Choosing my business partner isn’t quite as important as choosing the right spouse, but it’s close. If you find the right people to work with you, it can supercharge your venture and enable you to achieve the sort of thing that would be beyond your wildest dreams otherwise.
So, where are the top places to find business partners in 2026? Let’s take a look.
Your existing network
The first place you’ll want to look at is your existing network. People who are already warm connections are embedded in your peer group and therefore usually are more trustworthy. You could ask alumni, friends, former co-workers, or even colleagues at your existing job. You could also ask these people for referrals for other people associated with the network that they trust.
Usually, business partners come from introductions. Most successful entrepreneurs don’t conduct cold searches. Instead, they reach out to the people they know and try to learn more about those in their network. Then, once they have a short list of targets in mind, they approach them to see whether to gauge their interests.
Executive search
The other main option, of course, is executive search. If you can work with an agency like Occam that specialises in finding these people, you can bring in expertise quickly.
Executive service is a good option if time is of the essence. You don’t always have months or years to wait around until you find the perfect person. Many business ideas require immediate execution if they’re going to be successful and maintain their margins long term. Tapping into an entire industry and finding high-quality people from the get-go is challenging, but if there’s already an agency with a database of people in place, then it can make your life significantly easier.
Niche job boards
Another place you can look as an entrepreneur for a partner is niche job boards. These often list people with the type of high-level skills that you need to co-manage your company with you. If you can look for, if you can look on founder-focused sites as well that could put you at an advantage. These connect you with individuals who are specifically interested in working in start-ups and managing their growth during the early stages.
Accelerators and incubators
Accelerators and incubators are another great place to build your network and find people who might be interested in becoming your business partner. There are all sorts of these right now, including Techstars and Y Combinator. These have a habit of attracting highly driven people from diverse backgrounds who bring unique skill sets.
All you need to do as an entrepreneur is find someone with complementary skills – who can match your talents. Even if they’re working on a different project right now, it can be useful to groom them to join your company in the future. 90% of projects don’t work out through these incubators, so it’s often worth building these relationships ahead of time, waiting for the inevitable failure, and then making your prospective partner an offer they can’t refuse.
Online communities
A rarer approach, but one you might want to try is using online communities. Platforms like Facebook and Twitter can be helpful for finding business partners. All you need to do is advertise the position. You could also join entrepreneur and tech-focused communities and say that you’re looking for somebody to fulfil a role in those. Just make sure ads aren’t too spammy.
In-person networking
Instead of tapping into your existing network, you could go out and do some in-person networking to find a suitable business partner. There are lots of opportunities to do this, including:
- Online (e.g., going to startup events or industry conferences)
- Accelerator open days or pitch nights
- Virtual networking sessions operated by various entrepreneurial organizations
These allow you to foster engagement and build trust.
LinkedIn entrepreneur groups
Finally, you could explore various LinkedIn entrepreneur groups. These are going to be professional networks on the platform where you can post about your requirements and get feedback.
One of the best ways to do this is to create content about your ideas and then see what interest that generates. Sometimes you’ll get people responding to you telling you that they have complimentary skills that will enable you to build the business you want to create. Sometimes partnerships can be formed through second-degree connections like this. So for example, if you create content about your plans on LinkedIn, then somebody reading them may be able to connect you with another person they know who can assist you. Then you can interview them or spend some time with them to see whether they’re the right match.
