When you are building a business, it is important to be careful with who you partner with. One entrepreneur learned the hard way that choosing the wrong partner can cost her everything.
The unequal business partnership is a story of how one entrepreneur’s business was lost due to choosing the wrong partner.
Adi Bittan, a co-founder of a failed company owing to a poor relationship.
Adi Bittan, like any young entrepreneur, prepared for success. The team intended to take Wall Street by storm with her financial acumen and the scientific brains of her three other partners.
They were working on something akin to a high-tech calculator. Their solution would allow a financial company to quickly crunch data, allowing investors to execute trades quicker and differentiate themselves from rivals.
“We spent months creating the technology at a venture firm,” she said. “We were ecstatic about the product and believed we had a genuine winner, but I began to see some warning lights as time went on.”
Bittan claims that her three Ph.D. partners began to question her recommendations.
She said, “Bit by little, I felt unappreciated.” “They treated me as if the commercial part of the transaction could be handled by anybody, as if I could be replaced. They even argued that since I didn’t bring the same level of expertise to the table, I should be given less ownership in the company.”
Bittan persisted, but the squad as a whole suffered a setback. When the financial crisis hit in 2008, they were just ready to debut their product.
“It was definitely poor timing,” she said, “but we could have stuck it out.” “At the end of the day, our relationship had degraded to the point that we had all walked away.”
Bittan isn’t the only one who feels this way. According to studies, 65 percent of companies fail as a result of management issues.
Five years later, Bittan is the co-founder of OwnerListens, a two-year-old company that uses an easy-to-use feedback app to help companies take control of their internet image.
While Bittan’s current company is succeeding, she claims that her prior business failure provided her with the information she needed to succeed.
Nonetheless, Bittan believes that any entrepreneur may benefit from her errors and provides the following advice to future entrepreneurs:
You must adore your spouse.
Before starting a company together, Bittan recommends spending at least three to six months with a prospective partner.
She compares your professional connection to a marriage. “After a few dates, you wouldn’t get married.” You should not get into a commercial connection with someone after just a few meetings.”
She advises taking the time to get to know the individual and ensuring that your company goals and beliefs are compatible.
People you work with should be well vetted.
Bittan recommends conducting some research even after getting to know your soon-to-be spouse for a few months.
“You should inform your partner you’d want to speak with a couple of his or her coworkers to make sure your relationship is a good fit,” Bittan advises. “Call around to other individuals who worked with your spouse and have a conversation with them. Inquire about his or her work ethic and how he or she dealt with conflict.”
There is no business if there is no trust.
Bittan claims that her partners lost faith in her at some point along the road, and that this poisoned every business discussion they had.
“If you and your partner don’t trust one other, your company won’t work,” she adds. “It doesn’t matter how great your product or business is; without trust, it will collapse. Period.”
Know when to let your hair down.
Bittan’s working atmosphere has become poisonous. Even before the economic crash, she sensed the business connection was fraying.
She adds, “You have to know when to walk away.” “It isn’t simple. This is a tough choice since you wouldn’t spend time and money on something you didn’t believe in. It was tough to quit, even though I felt like an outsider inside my own company, but it was for the best.”
Bittan can now look back on this event and see it for what it was: a good lesson. However, she claims that if you make an effort to locate the proper individual to work with, you may avoid making such an expensive mistake.
One entrepreneur’s story is a cautionary tale of how choosing the wrong partner can cost you your business. Reference: partner sabotaging business.
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