Choosing the wrong co-founder can sink a promising business, so use this three-step process to test skills, values and behavior under pressure before handing someone half your company.

“Just find a co-founder” is some of the worst advice we can give new entrepreneurs.

A great co-founder can dramatically improve your odds of success. They can bring skills you don’t have, challenge your thinking, carry part of the load and help turn an idea into a real company. But the wrong co-founder can be far more dangerous than having no co-founder at all. The problem often starts in college. A few friends sit around talking about an idea. Everyone gets excited. Suddenly they’re business partners.

I saw this firsthand when I invested in a small company started by four friends. They generated millions of dollars in sales, but within two years they filed for bankruptcy. These were smart, entrepreneurial young guys who later succeeded in other businesses. But they hadn’t organized themselves around their individual strengths. Everyone gravitated toward the job they wanted instead of asking: Who should actually be doing what?

That experience reinforced something I’ve learned repeatedly over 30-plus years of starting companies: Never pick a co-founder simply because you like them. Pick them because the two of you are stronger together than either of you is apart.

The first person you need to understand when choosing a business partner isn’t the potential co-founder. It’s you. What are you exceptionally good at? What are you mediocre at?

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