How to Improve Your Co-Founder Relationships, With Dr. Matthew Jones

Points of Interest

• 00:00 – Introduction: Marcel introduces Dr. Matthew Jones and frames the co-founder relationship as a critical driver of business health and day-to-day well-being.
• 01:14 – Origin Story: Matt explains how mediating friends’ founder conflict revealed a gap between business coaching and psychological expertise for co-founders.
• 02:20 – Why It’s Hard: The relationship requires a dual lens—operational structure and psychological dynamics—or teams get shortchanged.
• 05:40 – Red Flag to Watch: Recurring disagreements usually mask unspoken emotional issues around power, recognition, or closeness that stall decisions.
• 08:19 – Two Kinds of Trust: Matt distinguishes operational trust (competence) from personal trust (availability and attunement) as separate failure points.
• 09:34 – Tools & Frameworks: Introduction to the Co-Founder Satisfaction Index and the three-phase Conflict Navigation System (prep, conversation, accountability).
• 10:33 – Cadence That Works: “Syncs” for operations and “dates” for meta-communication humanize partners and prevent ad hoc, disruptive alignment.
• 13:51 – Containment in Practice: Schedule conflict conversations instead of reacting in the moment; example reframes an all-hands interruption into a debrief.
• 15:49 – Written Feedback Protocol: Parakeeto’s situation–behavior–impact flow with consent sets clear context and reduces emotional reactivity.
• 18:54 – Running the Conversation: Use “I-messages” for low-intensity talks; switch to reflective dialogue (speaker/receiver, paraphrase, validate) when emotions run high.
• 22:08 – Commitments & Follow-ups: Translate insights into concrete commitments with a timeline to “close open loops” and reinforce accountability.
• 25:34 – When Splits Happen: Matt’s “Stabilizer Split” month helps decide path; negotiate together before lawyers, expect grief and manage emotional debt.

Show Notes

• Book: The Cofounder Effect
• Cofounder Satisfaction Index
• Website: Cofounder Clarity
• Connect with Matt via LinkedIn
• Email: matt@cofounderclarity.com

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