Mastermind over cofounding team

A topic I've seen discussed a few times over the past few weeks is:

Should I build a business by myself or try to find cofounders?

I've started companies by myself, and I've also been blessed with great cofounders.

I thought I'd share my opinion here.

Having a cofounder (or several) can be a strong advantage. As an entrepreneur, you inevitably experience periods of stress and incertitude. Periods of low morale.

As a cofounding team, these can be easier to weather.
You have people you can openly share with, and these people also have skin in the game.

On paper, why wouldn't you want that?

The reality is that finding the right cofounder is really, really hard.

You need to find someone who ideally completes you in terms of skills and matches your effort and working style.

Moreover, none of these are fixed forever. Your cofounder's life, and yours, will change and, with it, your motivation and working style.

So, what can we do instead?
Find one or several people who are also starting companies. Create a tight group with whom you share openly and regularly. Make a pact to help each other out.

As for completing the skills you still need, hire, and if you can't hire, learn! In most cases, the skills you are missing are not worth equities and the added complexity.

As the saying goes: if you want to go fast, go solo.
If you want to go far: you'll reassess once you get there; because, at first, what you need is to go fast.