Starting a company may not be as simple as it sounds. There are many practical hurdles that you will face once you decide to give your idea the shape of a business. One of the biggest hurdles will be to find a cofounder – not just find a co-founder, but find the right co-founder.

Here are some tips to locate your right co-founder:

What to look for:

When looking for a co-founder it is very important that you look for someone who can complement your skill sets and work experience. Diversity matters. It will help in executing the business functions better. For example, if your startup model is in the B2C arena and you are from a software development background, then an ideal co-founder would be the one who has sales and business development experience. While you can take charge of overseeing the coding and website/platform development, your co-founder can concentrate on getting the business.

You should not only concentrate on skill sets, you should also understand if your co-founder shares your business vision and if he is convinced that the idea makes sense. Look for compatibility in vision.

There should also be compatibility in the working styles. Also do not under estimate the importance of a chemistry of camaraderie. Look for the signs which indicate good harmony, because the co-founders have to spend many hours together and have to sail through the rough waters.

Where to look for:

It is best to look for a co-founder in startup meets. You should join some active startup networks like Headstart network and TiE network chapters in your city. There are many people who sound out their business ideas in such networks and are usually looking for a second or third co-founder to join them.

You could also keep network with your past and present colleagues (not necessarily from your department or function). The advantage of this is that it will give you a clear picture of the person’s skills and work experience. You will have a better idea about his performance. You will also have a better picture of his overall personality. This way you should be able to decide whether it makes sense to ask your ex-colleague to join you in your startup or not.