Ep 1.5 • Three Nationalities, One Mission | Interview with Cohabit

Vaish, Max, and Jed are co-founders of Sweden-based company Cohabit, a circular furniture rental startup born out of a graduate course in sustainability at Malmö University. The team is diverse in every way - culturally, geographically, and functionally. Vaish has nearly a decade of expertise leading teams in the non-profit sector in India, Jed brings experience managing one of the top fast-food chains in the Philippines, and Max is a multi-time founder in the sustainability space in Europe.

In our conversation, we discuss:

• Founding a Company with Classmates
• Leaning on Co-Founders for (Emotional) Support
• Structuring “Pilots” with Co-Founders
• Balancing Sustainability and Profit
• The Importance of Trust and Commitment

Some takeaways:

1. “It’s not 33% ownership, it’s 100% thrice”: Vaish shares, “if we look at it as shared ownership, we have so much more that we can do together. I’ve come to terms that whenever I'm in a conflict, I'm in conflict with the problem that we are trying to resolve, not with my partners.” (See Resource: Situation-Behavior-Impact Communication Framework)

2. Structure a Realistic Pilot: The Cohabit team used their 3-month accelerator as a trial period not only for their company idea, but also for their team structure. By the end of the 3-months, each had the conviction and commitment to continue working on this full-time. (See Resource: Structuring “Pilots” with Co-Founders)

3. Lean on Co-Founders for (Emotional) Support: The team highlights the importance of embracing uncertainty in the startup journey, and the power of leaning on your co-founders for emotional (not just functional) support. They believe co-founders should support each other's emotional well-being and regularly check in on a personal level. (See Resource: Sound Relationship House for Co-Founders)

4. Growing *with* Team: Max highlights his gratitude at his co-founders for pushing him to grow in new and better ways - you want to be working with a team that does not expect perfection from the get-go, and is willing to learn and grow together.

5. Focus on Strengths, Not Titles: In the early days, the team assigned roles based on each member's strengths and experience. They view these roles as continuously evolving with the needs of the company - flexibility and adaptability are key. For example, is known as the “energizer bunny” which comes with great positives

Where to find Cohabit:
Website: cohabit.se
Facebook: facebook.com/cohabit.se
Instagram: instagram.com/cohabit.se
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/cohabit-se/

Where to find Annie Garofalo, host & startup team relationship expert:

Website: https://www.confidante.info
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