Co-Founder Alignment Consulting
Co-founder alignment is one of the most important predictors of whether a startup will survive beyond the early years, yet it is one of the least structured conversations founders have. Research shows that up to 65% of high-potential startups fail primarily due to co-founder conflict rather than product market fit or funding issues. Misalignment on vision, values, leadership and commitment erodes trust, slows decisions and eventually blocks execution, even in otherwise promising ventures
Co-Founder Alignment Consulting creates a structured, neutral space which facilitates open discussions and allows founders to align on where they are today and what kind of organization and leadership they want to build for the future.
Your challenges are taken care of
Unspoken differences in vision for the business (exit vs. longterm build, pace of growth, market focus) that only surface at key decision points.
Unclear values and culture expectations, for example around transparency, worklife balance, or acceptable risk, which later show up as irreconcilable differences.
Contrasting leadership and communication styles that create friction, slow decisions, and confuse the team about “who is really in charge.”
Unequal or unclear time and resource commitment (one founder full-time, another part-time, different financial exposure) leading to resentment about effort, role and equity.
Lack of explicit roles, responsibilities and decisionrights, so operational issues become personal conflicts and strategic issues remain unresolved.
Project-lead by a senior partner
Michael Kubiena, Partner Konsultori
With 25 years of experience across Central & South-eastern Europe, Turkey, and the Middle East, Michael has held roles in HR, management and consulting. He has managed HR departments of various sizes in startups and corporate environments, specializing in the ICT & service industries. Michael’s respective expertise lies in strategic HR, compensation & performance management, talent management, and HR & management audits.
As a consultant, Michael’s work with startups and SMEs focuses on organization design and people practices; on leadership, culture and change. Furthermore, he works on concept & strategy development in the food industry and for non-profit organizations. With degrees in business administration and cultural studies, along with an education in systems thinking & design, Michael offers a unique perspective on organizational dynamics.
Expert partners
Work with experienced partners and benefit from their knowledge, proven strategies and decades of experience.
Hands-on Guidance
Receive ongoing, hands-on guidance to ensure effective and practical solutions throughout the process.
Diverse expertise
Access a broad range of expertise across strategy, organization design and finance, using trusted frameworks.
Tailored Solutions
Receive actionable advice tailored to your specific needs to ensure your company achieves its goals.
Areas in which we work with you
Key elements of work
Co-Founder Alignment Consulting combines three core elements into a structured process:
- Entrepreneurial competency assessment:
We use selected tools to map individual strengths, leadership and communication styles. - Alignment on vision, values, roles and commitment:
In facilitated sessions, we surface expectations around company vision, values, ownership, time and resource commitment, and define clear roles, responsibilities and decision-making principles. - Priorities for organization and leadership development:
Together we translate insights into a concrete development roadmap (e.g. meeting and decision routines, hiring priorities, delegation, OKRs) with clear next steps and check-ins.
For many teams, this runs as a focused two-step or short program combining individual reflection and joint workshops, tailored to the stage and current tension level.
Results you will get
Founder alignment
Communication habits
People & Organization roadmap
Resilient leadership team
Expertise we bring
Strategy Development and Implementation
Participatory strategy development and a clear process design of how to bring strategy into the organization and make it come alive
Organization Design
Future-proofing organization by integrating distinct elements of the organization into a coherent whole. From structure and processes, to leadership and culture; from strategy to people practices
Entrepreneurship and Scaling
Thorough understanding of the critical growth points along the entrepreneurial journey and how to decide on and set priorities
Leadership, Culture and Transformation
Building cofounder and leadership teams around shared values, beliefs and objectives; clear roles and complimentary competencies. Designing and facilitating change and transformation.
Scaling Readiness Run is probably the best program any of us (in the founder team) has attended. Its well-structured sequence of sprints is carefully designed and balanced: Actionable content is paired with practical frameworks, many of which we have started to integrate into our practice. Particular highlights among those topics were Product-Market-Fit, OKRs and the Employee Value Proposition. As a result of Konsultori’s Scaling Readiness Run, we have already made significant progress across various scaling dimensions and will continue to do so.
I would recommend working with Konsultori experts—and will! I especially appreciated Michael Kubiena’s structured approach to HR, the precise answers to all questions, and the overdelivering.
We recently started working with Michael Kubiena from Konsultori to set up our internal project management and we couldn’t be more satisfied with the progress. Michael stands out for his proactive support, always thinking ahead before and after meetings. We particularly appreciate his calm and composed demeanor, which creates a productive and collaborative atmosphere within the team.
