Before Nina and I started Parlai, we created a questionnaire that helped us understand if we were on the same page regarding our goals and ways of working, but most importantly, it showed us the areas where we differed.

Knowing your discrepancies and making agreements beforehand helped us avoid plenty of headaches.

Here are the questions.

Vision and passion

  1. If this project were successful, what would that look like?
  2. How big do you want this project to be: a multi-million dollar company or a small one with a steady income?
  3. What does our company look like in five years?
  4. Do you want to scale rapidly, or are you more inclined toward steady, organic growth?
  5. How do you envision our expansion strategy, both in terms of product and geography?
  6. Five years from now, what would your preferred role in the company be?
  7. From 0 to 10, how important is money to you?
  8. Where does your preference stand between being anonymous and being famous?

Personal investment

  1. How much time can you invest in a week?
  2. How much money can you invest each month?
  3. Is there a possibility for you to go full-time? If yes, when or at what point?
  4. How much of a priority is this project in your life?
  5. How willing are you to sacrifice time with relatives, work time, or study time?

Exit strategy

  1. Do you have an exit strategy in mind for the business? If so, what is it?
  2. How do you feel about acquisition offers? Under what circumstances would you consider them?
  3. What are your thoughts on taking the company public?

Communication

  1. How often should we communicate, and how: WhatsApp, calls, asynchronously?
  2. When do you not want to be disturbed whatsoever?
  3. What are your expectations regarding response times?
  4. Would you feel comfortable using Notion for project management, or do you have an alternative?

Decision-making

  1. How should we make decisions: data, gut feeling, or ownership-based?
  2. How do you handle disagreements or conflicts when making decisions?
  3. Are there certain areas or decisions where you would want the final say, or vice versa?

Skills

  1. What skills can you bring to the table?
  2. What areas of the project would you like to own?
  3. What responsibilities do you expect from me?

Ethics

  1. Are there any ethical principles or frameworks you adhere to in your work?
  2. What is your work style?
  3. How likely are you to take advantage of gray areas in the law?
  4. How important are social and environmental impact?

Risk

  1. How likely are you to take risks in business from 1 to 10, with 10 being the most risky?

Feedback

  1. How do you prefer giving and receiving feedback?
  2. How direct should feedback be?

Project

  1. What should be the next step for the project?
  2. Would you be open to entering an incubation program?
  3. Do you have preferences for what the product should ultimately become? What is your dream roadmap?

Personal

  1. Do you think we should be friends?
  2. What are your boundaries?
  3. How do you deal with frustration?
  4. What would be a red flag for you when working with me?
  5. What are some of your weaknesses?
  6. What do you think you shine at?
  7. How comfortable are you using social media to promote our project?
  8. How important are recognition and positive feedback to you?
  9. What mistakes did you learn from working with others?
  10. How conflict-oriented are you?

Contractual agreements

  1. How much equity do you think you should have in the project, and how should it work?
  2. What happens if you leave the project, and under which conditions should that happen?
  3. Do you want a contract covering leaves, equity, working hours, decision-making, exit strategy, and other agreements?
  4. What type of company do you want to set up, and when would be a suitable time to do so?

Funding

  1. What is your stance on bootstrapping versus seeking investment? At what stage should we consider this?
  2. What is your stance on public subsidies? At what stage should we consider this?
  3. How do you prioritize spending in the early stages of a business?

Team

  1. How would you feel about bringing more people onto the team? When do you think that would become necessary?
  2. Can you think of a use case where we would need additional help soon?