Pequity’s Co-Founder Journey: When Your Spouse is Your Business Partner
Before launching Pequity, Warren Lebovics and Caitlin Canop tested their business partnership in an unexpected way – by opening a weekend pop-up bakery in San Francisco. In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, Warren shared how this experiment, along with their unique approach to relationship management, helped them build a successful husband-wife founding team.
The Pre-Startup Test Run
“We actually opened a pop up bakery in San Francisco on weekends while were still working full time,” Warren recalls. “And that was both a blast and terrifying at the same time.” This early experiment gave them insights into working together, even if Warren admits, “I’m probably the worst front of house person I’ve ever come across.”
The Power of Complementary Skills
The foundation of their partnership lies in their complementary expertise. Caitlin brought deep compensation expertise from her roles at Google and Cruise, while Warren contributed product and design experience. This combination proved crucial when building Pequity’s user-focused compensation platform.
Contracts as Communication Tools
Perhaps the most unique aspect of their partnership is their systematic approach to potential conflicts. “Whenever we took every step in our relationship, we would have this contract that we would actually sign together,” Warren explains. This practice started before Pequity, when they first moved in together.
“Caitlin brought up this idea of a contract and she said, hey, let’s disarm the nukes. Let’s write out what will happen, like what we’ll do.” This approach extends to their business relationship: “We have quite literally a contract and an action plan for how to resolve any of those issues.”
The Advantage of Deep Understanding
One significant benefit of their partnership is their shared understanding of startup challenges. “In some relationships you may be with somebody who doesn’t really understand what you’re doing or why you’re working so hard, or why you’re pulling the late nights and weekends to bring something to life,” Warren notes. “With Caitlin and I, there’s no question when it was two in the morning and we wanted to go to sleep, we both knew why weren’t going to sleep.”
Communication as Foundation
Strong communication is central to their success. “Caitlin is the strongest communicator I know. I can’t claim that I am even close to the communicator that she is,” Warren admits. This foundation of open communication helps them navigate both personal and professional challenges.
The Co-Founder Marriage Parallel
The parallels between marriage and co-founding relationships aren’t lost on them. “They do tell you when you’re looking for a Co-Founder, it’s going to feel a lot like a marriage,” Warren shares. “It’s somebody who you have to trust tremendously. You have to have just the deepest and open, most open communication with. And for us, walking into it, we’re like, hey, we actually have all that already.”
Making It Work
Their approach offers several lessons for other co-founding teams, married or not:
- Clear communication protocols
- Written agreements for conflict resolution
- Respect for complementary skills
- Shared understanding of startup demands
- Regular check-ins on both personal and professional levels
The success of their partnership is evident in Pequity’s growth – from a weekend bakery experiment to a team of 45 people building innovative HR tech. Their story suggests that with the right framework and communication tools, working with your spouse might not be as risky as conventional wisdom suggests.
For founders considering a similar path, Warren’s experience offers a clear message: success comes from treating both the relationship and the business with equal seriousness, and having clear protocols for when the two intersect. It’s about building systems that protect both the personal and professional aspects of the partnership.