To partner or not to partner? It’s one of those dicey questions most startuppers are faced with and there are many who would discourage that.

Of course, you may have heard stories of very good friends (they may not have been) or even family members who decided to partner to start a business and rather ended up fighting each other for life. Yes, a majority of partners fail, but there are some that are making it work.

The story of the Co-founders of Pisen Ghana may not be new to you if you have followed the JOY BUSINESS VAN closely. Four young men who decided to turn the current power situation into a good business opportunity by acquiring a franchise to sell Pisen power banks in the country.

They have been running this business as partners for the past 18 months and they are really doing well. For them, a partnership was the best way to go. So how come it is working perfectly for them?

“People said to us, be cautious….partnerships are dangerous”, CEO of Pisen Ghana, Daniel Osafo shared with young entrepreneurs who had gathered to hear their story at the Third Edition of the Startup Dialogues organized by the African Network of Entrepreneurs in partnership with JOY BUSINESS.

For Daniel what is working for them is the sense of trust they have for each other.

“We know our strengths, we know our weaknesses. We are one family,” said Daniel.

And it’s true. They have known each other since childhood, they understand each other’s psyche and though they occasionally have misunderstandings, they know how to resolve them. It’s one towards one direction with one vision and goal.

Being partners with Head of Finance and Administration, Nana Boafo Gyamerah-Ako is about showing respect towards one another. It does not mean bending the rules. Despite their relationship, when it comes to decision-making, they are firm.

Structure is very important for business. Without a structure, the business would come collapsing. So how does the structure of Pisen Ghana work? Well for starters; all four have an equal stake in the company.

They hold different positions and although Daniel Osafo is the CEO, he reports to all of them. It works the same way for each of them. Their structure was built on understanding their individual strengths.

Nii Lantei Mills, the Head of Sales prides himself in being the one who makes the money for the company.

"I personally could not have had it any other way”, he said about their partnership.

“If we decided to go our separate ways and some were successful and some were not, it would have been problematic. We would have met different people who would have influenced us differently,” he added.

But it has not been an easy road for these gentlemen. As Head of Operations Leslie Okyere explains, “Business can go dry, it can be better; it can be worse, it can be best and come back to good”.

But they are driven by the right energy and they keep on pushing and propelling each other.

Still thinking twice about partnering?