How to Find a Technical Cofounder (7
Steps)
Looking for a technical cofounder? I recently found someone who's interested in being the technical cofounder for one of my projects. The truth is I got lucky. But in the process, I did a lot of research.
For those who aren't waiting on luck, here's a step-by-step approach that is very likely to get you shaking (virtual) hands with the right technical cofounder.
1. Make sure you're actually ready to find a technical cofounder.
Most of the time, to land yourself a really capable technical cofounder, you've got to be waaay past the "I have a good idea" stage.
I took a random sample of 50 people looking for cofounders on the Looking to partner up group of Indie Hackers, and 39 (78%) needed technical cofounders. Only 11 were looking for non-technical cofounders. That means the ball is in the techies' court. If you're a non-technical founder looking for the right partner you've got to come prepared. And you've got to know your stuff.
Here are the bare bones of what you'll need to check off your list before even thinking about pursuing a technical cofounder:
- A landing page: Check out One Page Love for some inspiration.
- Two or three very viable acquisition channels: Check out Growth Bites or User Acquisition Channels for some solid examples.
- An audience: Spend at least a couple of weeks nurturing an audience.
- Some form of validation: A solid waitlist is a huge plus here.
- A minimum viable product (MVP): More on that later.
If you're already tech-savvy and you've got an MVP in your pocket, skip steps 2 and 3.
2. Get the ball rolling before finding a technical cofounder
I'll keep this section brief because this is not an article about how to start up. But if you haven't already, you should buy a domain name through a service like NameCheap and set up a landing page using something like Launchrock (for a quick and dirty landing page) or Squarespace (for something a bit more robust).
Then start getting the word out to grow your waitlist. Building in public is a great way to do this, and it can put you on the radars of potential cofounders. You should also start contributing to relevant forums and communities — particularly if these will become acquisition channels. Good options include Indie Hackers, reddit, Facebook groups, and so forth.
Then, (cue scary music) you'll need to get started on the MVP.
3. Learn to build your MVP
According to a meta-analysis done by Stephen Turban and Daniel Wu, one of the most important things a non-technical cofounder can do to find a technical cofounder is to become… more technically proficient.
Why? Because it means you won't be that non-technical cofounder demanding something in half the time it takes to do it. Or suggesting a "minor" change that is actually a complete overhaul. These things matter. A lot.
And the easiest way to become more technically proficient is to begin building your MVP. (Gulp! You can do it!)
You might be thinking, "But don't I need a technical cofounder to build an MVP?" Actually, no. You really don't.
Non-technical founders do it all the time. And not only will it give you some tech chops, but it'll show them off to potential technical cofounders too. And even if you don't end up doing it yourself, having an MVP ready will at least show that you have experience working alongside developers.
If you aren't already convinced that you should get to work on your MVP, here's another thing to consider. If you do manage to convince someone to be your technical cofounder without an MVP, they may not be the caliber programmer you're seeking. A good candidate for a technical cofounder is likely someone who is busy already (AKA talented and in-demand). And that person may not be excited about starting from scratch on some random person's idea, likely for little pay.
So what do you need to do? Strip your idea down to the bare bones — what is absolutely critical? Like, it-wouldn't-be-anything-without-it critical. Build that.
How do you build it? I've seen MVPs made out of spreadsheets, so you really don't have to get fancy here. Keep it stupid simple.
One option that is becoming popular for non-technical founders is nocode. People are building robust products with this (like Lambda School which raised $4MM in seed capital), so it can probably handle your MVP without breaking a sweat. Not only that, but it's sure to give you some technical literacy along the way, without requiring a deep dive into programming. For more on nocode, check out the nocode group on IH or dig into some tools like these:
- Bubble: One of the most robust nocode tools on the market.
- Glide: Allows you to build an app from a Google Sheet in five minutes, for free.
- Adalo: Similar to Glide but more of a drag-and-drop option.
If you're feeling adventurous, you can also learn how to code. You don't need to become a prodigy — you just need to learn enough to get the MVP done. Here are a few free resources to get you started:
- Code Academy
- BitDegree
- Youtubers like learncode.academy
And, if building the MVP solo just isn't for you, then go the freelancer route. That will allow you to flex your idea, make changes, and get your hands dirty without the trouble of doing it yourself. In the end, you'll (hopefully) walk away with an MVP to give to the technical cofounder of your dreams. And heck, maybe that freelancer will want to become a cofounder.
Upwork and Fiverr are good places to start looking. The former tends to be higher-quality, while the latter is a bit cheaper. Freelancer rates will vary widely according to experience, tech stack, and location.
4. Find a technical cofounder
When you’re ready to find your technical cofounder, here's something obvious that bears mentioning, nonetheless: Friends, family, and acquaintances who code are probably your best bet. That's how I found mine.
