> The co-founder dysfunction impacts everyone in and around the company, but mostly the team underneath the founders. It is like being in a family where mom and dad aren’t getting along. There is stress and strain, messed up decision making, and everyone is walking on eggshells.
I’ve been apart of an org suffering from founder relationship dysfunction. It was detrimental to achieving potential and took a toll on everyone emotionally. Frankly, it sucked...
There are disagreements which will happen...which is child’s play compared to this experience. There were attempts to undermine the performance of the team to derail the success of particular founders. One founder would shut down like a child when another founder had control. There is “ not getting along” which is okay, and there is “locked in a death cycle of subversion.”
Another startup I’ve been part of had the quote: “do you know what kind of ship doesn’t float? A partner-ship.” He’s a reasonably successful loner-as-a-founder because he’s been burned so badly in the relationships.