<ul><li>The final stage of the co-founder dating process is actually joining together as partners.</li><li>You make a commitment to building a company together.</li></ul>Are you confident that you can trust them to have your back when nobody else does?If you can answer this question in the positive then you can take a leap of faith and make a go of things together.

The Final Decision

<ul><li>Open up your DMs and prep your calendars.</li><li>The main goal of this phase is to get a feel for each other and to ensure that you're aligned on what I refer to as hard constraints.</li><li>A hard constraint is a factor which is a must-have for you to work together.</li><li>Soft constraints are factors which are nice to have but not deal breakers.</li></ul>

Consideration

<ul><li>You need to trust this person to have your back no matter what.</li><li>Would I be excited to hang out with this person outside of work?</li><li>Does this person have an ego? Is this person genuinely interested in getting to know you? Is there a conflict of interest?</li></ul>

Vibe, Trust, and Culture Fit

<ul><li>Put together and share some initial thoughts & research ahead of time.</li><li>Immediately stand out from any other networking meetings they're having.</li><li>Set the tone upfront that you know what you're talking about, that you care about this space, and that you value their time.</li></ul>

Pro Tips

If you're chasing the startup dragon, one of the most important decisions to make will be choosing the right co-founder(s). Here are some extremely valuable lessons that I wish I would've known years ago: Co-founder dating and finding success by partnering with the right people.

Co-Founder Dating

<ul><li>Soft constraints that are not deal-breakers.</li><li>complementary skillsets.</li><li>good background on paper.</li><li>solid network access to funding.</li><li>geographical location.</li></ul>Don’t deviate too far from these broad strokes.Remember that joining hands as co-founders is an important decision.

Nice To Have In The Deal

The main goal of this phase is to get a feel for how well you work together in practice, what your respective roles might end up being, and whether you like spending time with this person.Scoping out a few time-boxed project ideas will give you a sense of the other person's proactiveness. You can ask yourself:Is this person proactive or are you leading the way?

Collaboration

<ul><li>Increase awareness and attract more potential co-founders.</li><li>Reach out to your existing network.</li><li>LinkedIn, former colleagues, existing advisors, etc.</li><li>Join related communities - the more niche the better - and engage with people.</li><li>Explore accelerator, incubator, and startup programs.</li><li>Consideration.</li></ul>

Awareness

Only want to partner with co-founders who have a strong intrinsic motivation to work on the same problem, space, and target audience. Ask the following questions:<ul><li>How much equity are you both expecting?</li><li>Are you looking to raise VC or bootstrap? </li><li>What's your timeline? What are your expectations on full-time vs part-time? </li><li>Are you open to joining an accelerator / incubator? </li><li>What type of company do you want to build in 5 years?</li><li>Would this person make a great employee or an advisor or co-founder, etc.?</li><li>Does this person have a solid understanding of how the game works?</li></ul>

Alignment: Vision And Expectations

If you’re chasing the startup dragon, one of the most important decisions to make will be choosing the right co-founder(s). Every potential co-founder relationship is different, but after going…