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Lea Malkki
Lea Malkki

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What Is a Co-Founder?

The term co-founder gets thrown around all the time in the startup world, but what does it actually mean?

Can someone join after the MVP and still be a co-founder?
What if one person had the idea, and another built the product?
Or what if someone joins later, but takes on full commitment?

Technically, a co-founder is someone who starts a company with one or more people. But in real life? It's a little messier and much more human.

To me, being a co-founder is more than a title. It’s about ownership and responsibility. It’s about showing up when there’s nothing, no product, no revenue, no salary, just belief. Co-founders don’t just join. They carry the vision, build, commit and take a risk. Co-founders are people who say “we’ll figure it out”, and actually do.

Drop your thoughts. Let’s unpack what co-founder really means in today’s startup world.

Written by Lea Malkki, indie founder of Lime Boost

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