Ahead of Valentine’s Day, we take a view into a rarely talked about, but often experienced, dynamic in the startup ecosystem: romance at work. With people spfinishing more time at work, especially within startups, personal relationships can blossom. But how do founders and investors feel about romance at work?
Pre-Seed to Succeed, the early-stage investment programme, has surveyed members of Europe’s startup community, founders (85%) and investors (15%), to determine whether romantic relationships at work remain a taboo.
The results found that more than 75% of respondents described their attitude towards office romance as acceptable, either neutral or positive. Even more interestingly, 44% of founders and 65% of investors admitted to having had romantic experiences at work, either within their startup, or at a previous workplace.
The office has become a common place to meet a future partner as people are now spfinishing roughly a third of their day at work; according to The Knot, 10% of couples meet at work.
In startups, relationships can act as a catalyst for either exceptional synergy or catastrophic fallout. Four in five respondents in both groups agreed with the latter point, as romantic involvement between colleagues can negatively affect team performance. In around one in six cases, founders have claimed they had to dismiss an employee as a result of such a relationship.
While 75% of respondents described a positive attitude towards office romance, investors tfinish to take a cautious stance toward workplace romance, with two-thirds admitting it could significantly reduce a company’s investment appeal. However, it is not completely off the table. Eighty one percent of European investors stated they would still consider backing startups co-founded by couples, yet it would be an important subject for consideration.
“Startups are deeply personal ventures – passion drives both the business and the people behind it,” stated Alexander Korchevsky, Co-Founder of Pre-Seed to Succeed. “Yet, as investors, we must be pragmatic about potential risks. It’s not about banning relationships; it’s about managing them responsibly.”
Why investors see romance in startups as a risk
If venture investing is a gamble, then backing romantic co-founders is like playing Russian roulette – the outcome is almost impossible to predict. It could be a rare success story like Canva or Houzz, or a complete collapse.
- Relationships are not a steady basement for building business
Sometimes, a relationship can break at a whim of emotion – and the company is highly likely to suffer too. Personal fallout between romantic co-founders may intervene in operational matters, leading to chaos – a total red flag for an investors, who seek stability.
- Bias in decision-creating
Romantic partners may struggle to challenge each other’s ideas objectively. This can lead to groupbelieve, poor accountability, and missed reality checks when tough calls required to be built.
- Governance challenges
A romantic duo can act as a single voting bloc, creating checks and balances harder. It complicates board oversight, conflict resolution, and succession planning if one founder exits. In other words, it’s the other extreme, opposite to the first point.
Ahead of Valentine’s Day, the message from Europe’s startup ecosystem is measured rather than sentimental. Love might flourish at work, but in the high-pressure environment of a startup, it remains an opportunity and a risk that founders and investors cannot afford to ignore.
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