Navigating career:
Building a business with close ones
Building a business with close ones
If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to build a business with a friend or a romantic partner, here you might find some answers. We asked three designers turned business people to spill the beans of their work and life relationships and give a few insights into keeping such cooperations productive.
If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to build a business with a friend or a romantic partner, here you might find some answers. We asked three designers turned business people to spill the beans of their work and life relationships and give a few insights into keeping such cooperations productive.
James Gilchrist and I have been friends since 2010 and business partners since 2014. I know James and I are better together: we have opposite skills and strengths, making us a perfect duo. We love each other deeply and have been through many personal and professional ups and downs. Our partnership gets easier every year because we mature as people and have more understanding and empathy toward each other.
We navigate conflicts by expressing our feelings, discussing situations thoroughly, understanding each other’s opinions and experiences, and moving forward with no resentment. Often, if one of us cares more deeply or has more knowledge about a subject, that person makes the final decision. This method has served us well so far. We both value our friendship more than our business and understand that there’s more to life than work.
James Gilchrist and I have been friends since 2010 and business partners since 2014. I know James and I are better together: we have opposite skills and strengths, making us a perfect duo. We love each other deeply and have been through many personal and professional ups and downs. Our partnership gets easier every year because we mature as people and have more understanding and empathy toward each other.
We navigate conflicts by expressing our feelings, discussing situations thoroughly, understanding each other’s opinions and experiences, and moving forward with no resentment. Often, if one of us cares more deeply or has more knowledge about a subject, that person makes the final decision. This method has served us well so far. We both value our friendship more than our business and understand that there’s more to life than work.
Beth Wilson:
Director of Warriors Studio and Founder of the International Assembly. She built a successful business with her friend and always puts their friendship before business.
Beth Wilson:
Director of Warriors Studio and Founder of the International Assembly. She built a successful business with her friend and always puts their friendship before business.
Armin Vit and I met in Mexico City in 1997. After finishing our studies, we moved to the United States, changed cities several times and settled in New York. There, I left my corporate job for freelance work and started figuring out how we could establish a design firm. Also, we started a family and welcomed our first child. Armin, who was working at Pentagram, took three months of paternity leave, which turned out to be a pivotal moment that accelerated our plans of establishing our own design firm by a few years. We sat at a coffee shop one weekend and drafted our business plan, and using my existing projects as a starting point we figured we had six months to pull it all together. He quit his job the next day and we incorporated the Under Consideration LLC shortly after.
Two years later we realized we were nearing burnout in New York without taking advantage of living there, so we moved to Austin, Texas. That was a significant change that coincided with the economic recession of 2008, as the client work quickly dried up. We put everything on the line in 2010 by launching the Brand New Conference, which became the catalyst for where we are now. The design industry was willing to support us and was interested in the content we were putting out, be it books, blogs, or a big branding conference.
Our synergy with Armin is fantastic. There are no egos at the door: we have the same goal, and we’ll get there by working cohesively with each other, taking advantage of our strengths, and realizing our weaknesses.
Armin Vit and I met in Mexico City in 1997. After finishing our studies, we moved to the United States, changed cities several times and settled in New York. There, I left my corporate job for freelance work and started figuring out how we could establish a design firm. Also, we started a family and welcomed our first child. Armin, who was working at Pentagram, took three months of paternity leave, which turned out to be a pivotal moment that accelerated our plans of establishing our own design firm by a few years. We sat at a coffee shop one weekend and drafted our business plan, and using my existing projects as a starting point we figured we had six months to pull it all together. He quit his job the next day and we incorporated the Under Consideration LLC shortly after.
Two years later we realized we were nearing burnout in New York without taking advantage of living there, so we moved to Austin, Texas. That was a significant change that coincided with the economic recession of 2008, as the client work quickly dried up. We put everything on the line in 2010 by launching the Brand New Conference, which became the catalyst for where we are now. The design industry was willing to support us and was interested in the content we were putting out, be it books, blogs, or a big branding conference.
Our synergy with Armin is fantastic. There are no egos at the door: we have the same goal, and we’ll get there by working cohesively with each other, taking advantage of our strengths, and realizing our weaknesses.
Bryony Gomez-Palacio:
Designer and Co-founder of the UnderConsideration graphic design firm and the Brand New Conference. She joined forces with her husband in their endeavors and kept delivering quality designs and events through hardships, joys, and different cities.
Bryony Gomez-Palacio:
Designer and Co-founder of the UnderConsideration graphic design firm and the Brand New Conference. She joined forces with her husband in their endeavors and kept delivering quality designs and events through hardships, joys, and different cities.
Mehdi Mulani and I have been friends for a long time but had never worked together on the same project. When we started read.cv, he had a full-time job and first joined up as a contractor. It was a smaller commitment for both of us while we tested how well we could work together. Our way into a partnership was similar to how I started the company: making small bets and seeing if they worked out. We soon figured out we worked well together, and Mehdi left his job and joined read.cv as a co-founder.
There are definitely instances where friends end up ruining their relationship by co-founding a company. However, we’ve been super fortunate in the sense that we can work together and still hang out socially or travel together, and it doesn’t feel overwhelming. Our conversations can easily go from reading.cv stuff to just personal stuff, in and out. Also, we can stay pretty honest with each other about what’s working and what’s not. For our particular relationship, co-founding a company was a positive experience, but your mileage may vary.
Andy Chung:
Founder and Designer at read.cv, a ‘show, don't tell’ professional network. He invited his friend into a startup and never regretted his decision.
