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“Just find a co-founder” is some of the worst advice we can give new entrepreneurs .

A great co-founder can dramatically improve your odds of success . They can bring skills you don’t have, challenge your thinking, carry part of the load and help turn an idea into a real company. But the wrong co-founder can be far more dangerous than having no co-founder at all. The problem often starts in college. A few friends sit around talking about an idea. Everyone gets excited. Suddenly they’re business partners.

I saw this firsthand when I invested in a small company started by four friends. They generated millions of dollars in sales, but within two years they filed for bankruptcy . These were smart, entrepreneurial young guys who later succeeded in other businesses. But they hadn’t organized themselves around their individual strengths.…