Building a team for your company should never be just about giving away equity.

In this episode of Business Blindspots, James welcomes Christ Botvidson, Founder of Fuel and Spark Media. Chris shares his story of growing his company and deciding, after a great business relationship with a customer, to bring on one of the guys as a 50/50 partner. He talks about how, even though the two are still on good terms, breaking up and taking back ownership was difficult.

He also talks about what he would have done differently, plus more twists and turns of building his company.

To find out more about Chris' company, visit: https://www.fuelandspark.com/

Episode Highlights:

• Starting out on his entrepreneurial journey
• Building business, partnership, friendship, and growth.
• Facing unexpected business challenges.
• Successful 50/50 partnership and how they resolved differences
• Struggling to make the right profit but then burning out
• Communicate respectfully and listen to understand emotions
• Managing diverse services, high-profile clients, and professionalism.
• How he financed a business development person
• Why he pivoted to a social media advertising company
• How Chris persisted despite challenges, hustled to create content
• How Goldman Sach's 10K Program had a huge impact
• The hardships of finding the right salespeople