I'm an experienced nontechnical cofounder. Good advice in this thread so far but I wanted to weigh in with a verrrry clichéd pointer: that a lot of friction aro

I'm an experienced nontechnical cofounder. Good advice in this thread so far but I wanted to weigh in with a verrrry clichéd pointer: that a lot of friction around expectation management, program management, resource management, etc. gets a hell of a lot easier if you have rapport and can be candid with each other. Here's how a conversation – that could turn into a huge argument – can go if you're candid with each other. I chose this conversation because it happens all the time and if handled incorrectly can be nuclear. CEO: "Board says we need to launch by the 1st." CTO: "That's an unreasonable timeline given our current resources – but here's the ways we COULD hit that deadline." CEO: "Okay, so either you need a) more time, b) a deeper bench, or c) expectations adjusted with the board." Note how they both provide possible solutions to the conundrum they're in, and neither is about who said what or who fucked up planning or whatever. Solution oriented, we're both in this together, here's how we get out of it. The only way you get to that pragmatic, candid level of conversation is if you both trust each other and know that the mission is bigger than either of you. When you have a small team, those after-work drinks or lunchtime xbox sessions or that #dankmemes Slack channel become super important in building that rapport and subsequent trust.