1. You don’t want a partner who is all talk, but has no proven track record.

There are three types of people in the world: those who are good at talking and doing, those who are terrible at talking but are great at doing, and those who are great at talking but are terrible in doing things.
They will make you believe that everything is going to be alright, that everything is under control, and if you are unlucky enough to fall for their sweet talk, you will soon find yourself wondering who was the real fool.

2. You don’t want a partner who is inconsistent.

Startups are always on the line. No time or resources can afford to be wasted. If your partner decides on doing one thing today, and another the next day, you should be worried. It’s okay if you have enough resources to "waste", sometimes it is inevitable, particularly if you are aiming for innovation. But while you’re still in the process of figuring things out, you need to be laser focused.
That’s also probably the reason why you are looking for a partner, so that two people can focus on two important and bigger things.

3. You don’t want a partner who is bad At dealing with people.

It’s a big world out there and there are plenty of people who have no idea what is culturally acceptable and what is not when dealing with other people. For example, a friend of mine told me how their company’s new partner shouted at him while they were at a public place. Being a tall foreigner, he definitely stood out and people were looking at him funny.

4. You don’t want a partner whom your employees hate.

Ok, maybe lacking a bit in social skills is still okay, but you have to pull the brakes when it results in people hating your partner. That’s a big no-no. You are building a team of superstars, not a film with a good cop and a bad cop.

5. You don’t want a partner who has a lot of side projects.

It is understandable that skilled entrepreneurs will have at least a couple of projects going on at the same time, but if your prospect partner is not willing to sacrifice or loosen their leash on some of their projects to give more time to yours, take that as a sign that they are just treating you as another side objective.

6. You don’t want a partner who has a bigger ego than you.

Every partnership starts with a tamed attitude. Both sides will be measuring up the other’s ego, trying not to force an idea too much, trying to be careful. And that is natural. It’s part of the process of becoming a team. But the problem lies when a big decision needs to be made, and both of you are on the opposing sides of the decision.

7. You don’t want a partner who wants a 50-50 partnership.

There are different kinds of partnerships. There’s the "money partner" who finances everything while the "working partner" acts on everything, but the control and assets in the company is divided. Then there’s the "equal" partnership where both sides pitch in their money and time and work. It doesn’t matter what kind of partnership you form, the 50-50 kind is a bad idea. It’s a business killer.

8. You don’t want a partner who agrees With everything you say.

Of all the things listed in this article, this is the most dangerous. While it is really nice to work with someone who you can agree with, the danger here is you might start believing that you can do no wrong. Everything you do is deemed correct – since no one is contesting your ideas and actions. This is called confirmation bias.

Kkkk

6. You don’t want a partner who has a bigger ego than you.

Every partnership starts with a tamed attitude. Both sides will be measuring up the other’s ego, trying not to force an idea too much, trying to be careful. And that is natural. It’s part of the process of becoming a team. But the problem lies when a big decision needs to be made, and both of you are on the opposing sides of the decision.

7. You don’t want a partner who wants a 50-50 partnership.

There are different kinds of partnerships. There’s the "money partner" who finances everything while the "working partner" acts on everything, but the control and assets in the company is divided. Then there’s the "equal" partnership where both sides pitch in their money and time and work. It doesn’t matter what kind of partnership you form, the 50-50 kind is a bad idea. It’s a business killer.

8. You don’t want a partner who agrees With everything you say.

Of all the things listed in this article, this is the most dangerous. While it is really nice to work with someone who you can agree with, the danger here is you might start believing that you can do no wrong. Everything you do is deemed correct – since no one is contesting your ideas and actions. This is called confirmation bias.[/quote]