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If you missed it, last week I kicked off a series on all the “firsts” of Habits—starting with how we went from free users to refundable deposits to a 250+ financial advisor waitlist.

This one’s for my brother, partner in crime, and co-founder, Veera Budhi—the undisputed brains of the founding duo.

Veera, if you’re reading this—thank you. We’re still in the trenches, but there’s no one else I’d rather be in the fight with.

Preferred Return Podcast

In my conversation with Chris Anderson on Preferred Return, I broke down the stark difference between early backers and institutional investors—and why understanding that shift made all the difference in my fundraising journey.

Listen to our hour long chat through the links below!

$500 Giveaway!

Giving away the ultimate investment banking training bundle ($500 value) from the same company that trained me at JPM (and basically every Wall Street analyst). Winner picked Friday at 12 PM—just click the Insta link below to see how you can participate in the raffle.

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Solo vs. Co-Founder

Building a startup is like an adult version of a choose-your-own-adventure book—except every choice feels like life or death, and half the time, you have no clue what page you’ll end up on. Every day, you’re forced to make decisions, big and small, with zero certainty on how they’ll pan out.

One of the biggest questions? Co-founder or solo. I get DMs daily about finding a co-founder, splitting equity, dividing responsibilities, and making the jump from a one-person hustle to building a team. So, here’s how we did it.

Do I need a co-founder?

Short answer: Yes. But not because of the workload. It’s the emotional toll that’ll get you.

Nobody—seriously, nobody—is going to fully understand what you’re going through except your co-founder. Having a partner in crime makes all the difference when you’re in the trenches. Someone who feels the stress with you, takes the hits with you, and keeps you from losing your mind.

Also, it saves your personal relationships. Instead of venting to your spouse, friends, or family for the billionth time about all the tiny decisions you have to make, you’ve got someone who actually wants to debate those things with you.

How do I find a co-founder?

Veera and I met through a mutual friend. At the time, Habits was nothing more than a glorified Google Sheet and my personal email. I knew I needed someone technical because, well, I wasn’t. I could handle sales and marketing, but building tech? Not a chance.

So, I asked everybody. My roommate, JPM colleagues, former clients. I hit Reddit message boards, Ycombinators founder matching website, DMed every Techstars portco, and met with seasoned founders. I heard hundreds of different stories.

One friend—an experienced CTO at a venture-backed startup—introduced me to four people. One of them was Veera.

How do I evaluate a co-founder?

I wanted somebody who was the complete opposite of me. So I wanted someone with decades of experience building teams, building tech, dealing with sh*t I had never come across, and man did I get lucky with Veera.

He was pivoting out of a job making half a million a year, a super diverse background, and just when you look at LinkedIn…guy had 10k followers, forbes tech council, author, and checked the box for me. But my favorite part was he wasn’t afraid to speak his mind and since he was more - experienced, he knew what he was looking for.

“Jack I’ve been an engineer, a manager, a c-suite, but I’ve never been a co-founder.”

How do you build trust?

Probably not the smartest move, but I immediately gave him the title of CTO and told him he’d be my co-founder if he stuck with me.

At the time, I was already manually matching financial advisors and families, so Veera sat in on my calls. Heard me pitch. Saw a few absolutely hideous decks. Slowly, he started to buy into my vision.

And then, about 10 days in, he hit me with some of the harshest feedback I’ve ever received after I completely bombed a pitch.

That’s when I knew I found my guy. Someone who wasn’t just going to nod along and tell me what I wanted to hear—but actually push me, challenge me, and, when needed, slap some sense into me.

For the next 12-18 months, we worked around our freelance gigs, grinding nights and weekends. Every Saturday, we’d check in, hold each other accountable, and slowly build trust.

Because the truth is, trust is built by going through tough sh*t together. Veera and I have shared everything—finances, relationships, health. I talk to this man as much as I talk to my mother and girlfriend.

And trust goes both ways. I’ve dropped the ball hundreds of times.

Being a co-founder means being human, pushing each other to be better, and, occasionally, yelling at each other when necessary.

How do you divide responsibilities?

Simple: Do what comes naturally. Do what you enjoy. Do what’s valuable.

Early on, we did everything together—sales, marketing, hiring, engineering, product, HR, ops. We’d wake up each day and ask, “Okay, this needs to get done… you or me?”

Now, it’s clearer: I handle everything external, Veera handles everything internal. But let’s be real—we’re constantly in each other’s lanes.

How do I get started?

Put yourself out there. Go to Y Combinator’s founder-matching site. Hit up tech events in your city. Tell friends, family, and anyone who will listen. Meet as many people as possible.

And then… figure it out.

What’s Coming Next?

Next week I’ll dive into how we attracted the first few employees at Habits and how their vital to our teams progress, culture, and arguably the life blood of our organization.

Sharing Is Caring

Do me a favor, if you enjoy this, share it with a friend!

^{Find Your Financial Advisor}

If you’re somebody on the sidelines or are not sure if a financial advisor makes sense for you or your family, just shoot me an email at [email protected].

Or… visit our website to learn how we’ve made it easy for you to figure out on your own.