And while we're talking about humans that we know IRL, it's also worth looking at meetups, hackathons, conferences, and so forth.
But for many of us, meeting cofounders online is going to be the way to go — especially now. So here’s a list of places you might want to check out when you're looking to partner up.
- Indie Hackers and more specifically, the Looking to Partner Up group which has nearly 16,000 members.
- CoFoundersLab is a free platform specifically designed for connecting entrepreneurs.
- Founders Nation is another free platform that connects people with cofounders.
- AngelList is something you’ve probably heard of already. It’s not specifically designed for finding cofounders but you can just register as a recruiter and post a position.
- Reddit is a no-brainer. Check out r/cofounder for starters.
- Discord and Slack are both messengers with business channels that could help. In fact, Discord has a #cofounding channel in /r/startups.
- And of course, don’t underestimate the power of a good ol’ tweet
- EDIT: As a followup, I posted a list of 27 places to meet cofounders. Check it out for more ideas.
5. Decide which potential technical co founder to contact
Don't just jump right into bed with the first candidate you find. Before reaching out (or responding) to a potential tech cofounder, it's important to evaluate not only their talent, but also your chemistry with them. Business partners spend a lot of time together, after all.
Check out their LinkedIn. Have they worked for notable tech companies? Take a look at their previous projects. Do the products function well? Are they user-friendly? How are the designs? How impressive are the technologies? You should be able to get a good idea of their abilities just by doing that.
Get a feel for them as people by checking out their socials. Do their values align with yours? Do you think you would get along? And while you're at it, take a look at their audience. Do they have a decent following? How is their blog doing? An audience isn't necessary, but it's definitely helpful.
Still not sure? Don't worry, you can keep feeling into it after you reach out.
6. Reach out (and what to do when meeting cofounders)
Whether you DM them on Twitter or email them, you'll want to clearly and concisely explain the idea. Think "elevator pitch." The same meta-analysis that I mentioned earlier by Stephen Turban and Daniel Wu identified three components as vitally important to hooking a promising tech partner. You should be able to readily do the following:
- Demonstrate that your idea is something that you, specifically, have the experience to grow and sell. It's helpful to have a compelling story or experience ready to share that demonstrates this.
- Prove that your idea is valuable and has traction. Have numbers ready!
- Show that you have the language to communicate your technical proficiency.
Hopefully, by conveying the above and linking to your MVP (and any other materials), you’ll have intrigued the candidate enough for them to jump on Zoom or a phone call.
At this point, consider taking a tone that allows for open communication. Rather than just telling the developer what you would like from them, or what your hopes are, ask them how they imagine themselves contributing. After all, you’re looking for someone who will genuinely care about what you're creating, and that means giving them space to imagine it as their own.
Once the enthusiasm is flowing, get back to the nuts and bolts. Get clear about expectations around things like how much time each of you has to contribute to this project and how you’d each like to be compensated.
7. Make a decision (and one thing you MUST discuss)
Once you've contacted the programmer, keep feeling them out. If checking their LinkedIn didn't give you adequate work history, ask for a resume. Ask them about their connection to your market to ensure that there is founder-market fit. And talk shop with them — at this point you should be tech-savvy enough to do this, right?
But if you're still not sure, ask a techie friend (or hire someone) to jump on a call with you both for a low-key interview. That friend could even do a code review on one of the prospect's previous projects. Be careful with that, though, because it could turn some people off.
So, by this point, your conversations should already be giving you a feel for their character. But it's also important to explicitly discuss your values, goals, work styles, pet peeves, and so forth to make sure you align with each other.
Do a gut check. Tune into your center. Are there any warning bells going off that you've ignored because they don't necessarily make logical "sense"? Don't overlook subtle signs that something isn't quite right. You're looking for a full-body yes on this one.
And one thing you MUST discuss: If the programmer is currently employed, make sure they haven't signed a contract that says their employer owns anything they make. This is more common than you'd think.
Sometimes cofounders will be open to doing a trial run for a month or two, just to see if you're a good match. That's what I agreed to with my (potential) technical cofounder. It protects both of us from getting into something that we'll regret later. And I'm not alone in this — it worked for @5harath too. He suggests giving a module to build with a specific time target. And make sure to discuss terms, as it's likely that you'll want to pay them during the trial.
Once you've made up your mind, and if they're on board, it's time to make it official. Make the announcement on your socials. Celebrate! Then create a founder's agreement. That's beyond the scope of this article, but here's a solid post to get you started.
The amount of equity you offer will be influenced by things like how complex the technology is, how experienced the candidate is, how much time they plan to contribute, and whether you can offer them a salary as well as equity. All things being equal, I'm for equal ownership — I like the idea of everyone being in it together (and fully committed). But there are as many ways to do this as there are founders — take your time and do your research before setting anything in stone.
