Your co-founder relationship is the single most important variable in your startup's success, and one of the most likely things to destroy it.

Today, Yaniv Bernstein sits down with Dr. Matthew Jones, author of ‘The Cofounder Effect’ and founder of Co-Founder Clarity, to dig into the psychology of co-founder relationships: why they break down and what the warning signs look like.

Matt brings a rare combination of clinical depth and startup-world pragmatism to the topic - an essential skillset to help you properly understand common co-founder pitfalls, and how to avoid them.

In this episode, you will:
* Learn what 'negative sentiment override' is, why it's the tipping point in a deteriorating co-founder relationship, and how to catch it before it takes hold.
* Discover how the co-founder relationship is structurally different from a marriage, and why that means you have to deliberately repair and reconnect with your co-founder.
* Hear why power dynamics in founding teams are almost always present, almost always uncomfortable to discuss, and almost always more destructive when left unnamed.
* Find out why being able to navigate conflict is more important than finding the 'right' co-founder pairing.
* Understand the risks of identity fusion with your startup, and why professional distance is a feature rather than a weakness.
* Learn why co-founder agreements need to evolve over time, and what a healthy renegotiation looks like.
* Explore the unique dynamics of three- and four-person founding teams, including the coalition patterns that tend to emerge and why they're so destructive.

Timestamps:
00:00 Coming Up
00:27 On Today's Show: Co-Founder Relationships w/ Dr Matthew Jones
02:25 Founder Breakups, By The Numbers
06:25 How Conflict Can Spiral + Negative Sentiment Override
11:44 Is A Co-Founder Relationship Really Like A Marriage?
17:31 Power Dynamics and Founder Titles
22:47 More Than Two Founders
26:20 Attachment Styles: Pursue vs Withdraw
29:34 Founder Identity
37:41 Matt's Book + The 'Co-Founder Effect'
39:00 Closing Thoughts

Resources mentioned in this episode:
* Dr. Matthew Jones’ website, where you can find details about Co-Founder Clarity (his coaching practice), along with his published book, ‘The Cofounder Effect’: https://www.cofounderclarity.com
* 'Knowing This Data Will Make You A Better Fundraiser', the TSP episode with Carta's Head of Insights, Peter Walker: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LJ85uJhgX8
* ‘The Founder's Dilemmas’ by Noam Wasserman — the source of the widely-cited 65% co-founder failure statistic, discussed and interrogated in this episode: https://www.amazon.com/Founders-Dilemmas-Anticipating-Princeton-Entrepreneurship/dp/0691158304
* The Gottman Institute - the research behind "negative sentiment override" and the Four Horsemen framework discussed in this episode: https://www.gottman.com
* Dr. Matthew Jones on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-matthew-jones-7a832a37/

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Key links
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Learn more about Chris and Yaniv
Work 1:1 with Chris: http://chrissaad.com/advisory/
Follow Chris on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/
Follow Yaniv on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/

Producer: Justin McArthur https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-mcarthur
Intro Voice: Jeremiah Owyang https://web-strategist.com/

#cofounders #psychology #TeamDynamics #Startups #TechStartups #Founder #TechBusiness #TheStartupPodcast