SubscribeMarried to the Business and to Each Other
That used to be the unsaid response by investors requested to put funds into start ups run by husband-wife teams. I wonder if this is still part of the secret handshake rules that private equity guys follow.
There are some good reasons for this – not all of them selfish either. For one, there is a lot of stress in a start up and having both the husband and wife involved only increases that for the couple. Stress, taken to an extreme leads to all kinds of problems. Related, it's better to have one partner in the marriage pulling in a stable income. The only instance of corporate fraud I ever witnessed involved a husband-wife team working together to embezzle funds. That's a good segue to the not so nice realities.
Partners present voting blocks when they are getting along and they can combine governance-granted forces (stock ownership) as well as execution forces (management capabilities) against other stakeholders. When they are not getting along? Tension in the personal life bleeds into the business, the business loses that collaborative culture that is so important in a start up and things generally go to hell. There is no I team – neither is there a he or she.
I Don't – I don't know if this bias still holds true but I hope so. Whether any of the above is taking place in a company run by a married couple is irrelevant to perception - and investors act on perception. As the saying goes, buy the rumor, sell the news.
There are some good reasons for this – not all of them selfish either. For one, there is a lot of stress in a start up and having both the husband and wife involved only increases that for the couple. Stress, taken to an extreme leads to all kinds of problems. Related, it's better to have one partner in the marriage pulling in a stable income. The only instance of corporate fraud I ever witnessed involved a husband-wife team working together to embezzle funds. That's a good segue to the not so nice realities.
Partners present voting blocks when they are getting along and they can combine governance-granted forces (stock ownership) as well as execution forces (management capabilities) against other stakeholders. When they are not getting along? Tension in the personal life bleeds into the business, the business loses that collaborative culture that is so important in a start up and things generally go to hell. There is no I team – neither is there a he or she.
I Don't – I don't know if this bias still holds true but I hope so. Whether any of the above is taking place in a company run by a married couple is irrelevant to perception - and investors act on perception. As the saying goes, buy the rumor, sell the news.