Hope this was helpful! Here's to fulfilling journeys with solid cofounders. 🚀
Finding a technical co-founder is tough, but I’ve learned a few things that might help. First, I’d focus on niche communities like specific Slack groups or GitHub discussions where devs hang out, it is way better than blasting generic job boards. Also, being super clear about your project’s vision and what’s in it for them (equity, impact, etc.) makes a huge difference. I’ve had luck pitching my idea in places like this and getting intros through mutual connections. What platforms do you guys have you tried so far? I'm happy to hear how it goes!
Insightful post! Still easier said than done, as with most things in life
If anybody is looking for technical co-founders out here. We help non-technical founders build their dream project as Nomu Labs. We act as your external CTO, building MVPs, validating with early users, and iterating until you have a strong product. Feel free to recah out!
Hi
Good write up
This is really solid insight. Thanks for sharing such a clear perspective.
Perfect!
I come from a SaaS Sales and implementation background. Being on step 4 myself, this is a great guide on the next steps to follow. A problem I have is that I have a good couple developers, but I don't have that CTO type technical lead to oversee and guide them. I can't stress the importance of having the technical CoFounder in place to help take your startup to the next level.
Hi
This so helpful! First hour on IH and it's so daunting! This article helped me to start slow and do your due diligence in finding a tech partner. So many potential pitfalls when starting out with a great idea. I am in the pharma industry and have great ideas regarding patent and pricing SaaS. I got solicitations from Y Combinators who was interested in this area. Will go slow and find the right tech partner. I can get to an "mini MVP" but needs more tech savy person to build it right to ultimately sell subscription services. Feel free to connect. And pls, serious enquiries only with partnership in mind.
I am a registered nurse currently looking for a developer partner to build a natural medical app with me. It could be life changing for people and the medical industry. Interest in natural medicine has grown rapidly since Covid. I am looking forward to bringing a powerful tool that will bridge conventional healthcare with natural medicine. This article has given me some insight into where to go next to pursue this endeavor.
We help non-technical founders build their dream project as a Madrid based software development company, Nomu Labs. Feel free to contact me on LinkedIn, link in bio!
Hi, I'm building MindForge an AI driven mental fitness app for your brain. Daily mental workouts, AI-powered mood tracking, and tools to help you feel sharp, calm, and focused. I'm here to seek collaborators in technical developers, AI/ML specialist. If interested DM me directly.
We help non-technical founders build their dream project as a Madrid based software development company, Nomu Labs. Feel free to contact me on LinkedIn, link in bio!
Interesting to revisit this in 2025. The landscape has flipped.
AI coders changed the game. Speed of development is now 10x faster, cost dropped drastically. A solid developer can spin up a small SaaS, fully deployed to cloud, in a week. Which means technical founders aren’t the bottleneck anymore — they’re actually looking for hustlers who can sell.
The recurring mistake I see as a mentor: founders fall in love with an idea, polish the image, or chase developers to implement. But at early stage, development is maybe 20–30% of the equation. The real core is pain point discovery, early user acquisition, and product definition through real custdev.
The hard truth: If you can line up 5 potential clients, run proper 40-minute customer interviews, and get even one or two to pre-pay — you already have the foundation of a business. No backend, no website, no “vision deck” required. Just a hustler willing to validate.
That’s what separates projects from companies today.
Looking for a U.S.-based technical cofounder!
Hi, I’m Ariel, founder of StepStone, an AI-powered hiring platform tackling one of the biggest challenges in recruiting: sourcing and screening talent when employers are drowning in mass applications and lookalike resumes, struggling to identify who will actually perform.
Where we are today:
• Active pilots: Working with employers and student organizations, including 150+ students in the most recent run
• Established distribution: Partnerships with universities and media platforms that reach millions of students nationwide
• Live prototype: Testing AI-driven scoring and candidate insights with real users and live data
• Strong validation: Feedback from pilots confirms the demand for harder-to-fake hiring signals that go beyond resumes and interviews
I handle sales, partnerships, and market strategy. I’m looking for a full-stack technical cofounder who can take ownership of the technical side, build quickly based on live user feedback, and help shape the product into something scalable. You don’t need a background in hiring or HR tech—what matters most is bringing initiative, curiosity, and the drive to build something impactful. And having fun along the way!
If you’re interested:
DM me here or email ariel@joinstepstone
Please share your LinkedIn or portfolio so I can learn more about your work
Step 8: Come with market validation, not just an idea. Found that technical cofounders are way more interested when you can show real customer language patterns vs feature wishlists. My SMB research revealed customers search for 'fraud prevention' not 'AI tools' - that kind of insight makes technical founders confident you understand the market. Market knowledge = technical respect.
