🦄 Looking for Interview Participants
Last year in Unicorns Journal we published an interview with Sergey Bakaev, where we unpacked first-time fundraising strategy — expectations vs reality, common mistakes, and what founders often underestimate when raising capital for the first time.
It turned into a very honest conversation.
This year, I want to continue the series — but shift the focus to something even more sensitive.
Co-founder dynamics.
Over the past few years, I’ve noticed that the most difficult tensions in startups often don’t come from the market or investors — but from inside the founding team.
Conflicts vary.
Sometimes it’s a difference in strategic vision.
Sometimes it’s about pace — aggressive growth vs careful scaling.
Sometimes it’s about roles, responsibility, and ownership.
One example I’ve personally observed (and partially experienced) is the imbalance in perceived contribution.
When responsibilities are divided between product / tech / sales, it’s easy for each side to feel that their “front” is the critical one. Especially sales — it’s stressful, numbers are visible, revenue feels tangible. The company’s survival seems directly tied to it.
But in that moment, the contribution of those building the product and long-term foundation can unintentionally be devalued.
And this is just one of many possible scenarios.
I’m looking to collect honest stories about co-founder conflicts — different kinds, not limited to roles.
— What caused the biggest tension in your founding team?
— Were there disagreements that felt irreconcilable?
— How did you navigate them — or did you?
— What surprised you most about co-founder relationships?
I’m preparing a new interview series in Unicorns Journal and also gathering real stories for a book I’m currently working on.
If you’re open to sharing your experience — publicly or anonymously — please email me at:
I believe this is a conversation many founders have lived through — but rarely talk about openly.
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