How did you find your co-founder?

Working with a co-founder is definitely like getting married, that's a great analogy!

While it's easy to get excited to join forces with others (especially when you realize the mountain of work ahead and the fact that it's quite rare that startups are successful as a solo-founder) it's vital that you spend that "engagement time" up front before getting too serious and locking yourselves down together.

Finding the right co-founder(s) requires a lot of luck, perseverance, strategy, and effort. You have to build relationships with people, and that requires mutual interest and time to build the relationship. Putting two eager people together can sometimes immediate create sparks, but it's unusual that you will immediately find another person who matches your goals, your level of effort, and your drive.

It's also important that founders compliment each other in skill and effort. This means that you don't want exact clones of each other, but instead are able to focus on different areas of competency yet still be able to occasionally wear each other's hats. That means that generally a technical founder and a business founder often complement each other's capabilities, and mutually need each other's offering in order to succeed.

That said, while I don't generally think you can just post an ad looking for a co-founder and land it successfully, here are some techniques I think are very helpful for creating the environment for "accidentally" stumbling upon your next co-founder:

Network all the time.

You need to meet other likeminded individuals, who are different enough from you so that they become "co-founder worthy" (meaning, offer complementary but different skills/abilities to fill the other "hats" you have for building your startup). You need common ground, but need different competency areas. If you're a technical guy, you need to meet marketing/sales/business types who have some interest in building technical products. If you're a business guy, you need to know and learn just enough of the tech so you can share a common interest in the tech that your eventual tech co-founder lives in.

You need to reach out to people on IH, PH, HN, etc. You need to connect on LinkedIn (though this is often less useful in this capacity), and consider connecting with people on Twitter, on Facebook, or at conferences. Though, this takes time, and you can't expect to meet your ideal co-founder after just a few exchanges.

Work on projects with others.

One of the best ways to meet people who you will either later join forces with or hire is to actually work on projects together. Maybe you have a full-time job, and spend hundreds of hours working with others that you create strong relationships with. Or maybe you pick up some side-gigs (that you even choose below your normal rate) just so you can get exposed to some people who like working on side-projects.

Do not get desperate.

You are working a lot of hours, and you feel overwhelmed. You need help, so you want a co-founder. You're at a stage where anyone is better than no one. You're desperate. People can sense this. No one wants to work with someone who seems overwhelmed and is willing to work with just about anyone who will bite. You need to be picky about who you "marry" into the project.

Interesting product.

You have to want to build something interesting. You need to solve real problems, or otherwise make something so cool that your potential co-founder would buy it right away if it were ready. This might give them a sense of excitement and share a common drive to market that you already have. Nobody wants to join forces with someone who wants to work on something uninteresting.

Fire fast.

You found a co-founder who at first was really excited to work with you. Then you sense a lack of interest after some time. Have a serious talk, and find out if this is still going to happen. If you sense too many hesitations or a lack of interest still, it's time to move on. Don't get too deep with someone who doesn't want to commit themselves to the project as much as you do. It's not worth your time, it's not worth their time.

Mutual respect.

You're a technical founder who can build it all. You feel your sales co-founder doesn't do as much as you, because you are building the whole thing! She insists she is hustling just as much as you are... you need to respect that.

Inversely, your business co-founder thinks they are doing all of the work gathering deals, optimizing the SEO, getting customer feedback, but you are spending all of this time building the product. She needs to respect that you are hustling just as much as she is.

Without you, the product doesn't get built. Without her, the product doesn't get sold. Mutual respect means you both work in harmony and validate and appreciate the efforts of the other. Without mutual respect, the product is headed for disaster.

Say something nice to rosiesherry…

5

So I got back from uni and my best friend (who never went to university), opened the door to my old bedroom (at my parents house) and on it were these weird wall twitter canvases, congratulating me for finishing my degree.

I was really flattered by the whole thing and said to him lets start a business together where we sell these canvases. So we did!

Turned out to be a pretty awful idea. Worked on it for about 4 months and sold about 12 canvase. So maybe the lesson is don't just jump in with your best mate because he bought you a birthday present.

harrydry

·
7 years ago
·
1
Working with a co-founder is definitely like getting married, that's a great analogy!