Thank you for the tips, very helpful.
Awesome thead!
Technical co-founders are a really big asset for any company in 2025. I believe finding a good technincal co-founder should be a priority for every new business.
For sure. When a company gets a technical co-founder and someone who is good with business and vision, you become unstopable.
This is such an awesome thread. The biggest and most important thing that I have learned thus far is to be as proficient in the technical space as much as possible. The landing page is important, but speaking the technical language proficiently or at least with recognition has greatly improved my search. Learning basic code is such an asset!
This is perfect. I found this site, this group, and this post; all this evening. I'm in the searching for my Dev partner portion of this journey and the way you just put it validated my approach to this in a major way. Thank you for this.
What is your business idea? I'd love to hear more about it.
I offer fractional CTO/SaaS consulting services. The first few weeks are 100% free. If your project/business benefits, then we can enter into a more long-term project management agreement.
I've worked for top brands like Hulu+, Warner Bros Discovery, Yum Brands, and many more.
Leave a comment if you need some free CTO consulting, would love to help!
This comment was deleted 2 months ago
すごい
Great breakdown — finding a technical cofounder is often one of the biggest hurdles for non-technical founders. I'd add that being actively involved in tech communities (like GitHub, Hackathons, or indie hacker forums) and clearly communicating your vision can really increase your chances. It's not just about skills — alignment on long-term goals matters just as much.
As a technical founder, the best partners are the ones that can come up with the simplest ideas. Simple is harder than complex. If someone can come up with an idea, refine it and then simplify it... I find it's more likely to get done or be made.
Would this also mean the idea is easier to replicate though, and therefore less likely to be successful?
Ideas are cheap IMO. Execution is what matters in business. If you don't do it... someone else will, then your only recourse is to sulk.
Heck, even if the idea isn't novel... I'd give it a shot. A lot of simple things add up. Breaking complex tasks down into trivial ones is how you stay motivated and continue to make progress.
Get hung up on other people copying your ideas for too long and you'll never execute on anything.
Couldn't agree more! I've seen multiple ideas that I've had over the past 3 years successfully get commercialized because I could not execute the project without the technical expertise. I may have the CPG business and innovation experience but without execution, it's all flat. I refuse to miss this next opportunity by jumping into coding and learning on my own. There are prototypes in the wild of my idea but they lack the depth expertise and nuance that sets the 10M+ companies apart.
I've been working to code (hopefully) my MVP to find a technical cofounder who is willing to partner and really take the product to the next level. Not novel. Innovate, Refine, Simplify.
That's a really great point, thanks for weighing in 🙌
Agree
🚀 [RECHERCHE PARTENAIRE TECH] – Développeur(se) passionné(e) & visionnaire
Je suis concepteur de produits tech (IA, outils no-code, narration, systèmes de mémoire, moteurs, etc.).
Je cherche un développeur prêt à construire avec moi, pas un freelance passager.
👉🏾 Un vrai partenaire technique à vie.
🎯 Objectif : créer un écosystème tech africain à fort impact — léger, intelligent, offline-first, accessible à tous.
📦 Plus de 10 projets déjà pensés, documentés, structurés.
🤝 Je propose :
Un partenariat clair (revenus + droits)
Un rôle d’associé technique sur tous les projets
Une vraie aventure de rupture, pas un job banal
📜 NDA obligatoire avant tout échange technique.
Si tu cherches du sens, de l’impact, et un vrai challenge, écris-moi.
Tu peux marquer l’histoire avec moi.
I am going to say the unpopular opinion here, but this is elitist to it's core and not compatible with real business whatsoever. I am far too focused on governance, businesses planning, market research, product development, legal and ethical oversight, grant submissions, funding and fundraising, investor relations, operations and logistics, and on top of all of that - a social life and family life. Unless a technical co-founder is willing to take half of that off my plate, then I am more than willing to create an MVP - but that won't happen, because I don't expect that.
An MVP isn't, and shouldn't be, a five minute job - an MVP is more than getting a co-founder, it is also about building investor relations, grants, and market research. If it looks like a five year old made it, which it will if I had my finger in that pie, then what do you expect to happen? I will be laughed out of any investor meeting.
So the least to ask for from a CTO or technical co-founder is to help build the MVP, at the very least. That is what they are trained in, as I am with business. This is just gating off jobs for technical people, when it really shouldn't be- let's remember, Steve Job's didn't create the IOS MVP.
I think many people spend too much time on MVPs (they should be the absolute minimum product that will help answer whatever the most pressing question is for the founder, an experiment).
And many people spend are on the other end of the spectrum too and assume that MVPs can just be signup forms.
For example, I wouldn't call the following an MVP yet, but it's an important step.
I'm gathering interest for a 100% free tool called MakerMatch.
