“High-potential startups fail because co-founders fail to address relational issues often triggered by confusion around roles and decision-making, and tensions over compensations and equity split,” states Crista Renner, co-founder of CoST. “Nurturing co-founder and leadership relationships are at the center of organizational success and their capacity to evolve and scale their business.”
CoST aims to strengthen startups by exposing latent conflict markers, supporting struggling organizations, and promoting the development of healthy conflict to create cultures of innovation and creativity.
CoST co-founders Crista Renner and Jason Dykstra are well positioned to provide this support based on their diverse experience in startup culture and conflict resolution. Crista has worked as a business advisor with founders and co-founders at University of Waterloo’s startup incubator, Velocity Garage, and has founded five startups. Jason is a Qualified Mediator with an M.A. in Leadership who specializes in mediation, coaching, facilitation, and training.
The Centre for Peace Advancement is thrilled to be catalyzing outside-of-the-box thinking to support CoST in filling this important gap in the startup ecosystem.