# What Is a Joint Venture?
A **joint venture (JV)** is a business arrangement where two or more companies team up to pursue **one specific project** — combining money, people, equipment, experience, and bonding capacity — and agree to **share the profit, the loss, and the control**.
A JV is different from a merger or a long-term partnership. It is usually:
- **Project-specific** — formed for one job (e.g., a single building, road, or development) and dissolved when the project closes out.
- **Limited in scope** — the partners stay separate companies for all their other work.
- **A sharing of risk and reward** — not just hiring a subcontractor.
## JV vs. subcontracting vs. teaming
- **Subcontractor:** you hire them, you pay them, you carry the risk to the owner. They are *under* you.
- **Teaming agreement:** a pre-bid promise to pursue a project together (often "if we win, you'll be our sub"). It is an *agreement to agree*, used before award.
- **Joint venture:** the partners stand **shoulder to shoulder** — they jointly sign the prime contract with the owner and share the outcome.
## Why it matters
For a growing contractor, the JV is one of the most powerful tools available: it lets you take on work that is bigger, more complex, or more demanding than you could qualify for on your own — by borrowing a partner's strengths while contributing your own.
**Takeaway:** A JV means standing shoulder-to-shoulder on one project — sharing the risk and the reward, not just hiring help.
> *This course is educational, not legal advice. Every JV should be documented in a written agreement drafted and reviewed by a construction attorney.*