While it's easy to get excited to join forces with others (especially when you realize the mountain of work ahead and the fact that it's quite rare that startups are successful as a solo-founder) it's vital that you spend that "engagement time" up front before getting too serious and locking yourselves down together.

Finding the right co-founder(s) requires a lot of luck, perseverance, strategy, and effort. You have to build relationships with people, and that requires mutual interest and time to build the relationship. Putting two eager people together can sometimes immediate create sparks, but it's unusual that you will immediately find another person who matches your goals, your level of effort, and your drive.

It's also important that founders compliment each other in skill and effort. This means that you don't want exact clones of each other, but instead are able to focus on different areas of competency yet still be able to occasionally wear each other's hats. That means that generally a technical founder and a business founder often complement each other's capabilities, and mutually need each other's offering in order to succeed.

That said, while I don't generally think you can just post an ad looking for a co-founder and land it successfully, here are some techniques I think are very helpful for creating the environment for "accidentally" stumbling upon your next co-founder:
1. Network all the time.
You need to meet other likeminded individuals, who are different enough from you so that they become "co-founder worthy" (meaning, offer complementary but different skills/abilities to fill the other "hats" you have for building your startup). You need common ground, but need different competency areas. If you're a technical guy, you need to meet marketing/sales/business types who have some interest in building technical products. If you're a business guy, you need to know and learn just enough of the tech so you can share a common interest in the tech that your eventual tech co-founder lives in.

You need to reach out to people on IH, PH, HN, etc. You need to connect on LinkedIn (though this is often less useful in this capacity), and consider connecting with people on Twitter, on Facebook, or at conferences. Though, this takes time, and you can't expect to meet your ideal co-founder after just a few exchanges.
1. Work on projects with others.
One of the best ways to meet people who you will either later join forces with or hire is to actually work on projects together. Maybe you have a full-time job, and spend hundreds of hours working with others that you create strong relationships with. Or maybe you pick up some side-gigs (that you even choose below your normal rate) just so you can get exposed to some people who like working on side-projects.
1. Do not get desperate.
You are working a lot of hours, and you feel overwhelmed. You need help, so you want a co-founder. You're at a stage where anyone is better than no one. You're desperate. People can sense this. No one wants to work with someone who seems overwhelmed and is willing to work with just about anyone who will bite. You need to be picky about who you "marry" into the project.
1. Interesting product.
You have to want to build something interesting. You need to solve real problems, or otherwise make something so cool that your potential co-founder would buy it right away if it were ready. This might give them a sense of excitement and share a common drive to market that you already have. Nobody wants to join forces with someone who wants to work on something uninteresting.
1. Fire fast.
You found a co-founder who at first was really excited to work with you. Then you sense a lack of interest after some time. Have a serious talk, and find out if this is still going to happen. If you sense too many hesitations or a lack of interest still, it's time to move on. Don't get too deep with someone who doesn't want to commit themselves to the project as much as you do. It's not worth your time, it's not worth their time.
1. Mutual respect.
You're a technical founder who can build it all. You feel your sales co-founder doesn't do as much as you, because you are building the whole thing! She insists she is hustling just as much as you are... you need to respect that.

Inversely, your business co-founder thinks they are doing all of the work gathering deals, optimizing the SEO, getting customer feedback, but you are spending all of this time building the product. She needs to respect that you are hustling just as much as she is.

Without you, the product doesn't get built. Without her, the product doesn't get sold. Mutual respect means you both work in harmony and validate and appreciate the efforts of the other. Without mutual respect, the product is headed for disaster.
kevinelliott

·
7 years ago
·
1

My first co-founder found me. I was lucky enough to work as a freelancer with a talented guy who afterward offered me to work with him on a project. This experience gave me so damn a lot! I appreciate working with a co-founder very much.

Some time passed and today I'm moving solo. I'm not focusing on finding someone because I do not believe that a good co-founder can be found on a purpose. It must be an unexpected meeting (just like with a girl of a dream) :)

alexanderisora

·
7 years ago
·
1

I found my co-founder as a classmate in my college. We read the same books :D

ellisael

·
7 years ago
·
1

For a previous project I was consulting (engineering) and ended up working for a guy who was working on a new idea. Eventually he asked me if I'd like to partner up. It was nice to start as a consultant and then ease into the project.

schlendeus

·
7 years ago
·