We have all heard it or said it ourselves during strategy sessions, leadership retreats, or over informal coffee chats: “Let’s start something together someday”.

For executives and leaders, this isn’t just a casual remark — it’s a powerful aspiration. Building a business alongside a trusted colleague or long-time collaborator, with whom you share vision, values, and mutual respect, can drive innovation and success. But the reality is complex: demanding schedules, shifting priorities, and organisational pressures often delay or derail those ambitious plans. Because blending friendship with business leadership isn’t always straight and simple.

Yet, when it works, it creates extraordinary value. Around the world, dynamic leadership duos have turned shared trust, aligned purpose, and collaborative energy into thriving enterprises. These aren’t just stories about revenue growth — they are about fostering loyalty, driving culture, and creating meaningful impact together.

In today’s fast-paced and interconnected business environment, friendship and trust among leadership teams are not just ‘nice to have’ — they are strategic assets that can fuel resilience and competitive advantage. So, the next time you hear “Let’s start something together someday,” consider that this ‘someday’ could ignite transformative growth and lasting partnership.

Here are some standout examples of best friends who actually chased their dreams and made it work.

Ben Francis & Lewis Morgan – Gymshark (UK)

Ben Francis and Lewis Morgan got the idea for Gymshark in 2012 while still university students in Birmingham, UK. Starting from a garage with just £1,000 to buy a sewing machine and screen printer, they initially sold fitness supplements. But their passion soon shifted to designing and manufacturing their own fitness apparel.

Their strong friendship and shared drive fuelled long hours, creative risks, and relentless hustle as they built Gymshark from a small startup into a global fitness brand. The bond between Ben and Lewis helped them navigate early challenges and scale rapidly in a competitive market.

Gymshark stands as a leading name in fitness apparel worldwide, with Ben Francis at the helm as CEO and Lewis Morgan continuing to play a key role in the company’s ongoing growth and innovation. 

Bhavish Aggarwal & Ankit Bhati – Ola (India)

What began as a bad taxi experience during a road trip from Bengaluru to Bandipur sparked a billion-dollar idea in Bhavish Aggarwal’s mind. Frustrated by the lack of reliable cab services, he saw an opportunity — and turned to his college friend from IIT-Bombay, Ankit Bhati. 

They co-founded Ola (then Ola Cabs) in 2010, launching it as a taxi aggregator that connected customers with drivers through an app. With their shared vision and deep-rooted friendship, Aggarwal and Bhati reimagined urban transportation in India. Their bond helped them navigate the chaos of startup life, scale rapidly, and go head-to-head with global competitors like Uber — all while building one of India's most recognisable tech brands.

Ben Cohen & Jerry Greenfield – Ben & Jerry’s (USA)

Ice cream with a side of activism – that’s the legacy of Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, the friends who co-founded Ben & Jerry’s, the iconic American ice-cream brand known for its bold flavours and social conscience. They met in High School in Merrick, Long Island, and remained close friends through the years.

In 1978, with a $12,000 investment, they opened their first scoop shop in a renovated gas station in Burlington, Vermont. What started as a small venture quickly became a global phenomenon, thanks to their creative, chunky flavours and their strong commitment to social responsibility, community impact, and company culture rooted in fun and fairness. Today, Ben & Jerry’s is a globally recognised brand — built on the bond of two best friends who believed in doing good while serving ice-creams.

Varun Alagh & Ghazal Alagh – Mamaearth (India)

Varun Alagh and Ghazal Alagh, co-founders of Mamaearth, weren’t just partners in life — they were best friends long before they became entrepreneurs. The idea for the brand was born out of a personal struggle: as new parents in 2016, they couldn’t find safe, toxin-free baby care products for their child. They decided to create their own solution — starting with DIY formulations at home and a vision to build something better for families like theirs.

Their journey from kitchen experiments to boardrooms was powered by their strong bond, mutual trust, and shared mission to make personal care safer and transparent. Mamaearth launched with a focus on natural baby products, but quickly expanded into a full range of beauty and wellness offerings for adults too. Thanks to their friendship, persistence, and belief in purposeful business, Mamaearth has grown into one of India’s leading D2C personal care brands, earning consumer trust and national recognition. 

