Coach Raphael Djine explains why choosing the wrong business partner is a startup killer. He compares partnerships to marriage and says mismatched partners create conflict that stalls growth. Look for complementary skills, aligned vision, and matching risk appetite, or be ready to cut ties.
Chapters
Number 17. The number 17 is actually the wrong selection of associate in business, what we call business partner and all that. Listen, so many business actually— I mean, 95% of business close within 5 years. Now when you go out of that 95%, you will see Probably about 50% or 60%, that's actually a conflict of partner. It's very, very, very important to select the right partner. Matter of fact, I have a course on how to pick a right partner. Because partnership is like marriage. I talk about teammate, partner in life, person you can marry, probably on a previous video. But in business, it's almost the same. Let's say I want to get in business as a baker, and I want to make bread and sell all over the United States. And then I bring a partner that bring $1 million— I mean, $500,000. I bring $500,000. And now we put our money together. We start. We want to distribute all over the United States and sell bread, I mean, to, I don't know, 50 million people on a weekly basis. We can start probably in Texas, and the partner will be like, you know what? Let's start in Texas. Our business plan said to grow this way. We start, boom, we start have a little hit. And if the partner don't have the same type of training like me, the partner will have to hold back, right? The partner will be like, you know what, let's not go too fast now. Even though when things get tough, that's where you gas all. If your car starts slow down, do you remove the, the feet on the gas? No. You press on so you can get more more power. So another partner, another partner without proper understanding of business, or maybe understanding on that area, maybe like, you know what, let's slow down, let's reduce sales, let's reduce our expense, let's stop, hold on a little bit. And I can be like, oh no, no, no, let's push on. Now it becomes a big conflict within a company. Either I can say, you know what, I'm not going to argue with you. I'll do your way and stop giving myself 100% because that's not what I know. That's not what I would do because I know it's not going to work. He could do the same thing. He can be like, you know what, Rife, just go ahead and put the money. I don't care. I'll just go your way. Now he's never going to give himself 100%. Matter of fact, he'll be waiting just so he can— so I can fail and come back to what he suggests. And it brings conflict. Never, ever, ever pick a wrong partner. Matter of fact, let me give you a few keys to pick a partner. If you are looking for a partner in business, number one, make sure the partner has something you don't have. So when they say, you know what? I understand marketing. Let's do it this way. He's expert in it. You may understand finance, but he understands marketing. You guys can complement each other. Make sure the partner has something you don't have, and you have something the partner doesn't have, so you guys can complement each other. Don't be the same type of people. If you are a great leader, if you are, you know, a groundbreaker, And your partner is a groundbreaker. Even though it sounds like, you know, you guys can do a little bit the same thing, it can bring a lot of conflict. Maybe on the speed, on the skill. That can be a— he can be a groundbreaker, but slow-paced guy. You may be a groundbreaker, a fast-paced guy. Crazy guy like me. I like to move. I like to move. I like to move like yesterday. I like to get things done. It's just like when we started Ally Global in Africa. I mean, I told my team, I said, let's enter Africa in one year. That was actually last year. Let's make sure we have representation in every single, single nation in Africa. One of my partners said, oh, no, no, no, it's too fast. Let's take our time. Let's go one step at a time. I mean, he's not wrong and I'm not wrong, but that's not how I work. I don't have the whole life to get 2 billion people. I have to go fast. And I know I need to take the first run and see, okay, what is not working? It's a new market. Wrong partner become a stumbling block for you. Wrong partner become like adversity. Wrong partner will stay on your way. It's best to be alone than have a wrong partner. And now, there's a difference between investor and partner. You can have an investor that come and put their money in. They say, hey, I need 10% return. I need 5% return. I need this type of return. They have no say-so in your business. You guarantee the finance. They wait for the day of distribution and collect the money. But when it comes to business, you make a decision. You make a decision. I mean, I have a lot of partners. They always, they want to suggest to me what I should do. And I'm looking, I'm just laughing. Like, if I woke up in the morning and just decided, like, okay, let me do this. No. You have to have partners that have the same understanding. With you, or that at least I develop themselves to understand what you are doing. And I thank God for my great great partner, Coach G, which can complement me. I can learn from him; he could learn from me. We could learn from each other. We always agree because we come from we always come from a two different direction. Great, great partner. A right partnership will make you fly in business. Wrong partnership will kill your business and kill you. So make sure you pick a right partner when you do a business. If you have a wrong partner in your business— matter of fact, I think I have a whole course on how to choose a partner. What to look in and all that. Look for that if you're on YouTube, look somewhere here and, you know, just search for that. Put my name in, put How to Choose the Right Partner and learn. And mirror your partner with it. If it's not working, sit down with the partner and you guys agree. And if it's not working, divorce the partner. Yes, get yourself out or get the guy out. Let your business— you're on mission. You don't have time to waste.
