How to Split Roles Between Startup Founders: A Guide to Clearly Defining Responsibilities and Avoiding Conflict
Starting a business with one or more partners can be an exciting endeavor, but it also comes with unique challenges. One of the most important early decisions startup founders need to make together is how to divide key responsibilities and roles within the company. Clearly defining each founder’s duties and area of focus is crucial for avoiding duplication of efforts, confusion, and frustration down the road. Approaching this division of labor strategically and thoughtfully will set up your business for success.
Why Role Division Matters
When each founder understands their core responsibilities, they can zero in on excelling in that domain rather than spreading themselves thin trying to cover too many bases. Less overlap in roles means clearer ownership, accountability, and bandwidth to dive deep into each area. For example, one founder can focus on guiding product development while another leads marketing initiatives.
Dividing roles also helps founders avoid stepping on each other’s toes. If the scope of authority is not defined, founders may find themselves frequently second-guessing or overruling each other’s decisions. Explicitly outlined roles empower each founder to make decisions and act autonomously within their realm.
Finally, an intelligent division of roles plays to the inherent strengths and passions of each founder. People are naturally more energized and effective when doing work they enjoy and have an aptitude for.
Factors to Consider When Dividing Roles
When deciding how to carve up responsibilities between startup founders, there are several key factors to take into account:
Founders’ Skills and Interests
The most basic consideration should be each founder’s unique skills, strengths and passions. What work energizes and excites each person? What are they naturally good at? Aligning roles with skills and interests ensures you have the right people in the right spots. Don’t force a founder to do work they find dull or uninspiring.
Company Needs and Priorities
Think carefully about the most pressing needs of your business in these early stages as well as down the road. Map roles to address these needs. For example, you may need to rapidly develop an MVP at first, suggesting a founder focused on product. But growth, marketing and PR may become bigger priorities once the product launches.
Company Stage and Size
Early on, it may make sense for founders to wear multiple hats and be generalists to get a startup off the ground. But as the company grows, responsibilities should be split up further so each founder can specialize and not spread themselves thin. More defined organizational structures and roles also often become necessary as headcount expands.
Complementary Skill Sets
The founders should have complementary rather than overlapping expertise. If founders share the same background and skills, they will infringe on each other’s turf. Diversity of skills, experience and networks means each founder can fill gaps the other does not fill.
Workload Balance
Dividing roles evenly ensures one founder does not take on the lion’s share of duties and burn out. Workloads, time commitment expectations, and compensation should generally be similar between founders. Of course, this balance may need to be tweaked over time as the company evolves.
Common Startup Founder Roles and Responsibilities
While each company’s needs and division of labor will be unique, there are some typical founder roles that are worth considering as models. Here are some examples of key startup functions and responsibilities founders often own:
CEO/General Manager
- Ultimate responsibility for company performance and strategy
- Leads the founding team
- Manages fundraising and financing
- Primary company spokesperson and media contact
- Establishes culture and vision
- Oversees legal, finance, HR
- Board relations and governance
President/COO
- Oversees day-to-day operations and execution
- Implements company strategy set by CEO
- Establishes operational systems, procedures and policies
- Manages key hires and onboarding
- Oversees product development/technology teams
CTO/Lead Engineer
- Owns technology strategy and roadmap
- Leads engineering and product development
- Establishes technical standards and best practices
- Helps conceptualize and design product
- Ensures high quality and performance
CMO
- Develops marketing, advertising and PR strategy
- Oversees brand-building
- Drives customer acquisition efforts
- Manages creative team
- Owns company positioning and messaging
CFO/Head of Finance
- Oversees accounting, budgeting and reporting
- Manages cash flow and financing
- Devises revenue and pricing models
- Establishes financial controls and compliance
- Leads financial planning and analysis
CPO/Head of Product
- Guides product strategy, vision and roadmap
- Gathers customer insights and sets requirements
- Oversees UX design and UI
- Decides features and functionality
- Leads prototyping, testing and iteration
Head of Sales
- Establishes sales processes and methodology
- Recruits and manages sales team
- Sets sales targets and quotas
- Develops collateral and pitches
- Closes enterprise deals and partnerships
Keep in mind that in the early days of a startup, founders will likely cover multiple roles until there is enough funding or traction to hire specialized employees for certain functions. But having one founder focus on each critical area as the “CEO” of that domain avoids duplication and makes priorities clear.
Best Practices for Dividing Founder Roles Smoothly
Once you’ve considered the key factors and possible roles, how do you actually go about deciding who will do what? Follow these best practices for a smooth division of responsibilities:
Discuss as Early as Possible
Have an open conversation about dividing roles during the formation of the founding team, not down the road. Get everything above board early so expectations are clear.
Align on a Vision First
Make sure all founders actually share the same overarching vision and objectives for the company before determining roles. Get on the same page about mission and values.
Analyze Skills and Preferences
Survey founders’ backgrounds, expertise, interests and working styles. List each person’s strengths and weaknesses. Then map strengths to the roles that would maximize them.
Split Core Functions Clearly
At a minimum, explicitly assign the core functions of product, engineering, marketing, sales, and finance/operations. Just cover the basics at first if needed.
Codify in Writing
Document the role divisions and responsibilities in a founders’ agreement. This prevents confusion and provides accountability. You can modify later as needed.
Discuss Compensation Implications
Agree on how pay and equity will be determined based on each founder’s role and contribution. Some roles may warrant more equity or salary.
Check Egos at the Door
Divvying up duties should be about the company’s best interests, not titles or prestige. Avoid letting ego or insecurities distort the process.
Embrace Fluidity
Be open to revisiting and adjusting roles as the company evolves. Needs will change. Remain flexible rather than rigid.
Defining clear, balanced and thoughtful founder roles and responsibilities is crucial to avoiding conflict, maximizing strengths, and setting your startup on solid footing for success. Approach the division of labor strategically but also maintain open communication and flexibility. Aligning on roles with co-founders early on and reevaluating along the way will let you focus on execution with minimal friction.
