Purpose - The purpose of this research is to discuss the nature of co-entrepreneurs (i.e. those companies that have a mixture of male and female founding members) within the ICT sector in Ireland. For the purposes of this paper, the term "co-entrepreneurship" is used to describe male and female business partnerships. The characteristics of co-entrepreneurs; their educational, skills and family backgrounds; their current role in the company, and the nature of the team founder structure are examined. A discussion on why the team approach was selected is also included. Other issues explored in the paper include the shareholding percentage of the co-entrepreneurs and the extent to which the business has a lead entrepreneur. Design/methodology/approach - In 2003 the authors compiled a database of 1,026 indigenous ICT companies, which were electronically surveyed for information regarding software production, ownership of company and gender of founding members. A total of 24 per cent (81) of the responding companies from this survey indicated that there was a mixture of male and female founding members. These companies were subsequently sent another survey designed to gather information on company background, profiles of co-entrepreneurs, co-entrepreneurs' motivational factors and co-entrepreneurs' roles. A total of 34 (43 per cent) of the companies responded, of which 23 were suitable for the research. Findings - The findings of the study indicate that the family business or spouse/partner structure represents a major component of mixed gender companies in the ICT sector in Ireland, and that such companies tend to be small, with well-educated and experienced founders. Originality/value - A particularly interesting contribution of this paper is the provision of insights into the co-entrepreneurial partnership through identifying the key differences between the male and female co-founders. A key conclusion of the study is that there would appear to be a recognition among co-entrepreneurs that complementary skills and knowledge are critically important in the exploitation of new business opportunities, especially in the IT industry.