"Find Your Perfect Bootstrapped Business Partner: Connect with like-minded entrepreneurs who'd rather build profitable, sustainable, enjoyable businesses. No VC funding or large teams."
Like OkCupid for bootstrapped business partner matching.
Want to see what I have so far?
P.S. I'm building it because Y Combinator Co‑Founder Matching connected me to super impressive people, but none of them wanted to build a bootstrapped, sustainable, profitable business. They all wanted to take investors and aim for unicorn status. That's not my dream. My bet is that many other entrepreneurs would prefer to find a bootstrapping-minded partner too.
From your words it seems that you don't really value the technical side of the projects. The technical part of a project can be extraordinarily complex. If we are alone in the projects we need to deal with the front-end, back-end, design, production, QA and devops. That's 6 jobs for 1 person. Almost nobody can do that with expertise, yet alone dealing with the business side.
Your words seemed demanding, like you don't consider technical people as people to be respected as human beings. Yes, your opinion is unpopular, at least with the technical people.
Thanks, James! Some of it seems obviously, but clearly incredibly valuable to a successful project.
For a while I thought I could navigate the early stages of my start up, AthletesClass, in the mental and emotional side of athletics, but realized quickly after getting 500+ users without much effort that my product is fairly mediocre without someone who can help me push to develop products that are sticky and live on platforms that can gather and use community data to continue to push a deeper toolset.
Off I go looking for the right partner(s). Thanks again for your valuable note!
Have you considered learning to code? I'm a dev who is a bit burnt out from co-founding, so lately I've been giving coding lessons to help founders build their apps fast and with no experience. check out my bio if interested!
This article is super helpful and right on time, thank you so much. i really got a Lot from this.
Wow this is wildly helpful...another side project I'm working on involves a lot of coding (building organizational tools for non-techies) but I’m still early in my coding journey, and I’ll admit: it’s been pretty overwhelming trying to handle all of it solo.
I actually had to hit pause a few weeks back after getting buried in code I didn’t fully understand. This post makes me feel way less behind — especially the reminder that building some sort of MVP on your own is still valuable, even if you eventually bring on a technical partner.
Quick question: If you’re still pretty early (like, not much traction yet), and you're trying to make your project feel “worth it” to potential technical cofounders, how would you suggest growing a waitlist without a ton of social media spamming?
Thanks again James, bookmarking this one.
Time to grow! Got the MVP and a great way to scale.
I'm looking for a technical co-founder so this is great to read.
Yes, I agree with Shane. You should do it by yourself. The MVPs are not meant to be scalable, just a prove of concept.
Hey Shane, have you considered building the app on your own? I'm a long-time tech co-founder turned coding teacher & have been working with people here on IH to build out their own apps via coding lessons. Check out my bio & message if interested :)
Hey everyone,
I'm new to this community and excited to be here. I’m a non-technical founder working on a product in the PMS (Property Management System) and POS (Point of Sales) space — something API-focused that integrates and improves on the tools I’ve been using for years.
After spending a good chunk of time as a user of both PMS and POS platforms, I’ve noticed several gaps — especially around usability, integration, and pricing. That’s what inspired me to start building something better: a product with real-world insight behind it and more flexible offerings.
Right now, I’m focused on validating the concept, prototyping a simple MVP (starting with no-code and some mock API flows), and shaping early traction. But instead of jumping straight to “I need a dev”, I want to be part of this space first — learn, contribute, and hopefully meet people who believe in the same values of solving real problems with real products.
Eventually, I’d love to partner with a technical cofounder who sees the opportunity and wants to co-build something meaningful — but for now, I’m just here to engage and grow alongside you all.
If you’re working on something, need feedback, or just want to jam on ideas, feel free to reach out. Glad to be here. 🙌
Cheers,
Vins
Sound like you are very passion about your project . Do you have a linkedin account perhaps? Care to connect I might want to hear more as I am especial strong on tech side but still need improve on business side
James, thanks for the very insightful article. I'm very much in this position but am not at the technical co-founder stage yet. I'm still validating my idea (PropTech) and getting users on board. Specifically, using Apollo to target a very specific audience with a survey about the related tools they're currently using, positives, shortfalls and other useful questions. Could you delve more into idea validation and 'nurturing an audience'. These steps are very important for me before I sink any money and time into my idea. Secondly, from your experience, do you find it common for a non-tech cofounders to change or evolve their ideas as they go through the process you write about? thanks!
I've been the first engineer at two startups in my career, and your first few points about getting started and showing traction are exactly what I looked for.
You've got to de-risk the career move for your tech co-founder. Remember, the good ones are giving up a guaranteed six-figure income to do your startup.
