This advice probably isn't for everyone, but here it goes:
Every once in a while, you'll meet someone who is your creative equal.
They're just as talented (and passionate) as you but they're good at a lot of the stuff you're bad at.
Imagine that you're really good at running. Normally, people can't keep up with you. But in this case, you look over, and there's someone hustling with you, at the same pace.
When you meet someone like this, and they're the right fit, it might make sense to partner up.
Because with the right person, you get to experience the multiplier effect:
❌ 1 + 1 ≠ 2
✅ 1 + 1 = 10000x better
Lately, it feels like I’ve been seeing a lot of bootstrapped startups where my thought is:
"Damn. If they had the right partner, they would be killing it right now."
There is something about the “Voltron effect:” where two highly talented people can do way more together than either could do solo.
(Off the top of my head: Tailwind UI, Tuple, Basecamp, Fathom Analytics).
I know that even good partnerships can crash and burn.
But, everything I built before teaming up with Jon is a joke compared to what we’ve done with Transistor.
Solo, we were both a "10." Together, we're a "100." Teaming up hasn't given us 2x; it's given us 10x.
With a good partner, you get their whole brain, skills, passion, energy, network. It's hard to replicate that kind of commitment with employees or investors.
(I'm not sure how replicable this is, or even if it's the right advice. Just sharing my experience.)
Cheers,
Justin Jackson
Twitter: @mijustin
PS: the inspiration for this post came from Peter Suhm. He's building a cool tool for WordPress developers called Branch that you should check out.