I see this come up a lot with Co-Founders. Because of course money is important, but we often don’t understand just how important it is until it’s tested.

The role money plays evolves as the business progresses. In the early days, when the thrill of the adventure is your main source of fuel, you have to value other wins because the money isn’t coming in. But as it builds, the team expands, and pressure mounts; the role money plays can become more consuming.

Have you and your Co-Founder ever agreed success metrics beyond finances? As you’re experiencing, money fluctuates and it’s not something you can always control. So creating a standardised, more holistic success framework holds us accountable to seeing the bigger picture, but it often slips down the priority list.

Are you clear on how else you want to measure success and how you track that? Perhaps also go back to your core ‘why’ of staring this business, and consider how that could be measured?

You could include things like clients satisfaction and retention, marketing performance, PR, team progression; the list goes on. Make sure you have ideas to share with your Co-Founder.

Have you had a conversation about your individual money mindsets? This is a chunky topic! But have you asked your partner why the money is important to them? What does that money mean to them? What previous financial experiences could be impacting their perspective? Think about your answer to these questions too.

In regards to your team, hopefully discussing the above with your Co-Founder will evolve and expand your framework of success metrics, but it’s important to see your responsibility here too.

Just because your partner doesn’t currently prioritise other forms of success, that doesn’t mean you can’t champion them. What have you done to highlight the other wins? Have you openly celebrated them?

The best thing about being a Co-Founder is also the main challenge; that there’s more than one opinion. You can’t control your partner’s thoughts or emotions, but you can control how you respond. See this as a chance to level-up your partnership by strengthening your communication, reassessing what’s important, and evolving how you perceive performance.