Experienced investor and entrepreneur Olumide Shoyambo says many startups fail for the same reasons that cause marriages to break up.
Speaking on The Echo Podcast, hosted by Olushola Olaye, the investor offered a candid assessment of the human factors that include lack of trust, poor communication and misplaced expectations, crippling startups.
He argued that founding relationships, not just funding or ideas, often determine whether a company will survive.
“Co-founding a startup is like getting married,” he said, describing business partnerships as long-term commitments that require intentional effort and shared values.
The comparison reflects a growing concern in Nigeria's startup ecosystem, where disputes among founders have increasingly contributed to company failures. For Shoyambo, breaking usually starts with trust.
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He pointed to his relationship with longtime business partner Kazeem, noting that the two men spent about a year working together before formally launching their venture. That initial phase helped them test credibility and build mutual trust, he said.
Trust is easy to damage and hard to rebuild, he said. “Imagine I borrowed money from him and didn’t pay it back,” he said, highlighting how quickly credibility can fall apart.
Beyond trust, unclear roles often create friction. Shoyambo said successful partnerships depend on understanding each person's strengths from the beginning. In his case, he combines technical knowledge with strong social skills, while his partner brings a deeper technical focus and a more reserved approach, the differences supporting the execution.
He advised founders to resolve disagreements quickly and avoid outside distractions, warning that egos and outside opinions can turn small issues into major conflicts. He said, in strong partnerships, priority should be given to performance and not personal validation.
The discussion also turned to investing, where Shoyambo explained why he prioritizes founders over business ideas. His approach, he said, is built on a simple rule: “Founders first.”
According to him, one of the most obvious warning signs is the lack of teaching qualifications. Founders who resist feedback or fail to adapt often struggle to deal with changing market conditions.
“Every time I've backed a founder who isn't teachable, I've lost money,” he said.
The outlook underscores a broader shift among investors as funding has tightened and expectations have risen. Increasingly, supporters are focusing less on bold ideas and more on the character, discipline and resilience of the people behind them.
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Shoyambo also pointed to taking personal risks as a sign of commitment. Founders who delay full involvement until securing funding often fail to inspire confidence, he said, while those who invest in themselves are seen as more credible.
At the end of the conversation, Olaye described the discussion as akin to a business school session, reflecting the demand for practical insights in a more cautious investment environment.
For Shoyambo, the lesson is that startups rarely fail simply because of weak ideas. More often than not, they fail because the partnerships at their core were not strong enough to survive the pressure, much like a bad marriage.