Founder Friday is a weekly guest post written by a founder who is based in or hails from the Silicon Prairie. Each month, a topic relevant to startups is presented and founders share lessons learned or best practices utilized on that topic. March’s topic is working with friends and family.
About the author: Stephanie Jarrett is the co-founder of Bulu Box.
Paul and Stephanie Jarrett were married July 7, 2007. Little did they know they’d co-found a company five years later.
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My husband Paul and I have put our marriage to the test more than a few times. We’ve worked at ad agencies together, we’ve been poor together and we’ve moved cross-country more than once. Each time after moving furniture into a new apartment, in a new city, I’ve looked at Paul as we sit amongst our packed garbage bags and say, “We did it! And we hardly even argued.” And Paul’s common response is “If that’s the hardest challenge we face, our lives will be cake.” I used to think that moving, creating a home or financial strife were some of the toughest tests for a marriage. Then we started our own company.
Our company (Bulu Box) is by far the most difficult and most rewarding endeavor I’ve ever taken on, and it’s put our relationship to the test. Overall, it’s shocking how well Paul and I have gotten along throughout our first 10 months as co-founders, but it wasn’t easy. Over the past six years we’ve worked together frequently in some form or another. So I like to think we’ve got a pretty firm grip on what it takes. That, and, well, we’re still married.
Thinking of working together with a spouse, good friend or family member? Here are five questions I suggest you ask yourself before taking the plunge.
1. Are they the best person for the job?
Remove your relationship from the decision-making process. Forget that they’re your favorite person to take long walks on the beach with. Would you hire them? Yes or no? If you hesitate, it’s probably a “no” and things could get ruff. Your potential business relationship is completely different from your social relationship. Choosing a co-founder who isn’t actually qualified for the job sets yourself up for disappointment and your co-founder for failure.

2. Can your relationship handle the everyday challenge of startup life?
We received some great advice from a good friend and mentor – he recommended that we write down our limitations on the amount of strife we’d let our business put on our marriage before we do something about it, even if that means calling it quits. Nobody wants to think about calling it quits, but if your relationship is more valuable than your business (I hope it is!) then this is critical. Have this conversation before you take the plunge.
3. Are you both capable of separating work life from home life?
As if starting a business together wasn’t challenging enough, Paul and I decided to turn our office into a live/work space. But regardless of what type of office situation you have, you’ll find it incredibly difficult not to let any outside arguments influence how you work together in the office, or vice versa. This is the one Paul and I struggle with the most. Even when we think we’re being pretty good about keeping our personal arguments out of the office our most intuitive employees like Kate know when “Mom and Dad are fighting.”
4. Can you fully communicate ideas, emotions, anything quickly and effectively?
Working with Paul, I’ve quickly figured out that one of the reasons we work well together is because we can literally point at a few things on a computer screen and make a few faces to communicate fairly complex ideas. The more/better/faster you can communicate, the easier life will be.
5. Are your friends and family supportive of your company?
Admit it or not, family members are the most influential people in your life. If they don’t support your decision to start a business together their negativity will wear on you or your co-founder over time. If your family has concerns about the two of you working together, ask yourself “why?” Perhaps you should examine your relationship from their perspective. If you still feel it’s right, then find a way to get your family’s support.
My parents (Tim Turman and Dianne Turman) were supportive of Bulu Box from the start. They even helped us pack our first boxes!
When Paul announced that he wanted to start a vitamin and supplement company there wasn’t really any question that I’d be starting the company with him. After all, he’s the smartest, kindest and hardest working person I know (plus he has killer instincts). We see eye-to-eye on nearly everything, we respect each other and we have skillsets that compliment each other. This isn’t a coincidence, it’s taken years of hard work and being co-founders just adds an extra layer of complexity. However, if we didn’t have a solid “yes” to every question listed above, we wouldn’t be working together.
Credits: Photos courtesy of Bulu Box and the Jarrett family.
About the Author: Stephanie Jarrett is the co-founder and chief marketing officer of Bulu Box, which provides vitamins, supplements and weight loss products to customers through a unique subscription service, which allows them to try, review and determine which brand name products work best for them before buying.
Stephanie built her portfolio as an art director and interactive designer for big brands like LeapFrog, TD Ameritrade and Complete Nutrition. Her varied marketing background, management ability, killer creativity, and online/offline skillset propelled her into the startup world.
Find Jarrett on Twitter, @s_jarrett.
Founder Friday is brought to you by the Iowa Economic Development Authority
Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) is dedicated to supporting innovation by connecting entrepreneurs with resources and development opportunities in Iowa. It salutes the founders of today and tomorrow; encouraging ideas that will invigorate a new economy. Please visit iowaeconomicdevelopment.com for more information on how IEDA can help your business ideas come to life.
