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From Warby Parker to Airbnb, check out these business buddies.
By Rose Leadem • Originally published
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Launching a business isn’t easy, which is why having a co-founder can often make things a little smoother, especially if that co-founder is your best friend. While many professionals warn against choosing a close friend as your business partner, there are plenty of examples that prove it can work. Just take a look at companies such as Airbnb, Warby Parker and even Ben and Jerry’s. These successful businesses started out with a friendship before a brand, and look how they turned out.
Related: 7 Traits You Should Look for in a Co-Founder
If you’re thinking about launching a small business with your BFF, but need some inspiration, check out the success stories of these seven BFF co-founders.
In 2007, Airbnb co-founder Nathan Blecharczyk moved to San Francisco and found a roommate through Craigslist: Joe Gebbia. At the time, Blecharczyk was an engineer for a startup and Gebbia was a designer for a different startup, and they immediately hit it off. “While I lived with Joe I came to appreciate two things about him — he worked just as hard as I did, and his skills complemented mine,” Blecharczyk told Mashable. “I have the technical abilities, and he had the creative design skills.”
After Blecharczyk moved out, Gebbia’s college friend Brian Chesky moved in. All three became close friends and worked in the same industry, and it was in the summer of 2008 when they came up with their billion-dollar business idea. Due to a design conference in San Francisco, there was a shortage of available hotels, so the three built a website that would rent out space in people’s apartments. The result: Airbnb.
Warby Parker founders Neil Blumenthal, Dave Gilboa, Andrew Hunt and Jeffrey Raider became friends during grad school at Wharton in Philadelphia. Bonding over a shared frustration with expensive glasses, the friends realized there was an opportunity in the market for them: high-quality, reasonably priced glasses available online. After coming up with the idea, they met up at their local bar and made a pact that they would all work hard to launch the company but make sure their friendships were never compromised.
Related: I Co-Founded a Startup With My Best Friend: How to Balance Friendship and Business
When the Sprout Social executive team, Justyn Howard, Gil Lara, Aaron Rankin and Peter Soung, met each other, they knew they should start a company together, however, they didn’t know what the company would be. Howard, the company’s co-founder, and CEO, and Lara, co-founder and COO, were family friends long before they became business friends through the birth of Sprout Social. Their wives eventually introduced them to Rankin, the company’s CTO, during a couple’s group date night. Then, Rankin introduced the group to his former colleague and fellow bowling league competitor, Soung — today the company’s director of engineering, growth and mobile. “From those initial introductions and conversations it was pretty obvious we should find a way to work together, and Sprout took shape shortly after,” explains Howard.
Related: 7 Qualities Every Entrepreneur Should Look for in a Co-Founder
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