Couple entrepreneurs should focus on complementary roles, respect and understanding to make their startup a success
When Kaushal Mehta and his wife Parul launched their first startup in the spring of 1998, both brought their complementary skills to the table besides their personal savings.
While Parul took charge of operations, Kaushal focused on business development at their IT firm. The two had worked in technology giants in the US for several years but were back to their native Ahmedabad to be with the family and to give their children an Indian upbringing.
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| Litmus Test: Go in a mock and argue about some issue in front of a group of friends. And see if the next day you can leave that behind and continue with your personal life. Kaushal & Parul Mehta Motif |
Their second startup Motif, a BPO, was launched in 2000. The biggest challenge for the Mehtas at work was to ensure that their employees perceived them as professionals to the core and not as couples running some family establishment. “For our direct reports, we had made it clear that we are very different individuals and our relationship will not affect anything,” says Parul. “If we are in a conference room, it would be hard for anyone to know that we are husband and wife,” she says. On the personal level, it was difficult for both of them to be away from their children for long hours. Also, ensuring that they don’t discuss work at home was not easy. However, eight years down the line, Motif’s revenue has grown to $10 million with 450% excess cash and zero debt. With a headcount of 800, the company also has offices in the Philippines and the US.
More and more couples today are coming together to start their own ventures. This is partly because it is easier to put faith in your spouse rather than a stranger when it comes to finding a co-founder for your business. Also, “couple entrepreneurs induce a lot of confidence among VCs and employees that they are there for the long haul. It is believed that the team (being that of husband and wife) would have almost similar goals for the company,” says K Ganesh, co-founder TutorVista, a global education services company. Ganesh with his wife Meena had earlier co-founded Customer Asset, a BPO that was later sold to erstwhile ICICI OneSource (now Firstsource).
While it looks easy to have found a co-founder for your startup at home, the chemistry is not always that simple. A judicious thought process should go behind such a venture otherwise it doesn’t take long for things to fall apart. “It is a tough balancing act. Either you will come really close, or you end up in a divorce. It is 50:50 chance,” says Anupama Arya, a serial entrepreneur who runs Mobera Systems, an IT firm she co-founded with her husband Puneet Vatsayan.
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| The first year is tough. There will be an acute need to support each other through the thick and thin, providing positive reinforcements through words and actions. Preeti & Rohit Gupta Pragma Communication |
Pros and Cons
Starting a business and nurturing it over the years requires, among other things, a good synergy between its co-founders. This is true when it comes to approaching investors, dealing with customers or hiring employees. Any ambiguity in the message could cost the startup dear. It is believed that couple entrepreneurs would have similar goals and vision for the company, and the message that goes out would be loud and clear. This is a big positive, given that many startups falter because the co-founders fail to see through each other’s vision.
In a business, everyone seems to be together when profits are flowing in; it is only during trying times that the co-founders are put to test. This is where mutual trust, compassion, understanding and commitment among the founding members come into play. This goes a lot in favor of couple entrepreneurs who may weather such storms better. On the flip side, however, running a startup is time-consuming, and it could see the couple spending long hours at work and even discussing business issues at home.
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