Molly's & Diana's Partnership

Molly and Diana's partnership became official when they formed Design To Delivery Inc (D2DInc) on September 10, 2001 (yup - the day before 9/11). 

Their partnership didn't happen overnight. Molly and Diana worked together for almost a year before starting their company. During that time, they realized that they had complementary skill sets and had decades of combined experience in government contracting (Molly worked for large businesses and Diana worked for and supported small businesses). 

During their discussions about starting a firm, Molly was resolute that she wanted to start a business. Diana was more reluctant as she owned a business and knew how hard it was. When it was time to make the decision, Molly was firm that she was going to do it, and ultimately Diana agreed. So what changed Diana's mind? Diana had never had a business partner who could "share the load." She knew that they have complementary skill sets and they also shared a great working dynamic.

The partnership clearly works. It started in 2001 and it’s still going strong. It’s been a rollercoaster - there have been ups and downs, successes and challenges. In 2009, the company almost went under when its biggest client declared bankruptcy while owning them over $200K in unpaid invoices. But they persisted and pivoted. Starting in 2014, D2DInc was named to the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing privately held companies in the United States for four consecutive years as the company grew to over $10 million in annual revenue and almost 100 employees. 

Their business relationship and the friendship that grew from it was based on trust. This was really important, especially since the company grew incredibly fast. Early on, they realized the importance of communication when they admitted to each other that they wanted switch the roles they had taken on in the company. This conversation allowed them to realign their individual responsibilities so that they were both working in areas that were a better fit for their skills and personalities.

Now Molly and Diana are sharing their lessons learned from over two decades of successful business partnership to teach other co-founders how to maximize their chances of success. 

• Molly and Diana's birthdays are a week apart (end of May and beginning of June), which means they are both Geminis. They often joke that there are actually 4 people running the company. IYKYK
• Molly's favorite season is summer and she loves to be out in the sun gardening or at the beach. Diana's favorite season is winter and she loves hitting the ski slopes after a snowstorm.
• Molly loves to read spy thrillers and historical fiction and enjoys watching home renovation TV shows. Diana prefers to read biographies of sports figures and medical professionals and is a big fan of sci fi, kaiju, superhero and animated movies. Her latest passion is watching Chinese dramas and learning the language so she can watch them without subtitles.

This is to say that business partners don't have to be identical people. Their individuality can make the partnership stronger.