Interview with Dr Matthew Jones from Cofounder Clarity

As part of my research to find the right co-founder, I'm interviewing experts and those with co-founder experiences—whether good or bad—to learn how I can find, qualify, select and nurture a successful co-founder relationship.

My first recorded interview was with Dr Matthew Jones from Cofounder Clarity, who works as a coach and therapist helping cofounders to improve their relationships with one another.

Watch the 26-minute interview on YouTube.

Topics we touched upon include:

• Why the goal is not to have an absence of conflict, but to navigate conflict more effectively
• What questions to ask a potential co-founder and WHEN to ask them
• How you don't need to be friends with your co-founder, but the capacity for friendship creates a resilience factor
• How attachment theory, conflict resolution styles and Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) can provide a framework for understanding and navigating the relationship dynamic with your cofounder
• What ways you can handle conflict within a co-founder relationship
• How you can better evaluate a potential co-founder relationship by working together in a high-stress situation where you both have skin in the game
• Why it's important to uncover your differences so you can better navigate around them
• How different people have different styles of processing information and how framing the conversation can help

For more information about Dr Matthew Jones and how he helps co-founders face difficult conversations, make better decisions together, communicate more effectively and inspire more creativity and joy in their partnerships, check out Cofounder Clarity at https://cofounderclarity.com/

If you know anyone else who might have valuable advice or experience with me to share, please have them reach out to me here or on Twitter @FastFedora.

And, if you might be interested in being a marketing / biz dev co-founder, check out my co-founder opportunity page.