Michael Kubiena, thank you! Eye-opening workshop with great insights for our Fybra venture in Austria 🇦🇹🚀
Thanks for the great workshop! Super interesting and lots of learnings 🙂
The OKR Essentials video by Michael Kubiena was quite helpful for our workshop participants to understand the difference between OKRs and KPIs. Those who don’t work with OKRs said they are excited to try it out.
The workshop Organization Design and Essential HR Practices brought tremendous value to our startups. Huge thanks, Michael Kubiena.
Michael really understands how an organization ticks, what it needs and what it can handle. The entire management team and, subsequently our employees, appreciated how he went about our project. The solutions he designed are fit for our purpose and future-proof. I truly enjoy working with Michael and can highly recommend his work.
Working with Michael Kubiena was a really fruitful experience. He combines tons of experience and strong conceptual skills with a hands-on attitude: Exactly what we needed. Together we were able to create something entirely new & unique for the Turkish retail & hospitality industry as well as for the global Metro world, something which has become a reference point in terms of quality, innovation and customer focus. Michael not only was instrumental in designing our learning curriculum, he also successfully facilitated the development of our overall organization.
Thanks for your great support!!
Our process for a project with you
01.
Initial consultation & project outline
We engage in a thorough discussion to understand your specific needs, goals, timeline, budget, and general project requirements.
02.
Understand and self-assess entrepreneurial competencies
We provide you with a structured approach to evaluate similarities and differences in entrepreneurial competencies.
03.
Develop role clarity
We work through the questions of who is accountable for which strategic building blocks, either individually or jointly.
04.
Results interpretation
We provide interpretative analysis of the results of the previous steps and highlight areas for improvement and intervention.
05.
Develop roadmap for leadership and organization development
We help design the roadmap for future development, especially when it comes to developing leadership principles and practices.
06.
Implementation support
We support the implementation of the roadmap, and when encountering obstacles and roadblocks.
Book a non-binding consultation
More Resources
Case studies
Compensation architecture and performance management via OKRs
The best way? Involve the whole company in a dialogue about the services that affect its customers and its employees.
Developing a learning centre & curriculum for culinary discovery
Collaborations with prestigious European hospitality institutions underline Gastronometro’s commitment to quality and innovation.
Lorenz-Consult: What the strategic realignment has done for us
Strategic realignment and internationalization. DI Christian Lorenz talks about corporate succession and the new strategy.
Insights
3 Insights for Your International Expansion from the Born Global Launchpad
Key insights from the Born Global Launchpad on how Austrian startups can avoid premature scaling and prepare for international expansion.
Sustainable Food Systems Resources
Explore top resources, reports, and frameworks on sustainable food systems and discover how startups can scale innovations responsibly.
Konsultori congratulates – July 2025
Congratulations to Ensemo, Whalebone, infrared.city, ante up, and Simiæn – and thank you for your trust in our support!
Sneak peek at our experts’ projects
Other expertise in Organisational design
Employee Value Proposition Consulting
Looking to attract and keep the best talent? We help you craft a human-centric EVP that goes beyond benefits, aligning culture with strategy. The outcome: sharper recruiting, a more committed team, a scalable culture, and resilient leadership.
OKR Consulting
Want your strategy to actually come alive? With OKRs, we create focus, alignment, and measurable impact across your teams—so everyone knows how their work drives results. Think sharper team dynamics, higher accountability, and a future-proof organization.
Frequently asked questions
What use is an alignment process when we (as co-founders) have a long personal history and friendship?
Personal friendship and professional alignment are two different things. Many founders discover too late that they have vastly different views on exit strategies, hiring bars, or risk tolerance.
A formalized process isn’t about fixing a broken relationship; it’s about “stress-testing” the partnership before the stakes get (too) high.
Is it too late to bring in an Co-Founder Alignment advisor if we’ve already started feeling friction?
It’s almost never too late, but it is often urgent. Friction is usually a symptom of unspoken expectations or missing role clarity.
Bringing in a neutral third party can help shift the conversation from “Who is right?” to “What does the company need?” Often, a few guided sessions can reset the dynamic and prevent a permanently broken relationship.
What are the "Big Three" topics cofounders usually clash over?
While every team is unique, most misalignments stem from:
- Decision Rights:
Who has the final say on critical topics?
What needs to be decided individually, what jointly?
- Commitment Levels:
What does “all in” actually look like?
What do we expect from ourselves and others?
- Equity & Vesting:
usually a consequence of the above:
Are the rights and obligations perceived as fair as the workload evolves?