创业合作伙伴网(创业找合作伙伴)

“THIRTY-SOMETHING executive with great plans for a startup business would like to meet similar. Must possess relevant experience and have GSOH (graduated from Stanford or Harvard).”

“30多岁的高级管理人员，有好的创业计划，希望能遇同类人。必须有相关经验以及GSOH(斯坦福或哈佛毕业)。”

Romance-seekers place adverts like this on the internet all the time. So why not entrepreneurs? People who want to start a business may be aware they do not have all the skills required to make the operation a success. If that is the case, they need to find a co-founder.

征婚者总是在互联网上发布这种广告。那么，创业者为什么不能这么做呢?想创业的人可能会意识到自己并不具备成功经营所需的技能。如果这样，他们需要找到一个共同创始人。

That is how Kim Atherton and Erinn Collier ended up running Just3Things, a software company, together. The firm offers a platform designed for companies that want to be “agile”, a popular model in recent years. Agile companies organise themselves in small interdisciplinary teams designed to complete a single project, rather than with a more formal hierarchical structure. The software keeps the team members both informed and connected.

这就是Kim Atherton和Erinn Collier最终携手一起运营软件公司Just3Things的原因。这家公司要为那些想要运用近年来流行的“敏捷”经营模式的企业提供一个平台。“敏捷”运营企业以小规模的跨学科团队作为组织架构，用于在完成单个项目，而不是采用更正式的层次架构。该软件使团队成员获得消息并相互联系。

The system was developed by a group at OVO Energy, a British energy-supply firm, where Ms Atherton worked. She had dreamed up the idea when working as chief people officer. There was nothing available on the market, so she hired developers to create it. When she spoke about it at a conference in 2017, a delegate asked if the platform was available for other organisations.

这个系统之前是由英国一家能源供应企业OVO Energy内的一个团队开发的。阿瑟顿在这家公司工作。她在做首席职员官时就有了这个想法。市面上没有现成的，她雇佣了开发人员来研发。她在2017年的一次会议上谈到这个平台，一位代表问这个平台是否适用于其他组织。

That inquiry made Ms Atherton see an opportunity to spin the business out from OVO. But she had trained as an occupational psychologist and had spent seven years working in human relations. She therefore had no idea how to sell a software platform to potential customers. She needed a partner. Her answer was to ask a recruitment business, Stanton House, for help. This led to an exhaustive process, involving interviews with 35 to 40 candidates.

这个问题让阿瑟顿看到了从OVO剥离这个业务的机会。她虽然接受过职业心理学课程培训，有七年的人际关系工作经验，却不知道怎么向潜在客户销售软件平台。她需要一个搭档。对此，她向猎头公司Stanton House寻求帮助，开始了一个漫长消耗战，面试了35至40名候选人。

Ms Collier had previously worked for both Salesforce and Uber on the sales side. She first met Ms Atherton in November 2017. Like many romantic couples, they started their corporate courtship slowly. It took four or five meetings, including a dinner, before Ms Collier joined the company in May this year.

科利尔此前曾在Salesforce和优步从事销售工作，第一次见到阿瑟顿是在2017年11月。与许多恋爱情侣一样，她们之间的工作“恋情”发展得很慢。科利尔在今年5月加入该公司之前，有了四五次会面，包括一次晚餐。

It makes sense that it will take a while to see if two executives can work together. A good relationship is essential given the number of hours that they will spend in each other’s company. When starting a business, executives are likely to spend more time with their colleagues at work than with their families at home.

两名高管能否合作是需要时间验证的，这是有道理的。考虑到她们在各自企业工作的年限，良好的个人关系是必不可少的。开始创业时，高管们在工作中相处的时间可能比在家的时间要长。

Ms Atherton says that she wanted “someone in the trenches with me”, so finding the right person was essential. Ms Collier says the main reason for her change of career was that she wanted to be a co-founder rather than just a sales leader. But it had to be with the right person. “The further you get in your career, the more critical it is that you like the people you work with,” she says.

阿瑟顿称想要“与我一起在战壕里的人”，因此找到合适的人至关重要。科利尔表示，她转行的主要原因是想做一同创业，而不仅仅是做销售主管。可是，这必须和合适的人共事。她说：“在事业上走得越远，与你喜欢共事的人一起就越发重要。”

In such instances of “executive dating”, the most important element is to ensure that the philosophies of the potential partners match. Ms Atherton said that many of the people she interviewed talked about money or contracts, but she was impressed that Ms Collier asked: “Tell me what kind of company you want to build.” The answer, according to Ms Atherton, was to create a business that she could be proud of, and which had good working conditions. That turned out to be the reply Ms Collier was hoping to hear.

这种“高管约会”的案例中，最重要的一点是确保潜在合作伴侣的理念相符。阿瑟顿表示，她面试过的许多人都在谈论金钱或合同，而科利尔让她印象最深的是问了一个问题：“你能告诉我你想建立什么样的公司？”阿瑟顿的回答是创建一家引以为豪、工作条件良好的企业。这就是科利尔想听到的回答。

It may not work out, of course, but nor do plenty of relationships. In this case, the partnership might not last if the outcome is “for poorer” rather than “for richer”. But at least the co-founders have started out on corporate life together with their eyes open.

当然，这种做法可能行不通，很多的人个关系也行不通。在这种情况下，如果最后的结果是“变得更穷”而不是“变得更富”，这种合作关系可能不会持久。可是，至少，两位联合创始人开始努力睁开眼睛开始了企业生活。

David Fleming of Stanton House, the recruiter who brought the women together, says this was an unusual assignment. Normally a business will be founded by a small team who already work together. Ms Atherton was unusual in realising that she needed someone with complementary skills. There were a lot of people actively looking for someone new. But finding someone who had the same values and principles was much more difficult.

Stanton House的戴维?弗莱明(David Fleming)是将这些创业女性召集在一起的招聘人员。他认为这是一项不同寻常的工作。通常一家企业将由一起工作的小团队创建起来的。阿瑟顿敏锐地意识到需要一个技能互补的人。很多人都在积极地寻找新伙伴，但要找到一个价值观和原则相同的人要困难得多。

This kind of executive link-up will probably never become the norm. But if the key to generating more economic growth is the creation of more startup companies, then there is the need for a way to bring entrepreneurs together. Instead of eHarmony, there could be eEquity; instead of Tinder, Turnover. Now there’s an idea. Would anyone like to be a co-founder?

这种高管结合方式或许不是常态，不过，如果创造更多经济增长的关键是更多创业企业的出现，那么就有必要找到一种将创业者聚集在一起的方式。除了eHarmony，还有eEquity，而不是Tinder，Turnover。现在想法有了，有人愿意一起创业吗?

编译：何坤

编辑：翻吧君

来源：经济学人（2018.10.25)

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