Film-style poster for the Caught Between Co-Founders presentation

A guide for startup mentors: Caught Between Co-Founders

What to do when the founders you mentor stop agreeing.

English

What this guide covers

Early signs

Spot the signs early

Teams that do well raise conflict openly, so notice what goes unsaid.

One founder speaks for both
Decisions keep stalling
One founder skips meetings
Complaints about effort
Talk of an unfair split

Which conflict it is

Tell work disagreement from personal conflict

Across 116 studies, personal conflict hurt team results; disagreement about the work did not consistently.

116 studies of 8,880 groups: relationship conflict hurt results, task conflict showed no strong harm de Wit et al., 2012

When one founder calls you

Do not take sides in private

When one founder complains alone, offer to discuss it with both of them.

Can I tell you something about my co-founder? I would rather hear this with both of you. Shall we meet?

A joint meeting

Run one meeting with both founders

Each states the problem, the other repeats it back, then you agree one step.

Each speaks five minutes, no interruptions
The other repeats it until the speaker agrees
One next step written down, with a date

The written agreement

Go back to what they agreed

Check roles, decisions, equity and leaving terms; if none exist, help them write them.

Roles
Who decides what
Equity and vesting
What a leaver keeps

Beyond your role

Refer legal and money questions

Share buy-backs and exits need a lawyer, not a mentor’s opinion.

A lawyer share terms and exits
The program team when the program is affected
A professional stress or health

Doing it on Mentornity

Tell the program team on Mentornity

The support form reaches the program team, and hidden notes keep your record.

Write to the program team

Use the support form when the conflict affects the program.

Keep a record

Only you and the program admins can read a hidden note.

Write to the program team

Use the support form when the conflict affects the program.

Keep a record

Only you and the program admins can read a hidden note.

Meeting notesOrbital Labs · 3 founders

Visible noteEmailed to the participants at once Emailed

Agreed: test annual billing with the next 20 sign-ups.

pricing-test.pdfUp to 10 files

Hidden noteOnly you and the program admins

1Write to the program team

2Keep a record

Meeting notesOrbital Labs · 3 founders

Visible noteEmailed to the participants at once Emailed

Agreed: test annual billing with the next 20 sign-ups.

pricing-test.pdfUp to 10 files

Hidden noteOnly you and the program admins

Mentornity in Claude and ChatGPT

Use Mentornity from Claude or ChatGPT

Ask in your own words; your assistant plans meetings, fills in tools and drafts messages.

Connect it once

Add Mentornity in Claude, ChatGPT or another MCP app, then sign in.

Ask in your own words

Plan meetings, fill in a tool or form, find a mentor, reply.

A preview before every change

The assistant shows what will happen; nothing changes until you say yes.

Disconnect any time

It sees only what you see; Settings shows what it did recently.

Connect it once

Add Mentornity in Claude, ChatGPT or another MCP app, then sign in.

Ask in your own words

Plan meetings, fill in a tool or form, find a mentor, reply.

A preview before every change

The assistant shows what will happen; nothing changes until you say yes.

Disconnect any time

It sees only what you see; Settings shows what it did recently.

Your goals and the Academy

Set goals, learn, earn a badge

Track your goals in My development and learn in Mentornity Academy, in your language.

Set your goals

Write what you want to reach and rate it at each check-in.

Badge courses for mentors

Seven skills with short practice, then a 20-question exam.

Guides for mentors and mentees

Research-based guides, a deck for every tool, and decks for your program.

Add your badge to LinkedIn

Pass the exam and share the badge page, valid for two years.

Set your goals

Write what you want to reach and rate it at each check-in.

Badge courses for mentors

Seven skills with short practice, then a 20-question exam.

Guides for mentors and mentees

Research-based guides, a deck for every tool, and decks for your program.

Add your badge to LinkedIn

Pass the exam and share the badge page, valid for two years.

Sources

The research behind this presentation

de Wit, F. R. C., Greer, L. L. & Jehn, K. A. (2012) The paradox of intragroup conflict: A meta-analysis Journal of Applied Psychology, 97(2), 360-390
Jehn, K. A. & Mannix, E. A. (2001) The dynamic nature of conflict: A longitudinal study of intragroup conflict and group performance Academy of Management Journal, 44(2), 238-251
Hellmann, T. & Wasserman, N. (2017) The First Deal: The Division of Founder Equity in New Ventures Management Science, 63(8), 2647-2666

Stay with both founders

Hear each one, meet together, and point them to a written agreement.

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