I wrote my tips (which are very similar to yours) here: https://www.karllhughes.com/posts/non-technical-founder-hiring-cto
Exactly! if you show me 50 names that are waiting for the product to exist, you'd literally be the best potential co-founder I ever run into. I'm not kidding. Even 10 names would put you in the top 5.
Assuming you mean for B2B here? 10 names for B2C is not many surely?
Well said! Glad this was in line with your experience.
yes, good guide.
Good way to totally piss off a prospective tech cofounder who'd have to throw the whole MVP created by a non-technical person and start from scratch. Even worse if there is traction, which will be suffocated by having two products to maintain, product development kind of halted to let the rebuild happen. Really a dreadful situation. Also, replicating functionality and their bugs, migrating users, settings...
Also, quite pissing off for the non-technical one, as well, seeing all their hard work (will all due respect) thrown away because it's unscalable, unusable, ill-conceived in many ways, unmaintainable, written in such a way that will actually scare most tech people away, potentially labelling them as yet another smart egg who tried to break into tech without understanding a thing.
Some tech people are unexperienced enough to keep building on an already unmaintainable MVP or mockup, just adding to tech debt even more without understanding how the compounding effect totally applies here, as well.
So, no, I don't agree with this idea. If someone is not technical and tech is out of their comfort and skills zone it's fine. Maybe better working on communication, organisation and management: how long is realistic to get a feature out, convincing and energising the tech person to break it down in agile steps... discussing ideas that one of the two believes is nonsense (but won't say for politeness....)
Thanks, @IndieJames!
Great topic. I literally had a conversation with a tech founder yesterday asking for advice on finding a tech cofounder. Getting in and getting my hands dirty to build credibility is great advice.
👍 Good luck!
Step 8: It doesn't hurt if you're lucky. :D
Just foolin' around, great guide!
This is gold as I am currently looking for a Dev/Cofounder. Very helpful.
Thanks - good luck!
This is helpful !
👍
Another alternative our team offers is via a venture builder model. We look for people with deep knowledge in their market. Our team can handle development, DevOps, SEO, and Outbound.
We look for anyone with the ability to think about a product with an industry-specific solution.
Let's talk. [email protected]
This is so accurate, especially the first point! I often get a feeling, that people have great software ideas yet completely no clue how to advertise them. They lack perspective and sometimes even act offended (!?) when someone doesn't get instantly in love with their proposal.
Harsh true: idea itself is worth nothing. Unless you conduct a thorough market research, learn how to sell your app idea to others and dedicate yourself 100 % to its execution you will die in the see of unwanted apps.
Technical cofounders are rare, so YOU need to strive for them. Never the other way around.
Well said 🙌
Thanks for taking the time to write this, it is such a common question I get and you've gone into some great depth here! I've added it here as well https://community.guildofentrepreneurs.com/c/co-founders/finding-co-founders-is-hard
My pleasure - thanks for the link! 🙏
my advice is to test your cofunder with a small project before moving forward
On number 3, a functional prototype can also work.
I have to highlight the need to test your technical co-founder with a two-week sprint deliverable because that is how it works in real life. If he/she can't deliver, cut it short right there. I just fired my Stanford co-founder last night after 5 months of not contributing a character of code or executing in any way. He couldn't even own/lead the dev effort, asking me to tell the developer to do this/that to which I responed "he works for you, so direct him as necessary!" All I heard were excuses after excuses while the freelancer in India I hired before I found the CTO keeps delivering on all requirements and demoing on demo days after each sprint.
VCs always say "execution is everything!" Which is how they measure who to invest in. I couldn;t agree more and in turn if the so-called CTO can't execure in three to four weeks max after onboarding and taking in the vision, role, info, etc in the first week or so. He/she should be gone! This could've saved me 4 months but I learned the hard way.
I also had to pay a startup attorney to draft a real co-founder's agreement that's clear about who formed the company, who's now onboarding for what role, and what role is planned for future onboarding, etc and not the wrong document folks typically pass around. You have to be ready to go it solo if you don't find a co-founder and when you do, all your investments speak for themselves. Don't wait, bootstrap! If you do fid a CTO, the farther along in the app development you are, the less equity you have to give by following the Founder's Pie Calculator linked in this article: (apend the following to mediumdotcom) /swlh/how-to-split-co-founder-equity-fairly-5dbb416df63e. So many unicorms out there got started without a CTO! VCs know execution when they see one, with a CTO or not.
Number 3 is a big one! As the more technical side of house, it is much more valuable when a non-tech founder has done a little leg work into building something. Something as simple as an interactive Figma design or, even better, a rough No Code demo, is huge in my book! It helps me understand the vision a bit more and shows that the seeking founder is willing to learn along the way.
