger personal relationship prior to starting out. Above all else, discuss at length "what-if" scenarios for every conceivable outcome, in particular the ones that you don't think will happen (like one of you deciding to leave). Get a founders agreement and get a lawyer to translate it into legalese. Put vesting in place so you don't run into tax issues clawing back shares if she decides to leave. Don't wait until you're further down the road, do it straight away.

As for determining if she is the right person professionally, I'd make a list of all of the things that...

1. You suck at

2. You hate doing

...that will be necessary to succeed. In a perfect world, she will excel at many/all of these things and love doing them - allowing you to divide the workload and each focus on your strengths. Don't take her word for it - find out, test her, check references, do whatever you have to do to be comfortable that she is the right person.

Isn't a shootout / shotgun clause the de-facto standard of dealing with this ?