A person who establishes or creates an organization, company, or institution jointly with one or more other people.
Modern English: co- (together) + founder (from Latin 'fundare'). Became prominent in 20th-century business language, especially in tech industry culture.
Being a cofounder has become a status symbol in Silicon Valley culture—some investors won't even look at a startup unless there are multiple cofounders, creating an incentive to add people to the founding team even if they contribute little.
'Founder' defaults to male in cultural memory and attribution; 'cofounder' often reduces women's initiating role to secondary status, especially in tech and business histories.
Always name cofounders equally and explicitly; avoid letting 'co-' minimize women's founding role. If distinction is needed, name who did what.
["co-founder (with explicit equal naming)","founder","co-establisher"]
Women cofounders of companies like Hewlett-Packard (Thelma Estrin), PayPal (among teams), and thousands of social enterprises are systematically undercredited; name them.
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