Thanks @IndieJames for a very well researched post! Finding a technical co-founder is one of the biggest challenges (if not the biggest) in the early days of a startup. I have seen many friends give up on their ideas because they couldn't find a capable person to build it for them.
But the absolute worst case is teaming up with a wrong co-founder. I went through that painful experience, where I a partnered with someone who came from software services background and did not have the capabilities to built and maintain a product.
And because I did not have any technical background, it was very difficult for me to judge that in the beginning. So I would highly recommend working on a pilot project first, before you partner up with someone.
Also, YC's co-founder matching platform is a good place to look for potential co-founders.
Another option is MassLight, they invest capital and software engineers in startups. They can build your software, website, or mobile app in exchange for equity. They work with startups based in the US, Canada, and Europe.
Thanks! One of the more tricky parts is do deal with shares/ownership when you are from two different countries. Any experience there?
Very solid advice @IndieJames I find it imperative to be prepared before you even consider a partner. in my book, if you cant do your homework and just getting high on your own idea, then you are a risky partner.
Agreed!
Thanks for the tips
it helped me expand my perspective on that subject
Glad I could help!
Great article James, thank you! Question: If I want to go down the technical route of developing an MVP on my own and I don't have the technical chops, what programming language(s) should I learn to build an MVP?
For the sake of time, I'd us nocode for the MVP. But if you're generally interested in programming anyway, that's a great option too. The language will depend on what you're hoping to create and I'm not a developer so I'm probably not the best person to ask. Maybe if you post your question on the IH forum, someone who is more techy will have an answer for you. Good luck!
Good guide overall.
As a startup CTO and tech advisor myself I see same pattern over and over again - founders look for and want a full time tech leader assuming only that can help them move their tech products forward. What typically happens is that they either give out a lot of precious equity (and money) early on or (and) bring someone inexperienced who never done this before (basically an engineer with a new shiny CTO title who focuses on coding vs helping founder get to the "product-market-fit" asap). Remember, great engineer is not the same as great tech leader, they possess different skills.
Consider bringing experienced technical help on the fractional basis first to avoid lots of costly mistakes as you get the product ready for the fulltime tech leader. It's a great way for both sides to "date" before the marriage.
Great guide, but only covers one side of the equation - the non technical person has the idea and they seek a technical person to build it. But it can also be the other way round.
Can't we look for a technical founder who's already working on an idea and join them in turning their product into a business?
This is also a good article
Nice article, I learned Bubble and was able to find a tech co founder but first hiring him and then he grew to like the business model.
I want to integrate into any project, SaaS, and backend. I code in JavaScript and Python, using Node.js, Nest.js, and Django. For databases, I work with ORM, Prisma, MySQL, and PostgreSQL. If any startup is interested, I am happy to work for free. We can discuss to gauge my level and review the projects I have worked on. I am at an intermediate level.
contact me X(twitter) : bakiria919
mail: [email protected](.)dz
This guide outlines essential steps to find a technical cofounder, highlighting the importance of preparation, building an MVP, and engaging with relevant communities. It suggests a trial project to test compatibility before committing. A valuable resource for entrepreneurs!
Interesting read!
Love this article!
Love the article. I have a question around no code options for LLM's - are there any? I know everyone has an AI startup these days but I'm looking for non-technical resources similar to the no code resources. Thanks!
are you trying to build an LLM with no-code or just utilize them for other features?
I'd go with the latter if those actually worked well, but what I am after is fairly specific and am guessing utilizing them for other features won't be good enough. But that is just a guess!
Interesting, I'd like to know more to see if this is something I can build. I have been looking for a new AI project. Shoot me a DM or message on Twitter @CruiseLetter
Hmm can't seem to be able to DM you on twitter, but I'm @agoradiscourse and just followed you, let me know if you wanna chat further.
Just DMed you!
You said that you surveyed a sample of 50 people.
I posted a survey on IH recently but did not get any answers.
Can you explain why and how I can improve the situation?
The post
https://www.indiehackers.com/post/wow-maximize-roi-invest-x-amount-to-earn-3x-or-gain-nothing-ab304e417c
-Thanks so much for sharing, James. I’m going through the process of building a MVP while searching for a CTO. I found great technical leads, but my biggest thing is personality fit and whether they will really stick through the hard times. How did you make sure that they were the right person on the personality side?
-You don’t have to answer this part if this is private, but how much equity did you give to your tech co-founder? Alternatively, any advice and tips you have on co-founder tech equity structure would be helpful.
I met my tech cofounder online through my newsletter. We talked about working together, but we both had other things going on. A year later, after getting to know each other, we decided to build something.
I'm (almost) always a fan of 50/50. No point in having hierarchies of who owns more IMO. If you've already been working on it for a while, though, or if you don't fully trust them yet, you could create a structure where they gain more equity over time.
