BENGALURU: A common thread between being friends and partners at work is that they are both driven by your culture and philosophy. If these match, then the route to what you are building doesn’t get questioned, as much as the hunger to learn. Ishaan Khosla and I have known each other for over two decades.
A common thread between being friends and partners is that we both come from a similar culture. We have both constantly been hungry to learn and grow, and this common interest has found its way as we became partners at Huddle.As a business partner working towards a common goal, and to be able to draw that line in between is the first step to leveraging the advantages of working with a friend.The three key common principles that are a major advantage to working with a close friend include being educated about our work by continuous learning, being enthralled by new approaches to constantly innovate with our startups and staying energised.
– Sanil Sachar,co-founder, Huddle
The two critical aspects of any relationship, be it personal or professional, are trust and open communication. Starting a business with a friend undoubtedly passes these tests in the first step of the journey. In addition, since you and your friend have known each other for a while you tend to understand each other’s personalities well.Choosing a co-founder to work with is like choosing a life partner. I believe I am blessed to be working with Aqib Mohammed. Raising capital and scaling the business from scratch requires a lot of discipline and focus as you’re constantly out of your comfort zone. Collectively as a unit, you leverage the skill sets you’ve developed in the past and at the same time, you’re overcoming new challenges every day.There are ups and downs in every business’s journey hence it is very important for both personalities to complement each other and communicate openly. Arguments with your co-founder(s) are inevitable. The advantage of working with a friend in this particular case is that there are no ego issues. As a result, the argument is a healthy one keeping in mind that both of us want the same outcome. It helps keep a healthy and open culture within the organisation.I would like to conclude by saying that the pros of working with a friend undoubtedly outweigh the cons as long as the two individuals are on the same wavelength.
– Shashwat Diesh, co-founder, Azah
My co-founders Naveen Bindal and Yadvendra Tyagi started as colleagues in the cards and payment industry and we realised that we had a lot of commonality in our thought process. This led to us gradually becoming friends before we decided to take this plunge.We started discussing the B2B payments space and then this the idea of our start-up struck us. No matter how much research and planning you do, it is far better to be beside people you know would help you sail through.As friends, we knew each other’s strengths and improvement areas and we knew that either of the three of us would fill in for any gap that arises. Just like any relationship, one needs to have trust and faith in the partner, and who better than your friends for the job.
– Hemant Vishnoi, co-founder, EnKash