By Viktor Andrukhiv, Co-founder of Fibermix, Savex Minerals and Pack for Business
Partnership is more than just a legal agreement. It’s a strategic tool to scale your business, enhance competencies, and reduce risks – but only when built on the right foundations and within clear boundaries.
I’ve built all my businesses in partnership. Over 15 years of entrepreneurship across different sectors, I’ve developed a set of principles that help make business partnerships both effective and secure for all parties involved.
Choose a Partner with the Right Qualities
While expertise is my primary criterion when choosing a business partner, personal traits are equally important. Starting a business is like embarking on a mountain expedition tied to someone else – you must be able to trust the person beside you. Before signing any contracts, I always ensure I understand the character of my future partner.
In my experience, effective partners share these traits:
- Maturity: Emotional stability, a clear understanding of one’s capabilities and needs, and the role business plays in their life — along with the ability to make decisions with a “cool head”.
- Courage: The readiness to act even in uncertainty. Without it, building a business in Ukraine is nearly impossible.
- Accountability: The ability to withstand pressure and stay present during tough times.
- Intuition: Crucial in new markets where there are no clear benchmarks. Some may call this abstract, but seasoned entrepreneurs rely on strong business instinct.
- Belief: In the project, in the partner, in the country. Always important –but now more than ever.
Formalize Agreements Early
Business partnerships typically begin during a period of excitement and emotional uplift – shared ideas, inspiration, and belief in the mission. That phase is valuable but dangerous to linger in. It’s critical to clarify each partner’s role, define boundaries and areas of influence, and document everything legally.
From personal experience, I can say: involve lawyers early. I once entered a partnership where the agreement was signed long after operations had started. This created vulnerabilities and potential conflict.
It’s especially important to document not only ownership structure but also exit strategies.
Key elements of a strong partnership agreement include:
- Division of responsibilities and areas of accountability
- Leadership authority (e.g., requirement for approval on expenses above a certain threshold)
- Decision-making rules: majority vs. unanimous consent
- Protocols in the event of a partner’s exit, illness, or death
There is no one-size-fits-all template. Every business is unique, and each individual has their own motivations and boundaries.
To tailor your agreement properly, first reflect on critical questions that may become sticking points later:
- What is my vision for the business in 1, 3, or 10 years?
- What role will I play at each of these stages?
- What drives me: profit, self-expression, or experimentation?
Start with Honest Conversations
A successful partnership begins with a series of transparent discussions. Before involving legal counsel, schedule a few “partner sessions” to surface difficult topics in advance.
We also conduct these partner sessions between legal meetings — they help align our perspectives and preserve emotional connection.
Revisit the Agreement Regularly
One of the biggest myths is that a contract is signed once and forever. In reality, partnership is a living organism. Goals, markets, resources, business and personal priorities — all evolve.
That’s why it’s essential to build in scheduled reviews:
- First review after one year
- Then every three years
- Additionally — any time major changes occur (e.g., new markets, investor entry)
What Not to Do in a Business Partnership
It’s common to carry baggage from past experiences into new ventures. That’s often where trouble starts. To avoid missteps:
- Don’t confuse past trauma with objective red flags
- Don’t impose your leadership style if you lack domain expertise
- Do respect your partner’s authority in their zone of responsibility
Partnership is not just a document — it’s a dynamic relationship between strong, independent individuals. If structured correctly, it can amplify your strengths. If not, it can diminish your impact.
Stay true to your values and clearly communicate them to your partners. That’s the only way your partnership will become a source of sustainable value and resilience.
The strongest partnerships are built by mature people pursuing a meaningful vision — with a realistic view of their limits, a readiness to face risks, and a shared belief in the future.
