Most cofounder breakups trace back to a conversation that never happened. Work through these questions together before you commit — track what you've covered and what you're still avoiding.
You've barely scratched the surface. Block real time to work through these together before committing.
You will disagree on something that matters. What counts is having a way to navigate it without it becoming personal.
Mismatched expectations on pace breed resentment faster than almost anything else.
A lifestyle business and a venture-scale rocket need different cofounders. Find out which you're each building.
You'll make hundreds of fast decisions together. Knowing each other's default avoids deadlock.
The partnership is tested in the trough, not the launch. Talk about the trough before you're in it.
Overlapping ambitions for the same seat (often CEO) is a slow-motion breakup.
Unspoken equity assumptions and the absence of vesting destroy more startups than competitors do.
Aligned motivation is what survives the years when the money and momentum aren't there yet.
Go through each question together, out loud, and mark it as discussed once you have a real answer — not a polite one. The red and green flags tell you what a healthy answer sounds like. Your progress stays in your browser; nothing is sent anywhere.
The questions you instinctively want to skip are usually the ones that matter most.
Talking is necessary but not sufficient. Validate the fit with a structured cofounder compatibility assessment across 8 startup-specific dimensions, agree on a fair equity split, then put the terms in a written cofounder agreement.
This checklist is a starting point for conversation, not professional advice. Significant partnership and equity decisions should be reviewed with a qualified advisor and formalized in a proper agreement.