The End should be Happy

Many business partnerships end in disaster. Yours doesn't have to.

Marty Ambuehl and Neil Clark truly enjoy being business partners. They appreciate each other's relaxed and playful attitude toward what they do, and like the way each partner challenges the other to do better, more creative work. "We push each other," Ambuehl says. "We balance each other very well."

Still, they don't agree on everything. In fact, the co-founders of ATM Express -- a Billings, Mont., distributor of automatic teller machines -- are in the midst of a fairly significant disagreement right now. A tempting acquisition target has recently presented itself. Ambuehl sees the purchase as a great expansion opportunity, but Clark is reluctant to take such a big step. Fortunately, the twosome prepared for just such a scenario years ago, long before the ink was dry on the company's incorporation papers. Careful planning at the beginning, it turns out, has been key to the success of their partnership and their company, which generated more than $19 million in revenue last year.

Unfortunately, many partners only learn that lesson the hard way. "People go in with the best of intentions," says Richard Harroch, a partner at San Francisco law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe and an adviser to start-ups. "They're more excited about getting into the business and doing it than they are about the legal details." And that can be a real danger. Left ignored, details that seem tiresome or unimportant at the outset lead to big problems -- and can even destroy a business. The stress of battling a partner is enormous, and protracted litigation can sap financial resources and cut away at the value of a company. (...contd)

By: Dimitra Kessenides