Go Alone or Together — Why You Must Choose With Clarity

Author

Benjamin Friedman
September 16, 2025

Morning beehiivcommunity!

This newsletter turns experience into lessons for your startup. As a growth partner for visionary founders, we help sharpen leadership skills and unlock growth potential.

Co-Founders: Determine Your Path Based on Your Needs

"Just one great partnership with the right person can
have an incredible impact on your business success."
— Janine Ogg and Jo Foster

"It is better to be alone
than in bad company."
— George Washington

One successful startup rises for every graveyard of failed partnerships buried beneath it. Choosing the right co-founder may be even more crucial to success than selecting the right idea or market.

Going solo offers freedom, clarity, and complete control. Adding a co-founder brings shared vision, complementary strengths, and accountability. Yet both paths carry risks. According to Noam Wasserman's book, The Founder's Dilemmas, a staggering 65% of high-potential startups fail due to co-founder conflicts.

This post starts with the journeys of Sara Blakely, Bill Gates, Evan Williams, and Larry Page, and then highlights the benefits and challenges of each approach. It provides guidance on finding, working with, or separating from co-founders, with emphasis on trust, balance, and self-awareness.

Photo by Leah Friedman

Fundraising Tradeoffs:
Lessons Investors Don’t Teach You

Fundraising decisions can determine your company's trajectory. While outside capital can accelerate opportunities, it comes with costs (equity dilution, reporting obligations, and investor influence). These tradeoffs are often overlooked or misunderstood.

In this candid discussion, seasoned founders and investors share the real lessons behind successful (and unsuccessful) fundraising strategies. You'll learn how to navigate valuation, ownership, and strategy to determine the right approach for your company.

Join us on October 8 from 6-8 pm for practical steps, organizational shifts, and proven insights. The event includes audience Q&A, networking opportunities, and light food and refreshments. To register, go HERE. 

Build Scale Grow appreciates the support we get for these events from companies like CTI. Read more about them below.

Expert Tips for Startups

Your Biggest Customers Might be Ready for You Right Now

We built the world's first upholstery robot for a small pilot customer. However, when demonstrating at trade shows, large manufacturers immediately ask about our solution for reshoring!

This discovery shaped our strategy. We formed partnerships with a U.S. robot manufacturer and a training academy located in the heart of the furniture industry, positioning ourselves for accelerated growth.

Early feedback on revealed larger opportunities and inspired bolder moves sooner.

David Faes and Oliver Davila Chasan are the founders of Kathedra, reimagining the future of lived design by building robotics for furniture manufacturing.

Founded by former tax auditors and Big 4 tax professionals, CTI helps businesses maximize tax incentives. 

Our expert team of CPAs, attorneys, and engineers have secured over $50B in credits, including R&D, employment, sales and use, and property incentives using advanced technology and deep expertise to drive measurable financial results.

Visit us HERE to learn more.

Need Some Help?

What if the quietest person in the room is the one who changes the world?

Build Scale Grow provides expert strategies and clear metrics for social impact, EdTech, and health tech startups, with a focus on introverted founders. With five successful M&As in ten years, we’ll help your startup reach its full potential and beyond.

Book a free 30-minute call HERE to see how we can help.