'Forget romance, hire a COO': Bengaluru founder warns founder couples to keep spouses out of start-ups

Time of India

20-05-2025

In the age of Instagram-perfect couplepreneurs, Bengaluru-based founder
Anurag Singh
is here with a reality check—and it's as blunt as it gets. In a viral LinkedIn post, Singh pulls no punches: 'Don't onboard your spouse to spice up your startup.' While entrepreneurial love stories like Ghazal and Varun Alagh (
Mamaearth
) are celebrated as #CoupleGoals, Singh warns that they are exceptions, not the norm.
Startups are already brutal on mental health, finances, and personal time. Now, throw marriage into that high-pressure mix? 'You're playing with fire,' Singh writes, citing co-founder conflicts, emotional burnout, and financial instability as some of the top reasons why 'startup romance' goes south more often than not.
Why early-stage founders need separation, not sentiment?
Singh opens with a striking statistic: 65% of startups fail due to co-founder conflicts. 'Now imagine mixing that with marriage,' he warns. While power couples like the Alaghs made it work, it was only after Mamaearth had achieved product-market fit, meaning the core business had stabilised, before they joined forces. Singh contrasts this with several unnamed Indian startups that silently collapsed when married co-founders clashed over roles, equity, or direction.
His advice? Keep your personal and professional lines ironclad, especially in the first year.
Startups and parenting? Don't try to 'manage'
Singh doesn't sugarcoat the cost of scaling a startup while raising kids. Quoting a stat that 72% of founder-parents say their children feel neglected during high-growth phases, he adds a sharp warning: 'Don't onboard your spouse unless you have reliable childcare and at least 6 months of expenses covered by the business.'
Instead of forcing your partner into unpaid work,or worse, emotional labour, Singh says: Hire a COO. Not your spouse.
Divorce and start-ups
Singh references the dark side of mixing matrimony with market risk. A Bengaluru-based SaaS couple allegedly split after clashing over a VC term sheet that asked one spouse to exit the company. Singh cites data showing that 40% of founder divorces cite business disputes as a key trigger.
His point: 'Startup stress amplifies marital cracks. Therapy won't fix a broken cap table.'
Startups aren't kirana stores, know the difference
Singh draws a sharp line between family-run businesses and venture-backed startups. The former have stability, routine, and clear roles. Startups? They're defined by chaos, pivots, investor pressure, and uncertainty. 'Emotions are liabilities in early-stage startups,' he says. That's why founders like
Ritesh Agarwal
(Oyo) and Radhika Ghai (Kindlife) didn't co-found with family members, even when navigating personal turmoil.
So, when can you work with your spouse?
Singh doesn't dismiss couple-led ventures outright, but he believes it can only work under three conditions:
-Post product-market fit
-Clearly defined roles and equity
-Therapy on speed dial
Any deviation from this? Red flags. 'We'll figure it out' or 'Love will keep us together' are not valid business strategies. 'VCs don't accept love as collateral,' he says.
Final thoughts
According to him, building a startup is hard. Maintaining a marriage is harder. Doing both simultaneously, especially as co-founders? 'That's a statistical anomaly, not a strategy,' he writess.