To write his book, The Challengers, Nigerian author Eghosa Imasuen followed a group of young founders who came together to build a successful company during the 2008 financial crisis.
He notes that, in both his own generation and that of his parents, it was rare to see people starting companies together in the way that millennials and Gen Z founders do now. He wrote the book to explore the factors that contribute to the success of founder partnerships.
He believes founders often focus too much on chemistry and not enough on whether the business itself can survive. “Failure is part of the process. In the book, the first business did not work out. It was only in the third business that they became successful. You try, you fail, and then you try something else,” he says.
Eghosa says that founders also need to understand each other deeply. Shared vision, he explains, does not necessarily mean thinking alike all the time. In fact, differences can strengthen a company if they are handled respectfully.
He says that people who see different things can be an asset when they agree and disagree respectfully, listen to each other, and still move forward together.
“Most businesses already have guidelines for how people should behave around each other. Sometimes someone has to lose an argument gracefully because everyone ultimately wants the business to thrive,” he says.
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That ability to navigate disagreement becomes especially important under pressure. Imasuen notes that many partnerships fail when resentment builds, particularly if one founder feels they are carrying more responsibility than others.
Every person has to bring value, and the biggest mistake founders make is forgetting they are in a partnership with a shared vision.
Structure and governance, he adds, determine whether relationships survive difficult moments. Even close friends or relatives need systems that guide how decisions are made.
“Structured governance protects you. There should be rules to fall back on. Even if you are friends, when it comes to the business, you perform for the business,” he says.
One of the strengths of successful partnerships, according to Eghosa, is the diversity of skills founders bring into one company. Different personalities, leadership styles, and areas of expertise can reduce pressure and improve decision-making. When one person is strong with, say, numbers, and the other with finance management, it is invaluable when everybody understands what they are supposed to do.
He believes diversity in leadership can strengthen a company as long as you avoid unhealthy competition. While ambition can drive growth, jealousy and ego can quickly damage partnerships.
“Healthy competition is okay. It can be about who brings in the biggest customer. But unhealthy competition is not good for the business,” he says.
Communication is also an essential element in maintaining healthy founder dynamics. He compares founder relationships to marriages, saying trust and open communication must be intentional from the beginning.
Lines of communication must always be there, and founding partners must remind themselves that they were friends first.
As companies grow, however, founder relationships inevitably evolve. Some founders become more distant as systems mature and businesses scale.
“In some cases, founders become distant, but they know each other, they have established rules, and they continue enjoying the success they built together,” he says.
He also reflects on how African business environments think about collaboration differently. He believes there is a certain informality in African corporate culture that can sometimes help founders address conflict. For instance, sometimes someone sounds angry or forceful, but they aim to protect the business.
Economic hardship, he adds, has also made collective entrepreneurship necessary on the continent. Difficult conditions force founders to depend more on partnerships and networks.
He hopes the idea of the solo founder continues to change in Africa as more entrepreneurs embrace collaboration and joint governance.
“Even solo founders eventually bring in shareholders and investors. You have to respect corporate governance so capital can move freely within the business,” he says.
Eghosa believes that building a company together comes down to a combination of trust and resilience. Founders must accept that even good ideas can fail and that setbacks are part of the process.
“You need values, a great idea, and the humility to understand that the idea may still be bad. Just start. The problems people face in business are not new under the sun,” he says.