Conscious Collaboration: Co-founder Conversations

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In this conversation, I sat down with Beth Bayouth and Mario Fedelin, the COO and CEO (respectively) of Changeist, a non-profit organization dedicated to youth empowerment. They are building a community of young people that utilize their personal agency to create a more just society. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Changeist’s programs help 11-26 year olds learn a common civic language, engage in dialogue, and build community to investigate local and global social justice issues. Participants also work with other local community-based organizations to implement local solutions to local problems.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Together, Mario and Beth explore how they met, built a relationship and decided to work on this project together…and how they continue to manage themselves and each other in the entrepreneurship journey. </span></p> <p><strong>A few insights we’ll unpack about conscious co-founder relationships:</strong></p> <ul> <li aria-level="1"><strong>The key to a great co-founder relationship is that both of you do not fall apart at the same time!</strong></li> <li aria-level="1"><strong>Fighting Well and how Cofounder Intimacy can help:</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">With cofounder intimacy, there is an understanding that often there’s something else behind a conflict or a mood. Because when you're close, you tend to know about what’s going on or that it’s safe to ask.</span></li> <li aria-level="1"><strong>Knowing yourself and your skills</strong></li> <li aria-level="1"><strong>The Power of working with someone with a Different Skill Set but Similar Values </strong></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">On Knowing yourself and your skills, and finding compliments on your core team: </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A great leadership team requires</span> <strong>Comfort</strong> <span style= "font-weight: 400;">with yourself and your skills and</span> <strong>Respect</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400