Olumide Shoyombo, a veteran investor and entrepreneur, has likened the collapse of startup partnerships to failed marriages, citing trust issues, poor communication and mismatched expectations as key causes. Speaking on The Echo Podcast hosted by Olushola Olaleye, Shoyombo stressed that founder dynamics often decide a startup's fate more than funding or innovation. "Co-founding a startup is like getting married," he said, describing the relationship as a long-term commitment requiring shared values and consistent effort. He pointed to his own partnership with Kazeem, with whom he spent nearly a year working informally before launching their business, calling the period critical for testing reliability. Trust, he noted, is fragile—"Imagine I borrowed money from him and didn't pay back"—and once broken, difficult to restore.
Shoyombo highlighted that unclear roles generate tension, urging founders to define responsibilities early based on individual strengths. In his case, his social and technical skills complement Kazeem's deeper technical focus and reserved nature. He warned against letting ego or outside opinions inflame disagreements, insisting performance should outweigh personal validation. On investing, Shoyombo declared a "founder first" approach, saying lack of teachability is a red flag. "Every time I have backed a founder who is not teachable, I have lost money," he said. He also values founders who take personal risks, arguing that those who delay full commitment until after funding lack credibility.
Shoyombo's admission that he's lost money backing unteachable founders cuts deeper than advice—it's a confession that even seasoned investors keep making the same people mistakes. His emphasis on trust and personal risk exposes a flaw in Nigeria's startup culture: too much focus on ideas and funding, too little on the humans building them. When founders treat co-founder agreements like prenups, the romance of tech may last longer.
