Why communication matters for founders

Communication is a critical skill for founders.

Your ability to communicate can help or hinder you in every interaction you have. And as a founder, you’re constantly interacting with other people. You must be a good communicator.

No matter your official title, communication is a big part of your role as a co-founder. If you’re doing things right, you’ll probably end up spending multiple hours a day communicating with people.

You need to build your team.

To build your team, you’ll need to communicate with your team members. In the beginning this might be just your co-founder but, if all goes well, sooner or later it will be tens, hundreds, or thousands of people. If you’re a young founder, you’ll end up leading teams of much more experienced people than you. The best founders are able to build a strong and honest relationship with their co-founder, and lead and inspire their employees to follow them.

You need to sell your product.

To sell your product, you’ll need to communicate with customers. Even the best products don’t sell themselves. You could be selling through in person meetings with big companies, or simply through your website or ads you run to individual people. Either way, the best founders are able to speak their customers’ language and make customers want their products.

You need to convince investors.

If you want to raise investment, and you probably do if you want to grow fast, you’ll need to communicate with investors. It’s usually not enough to just build a product and sell it. If you want to convince investors, you’ll need to be convincing. The best founders are able to excite investors about their company – the one they haven’t even built yet.

Whether you are the CEO, the CTO, or something else, communication is what enables founders to do the most important aspects of their roles. That’s why the best founders are often legendary communicators. Think of the founder you most admire – they probably are too. Communication is a critical skill.

If you want to learn how to communicate as a founder, read more here.

More resources

How many co-founders should you have?

If you want to start a startup, we recommend finding a co-founder. But then, how many co-founders do you need?

How to communicate as a founder.

Communication is a critical skill for founders. The best founders are often legendary communicators. Luckily, communication is a skill you can learn.

Should you find a co-founder?

Perhaps the first question you have when starting a startup is, should you find a co-founder? After helping thousands of founders start companies, our recommendation is a clear yes.

Should you give your co-founder feedback?

A co-founder relationship is unlike any other relationship you’ll have. Your co-founder is not your friend, your colleague, or your lover. At Entrepreneur First, we have helped thousands of people start companies with complete strangers.

How should you split your company with your co-founder?

When you’re planning to start a company with someone, it’s important you establish the ownership split from the beginning. Dividing the company between co-founders can be a contentious issue.

The Co-Founder Agreement Checklist

You’ve done enough testing to think you want to work with your co-founder long-term. Now what? While specific legal elements of establishing your company will vary from country to country, some core issues remain universally important.

Why do you need founder equity vesting?

We recommend an equal equity split for co-founders. Many of the problems founders worry about with equal equity split are resolved by having a good vesting schedule.

How do you give your co-founder feedback?

Giving feedback is one of the most important things you can do for your co-founder and for your team. But giving bad feedback can damage relationships, even with the best intentions. So, as a founder, it’s your job to get good at giving feedback, fast.