Larry Page & Sergey Brin – Google (USA)

Larry Page and Sergey Brin, two Ph.D. students at Stanford, who didn’t get along at first, turned their early academic debates into one of the most legendary tech partnerships in history. While developing a smarter way to search the web, their collaboration gave birth to Google in 1998 — a company that would transform the internet and redefine how the world accesses information. What started as a research project soon grew into a global tech powerhouse offering a wide range of products and services. Though they stepped down from their executive roles at Alphabet, Google’s parent company, in 2019, Page and Brin remain deeply influential as co-founders, controlling shareholders, and board members.

Binny Bansal & Sachin Bansal – Flipkart (India)

Binny Bansal and Sachin Bansal — IIT-Delhi classmates and former Amazon colleagues — came together with a bold vision – to bring e-commerce to India. In 2007, they launched Flipkart from a small apartment, starting as an online bookstore. Charged by grit, innovation, and a strong friendship, they turned it into one of India’s largest online retail giants. Their bond as friends helped them navigate early challenges and scale rapidly, eventually leading to Flipkart’s landmark acquisition by Walmart — a defining moment in India’s digital retail revolution.

Steve Jobs & Steve Wozniak – Apple (USA)

The “two Steves” — Jobs and Wozniak — started Apple in 1976, blending bold vision with technical brilliance to ignite a tech revolution. Jobs, the charismatic innovator with unmatched marketing flair, and Wozniak, the engineering genius behind Apple’s first groundbreaking computers, turned a DIY project into a global powerhouse. Their deep friendship and mutual respect powered early successes like the Apple I and II, and laid the groundwork for game-changing products like the iPod and iPhone. Despite ups and downs, their partnership sparked a personal computing revolution and gave rise to one of the most iconic brands in the world.

Aman Gupta & Sameer Mehta – boAt (India)

Aman Gupta and Sameer Mehta, longtime friends and co-founders of boAt Lifestyle, launched the brand in 2016 with a shared vision to create stylish, affordable, and durable audio and wearable tech for India. Their strong friendship and complementary skills — Aman’s marketing savvy and Sameer’s operational expertise — fuelled boAt’s rapid rise.

Starting with a few earphones, boAt quickly expanded into headphones, speakers, and wearables. Their bond helped them overcome early challenges and fierce competition, building not just a brand but a loyal community. Today, boAt is the world’s second-largest wearable brand, a testament to how friendship and shared vision can drive remarkable success.

Matt Mullenweg & Mike Little – WordPress (USA)

Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little, bloggers at heart and developers by passion, co-founded WordPress in 2003 as a fork of the b2/cafelog blogging platform. The idea was born from their shared frustration with existing blogging tools and a desire to create a more flexible, user-friendly open-source platform. Despite working from different parts of the world, their strong friendship and trust propelled their collaboration, helping them overcome early challenges and build a vibrant global community. Today, WordPress powers over 40% of websites worldwide, standing as a testament to their vision, persistence, and the bond that kept them going.

Shubhra Chadda & Vivek Prabhakar – Chumbak (India)

After years of travelling and collecting souvenirs from around the world, husband and wife duo Vivek Prabhakar and Shubhra Chadda realised that India lacked vibrant, quirky souvenirs that truly captured its colourful spirit. This insight sparked the idea behind Chumbak in 2010 to bring bold Indian designs infused with humour and quirkiness into everyday products.

Starting with simple fridge magnets, their journey was fuelled by creativity, passion, and a deep personal bond that helped them take risks and overcome challenges. Their strong friendship and partnership kept them going through ups and downs, growing Chumbak from a small startup into a nationally loved brand. Today, Chumbak stands as a vibrant symbol of India’s culture and creativity, offering everything from fashion to home décor, all with a playful and distinctive twist.

Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, & Nathan Blecharczyk – Airbnb (USA)

Roommates and close friends Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia sparked the idea for Airbnb when they turned their apartment into a makeshift bed-and-breakfast during a busy conference. Teaming up with their engineer friend Nathan Blecharczyk, the trio co-founded Airbnb in 2008 — an online marketplace that revolutionised how people find short- and long-term homestays, experiences, and services worldwide. Their strong bond helped them navigate early skepticism and regulatory hurdles, transforming Airbnb into a global hospitality disruptor. Today, Chesky leads as CEO, Gebbia drives innovation as Chief Product Officer, and Blecharczyk shapes strategy as Chief Strategy Officer.