What does cofounder mean?
A cofounder is someone who establishes a company, organization, or institution together with one or more other people, sharing the act of founding rather than acting alone. The word is most familiar from the business world, where it appears constantly in company histories, press releases, and job titles — phrases like 'cofounder and CEO' are ubiquitous. It carries connotations of shared vision, partnership, and equal or near-equal credit in the origin story of an enterprise. The term can be written either as 'cofounder' or the more traditional hyphenated 'co-founder', both being widely accepted. Beyond startups, it applies to any joint establishment: charities, schools, bands, publications. Related forms include the verb 'to cofound' and the adjective-like participle 'cofounded'. Because founding a venture is often mythologized, the title cofounder frequently signals prestige and long-term commitment, distinguishing those present at creation from later hires.
nounA person who establishes an organization, company, or institution jointly with one or more other people.
- A person who jointly establishes a company, organization, or institution with one or more others.
"She is the cofounder of a nonprofit that provides clean drinking water to rural communities."
"Steve Wozniak was a cofounder of Apple alongside Steve Jobs."
"As cofounder of the charity, she still chairs its board meetings."
Regular plural; both 'cofounders' and 'co-founders' are accepted spellings.
"The two cofounders met while studying engineering."
The word 'cofounder' barely existed before the startup boom — now it's on millions of résumés.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of cofounder
Cofounder combines the prefix co-, meaning 'jointly or together', with founder, from Latin fundare ('to lay the bottom or foundation of'), which derives from fundus ('bottom, base'). The compound follows the productive pattern of co- prefixed words such as coauthor and coowner, and became widespread in English during the twentieth century, especially with the rise of the modern startup economy.
Related word forms
How cofounder is actually used
Typically used in business and entrepreneurial contexts; often capitalized informally with titles (e.g., Co-Founder & CTO). The hyphenated spelling 'co-founder' is also common and fully standard.
Easily confused with cofounder
A founder establishes something alone or as a general term for any establishing person, while a cofounder specifically does so jointly with others.