Do startups really need a cofounder ?

A lot of startup advice makes it sound like having a cofounder is almost mandatory.

“Don’t build alone.”

“Find someone who complements you.”

“Investors prefer teams.”

“Solo founders move too slowly.”

And honestly, I understand why.

A great cofounder can make everything easier: building, selling, thinking, staying sane, making decisions, surviving the bad weeks.

Personally my cofounder is my amazing Moroccan cousin Omar and our CTO :)

But I also think people underestimate the opposite:

A bad cofounder can slow you down more than being solo ever would.

Misaligned ambition, different work ethics, unclear ownership, ego, poor communication…

That can kill a startup before the market even gets a chance to reject it.

So I’m curious:

Do early-stage startups really need a cofounder?

Or is being solo better than forcing the wrong partnership just because “startups need teams”?

Would love to hear from both sides: solo founders and cofounder teams.