Starting Up Alone

Is it a good idea to start a business alone? My parents have always told me not to have partners in my business as they believe partnerships almost every time lead to conflicts and eventual break ups. Modern business gurus say that a solopreneur company will find it difficult to survive. So which of these should you believe?

BENEFITS OF STARTING ALONE

No Disturbance/Conflict: Since you are the only one running the company, there is no scope of any conflict.

Clear Focus Also a single founder has a fixed focus which translates into the focus of the startup.

Bigger Share for the Founder: This tends to give a stronger sense of responsibility and ownership to some founders.

CONCERNS

Limited Skill Sets: A single entrepreneur will have certain skill sets. The startup will require other skill sets which will need to get fulfilled by hiring a team member.

Expensive to Acquire Skill Sets: Hiring team members will be expensive and a team member may not have the same passion and interest in the startup, as much as a founder will have.

No Backup: If the founder falls sick, there is no backup.

Difficult to Raise: Most investors are not comfortable in investing in single founder startups, especially in it’s early days (due to it’s limitations as mentioned above).

Entrepreneurs should look at what matters to them and should analyse their startup concept and plan before making this decision of whether to go at it alone or with co-founders.