William Hewlett had 40% and David Packard had 60%, Packard was clearly the "senior partner" when they started, and yet they built an enduring partnership and a

William Hewlett had 40% and David Packard had 60%, Packard was clearly the "senior partner" when they started, and yet they built an enduring partnership and a company that has acted as a model for many to come after. 50-50 can be a recipe for deadlock in the early stages of a startup. This checklist concentrates too much on financing and not enough on customer and market (I cannot determine if item 5 is about customer demand: it's phrased more as a trend analysis). Raising money is not an accomplishment: it just means you have a high paying job working for one or more VC's for a few years. Finding paying customers you can satisfy at a profit is the key to survival.