Great advice James, this will help me find some cofounders
This is great advice. I had a negative experience with my first startup where my nontechnical cofounder essentially only provided the initial idea and demanded 50% equity.
One of the things that us non-techie cofounders struggle with (okay fine, just me) is the vast information that's already out there and trying to decipher which information is actually plausible and which ones aren't. Took me months to get here (this blog) and I'm happy I found it (and thanks for the links they are a great help). I don't usually post comment ANYWHERE but I just had to chip in to say something good because I was starving for more information for months. All (3 at least) ideas that I wanted to launch pretty much was beaten into the market by someone else and they were all successful so am still kinda pissed at myself for being a non-techie XD but can't stop now... Thanks for the info it was a breath of fresh air. Sorry for the rant, it's how much I've been starving to find right partners to actually getting someone out in the market.
Or you get get in touch with us We craft scalable MVPs for Non-Technical Founders 🤩
Or, just DM me! I am a web/ios/android developer looking for a new project. I need an ACTIONABLE co-founder. The last TWO apps I built, I was partnered with people who were not ready to put in the work. Let's do something!
What are you building?
live event platform and hospitality platform
Great guide, as a techie myself, I wish there were a guide on how to find and evaluate non-technical co-founders.
Hello, I am looking for technical co-founders to create a venture capital based on DeFi
Hey, we can talk together if you are still looking for someone
Great post! I learnt a lot from this. Thank you
Very useful article, I´m looking for a technical co-founder so will use the tips in this article!
Great article
great article
Thank you very much, but I have a technical partner here.
Idea itself is worth nothing. Unless you conduct a thorough market research, learn how to sell your app idea to others.
This is a good one!
I love number 3 - especially in 2023, it aged really well! On top of that, I would add using No-Code templates to create your MVP even faster and see if you have Product-Market Fit. Then, go to custom No-Code, and if needed, go to custom code. Great post!
I'm found good one at YC combinator. We introduced ourselves in text for each. Then made meeting. Now we're going well for over 2 months. Btw, we shared our goals & values, stress management, communication style, current financial position, commitment, and our hard decision making which It's really a good start even though sometimes it evolve in each topic. Can look more details in YC free start-up courses.
I'm curious as to why the 'learn to code' suggestion is so high. What percentage of the people that suggest that actually did that themselves?
In my experience It takes months for the average person to learn enough to even launch a basic SPA with a form without everything breaking, let alone an MVP with presumably at least one feature that isn't trivial to implement.
In fact in my experience working with PMs and founders who have 'learnt to code' . This learning ussually get's them to the worst part of the Dunning-Kruger curve, where they know just enough to think they know something and:
a) Confidently direct things in the wrong direction
b) Incorrectly estimate budget, timescale etc.
To be more positive. What I have found has worked - instead of learning to code - is to develop an open and honest conversation about what it is they don't understand from a high level. Explain this to them with visuals. Then show them practical low level examples, e.g drawing a diagram of the frontend, the API, the database. Then show them users in your database, or how much code it takes to write an input form in React etc.
Great post! I learnt a lot from this. Thank you
Great post! Actively starting to work on something so might put in practice many of your suggestions:)
thanks! Really helpful.
For step 4, you can find co-founders/tech talent through Githired: https://bit.ly/githired_devs
You can search for projects similar to yours on Github, and reach out to the project's developers via Githired. These devs will bring their passion, failures, & successes to your partnership!
I have built two SaaS products. The first one did not make it to the market but the second one has successfully launched and generated some revenue. I am now looking for a CTO as a co-founder. This article is great!
This is very helpful. One platform I just joined to find a co-founder is called starthawk. Can't vouch for it yet as I'm new but you can connect with people who either "have an idea" or who are looking to partner with "someone else's idea"
Every online community I tried to use to find cofounders was always profile based. It matches you against other users. I've signed up to many of the sites suggested in this post. And what I spent most of my time doing on those sites was scrolling through loads of profiles that had nothing to do with what I was looking for (yes, even with filters, although most had poor filtering).
My question to this community is, do you have the same frustration?
I am working on a platform to try to solve this, and in true IndieHacker I want your opinions and feedback. This new platform matches founders based on their ideas and skills, rather than personal profiles.
Feel free to check out the project, or to skip that and just give me your feedback on the concept or your frustrations with finding founders online. Would you use something like my app, which matches entrepreneurs based on the projects they are working on?
https://www.wulfpackprojects.com/
Greatly appreciate your time!
really looking forward to it.
thanks for the encouragement!
Hi everyone! I am new to IH, and I am already a big fan! Great article. I am actually searching for co-founders for my AI beauty marketplace. If you are experienced or interested in AI/ML or alternatively If you're a digital marketing genius, and My Beauty Cabinet (https://mybeautycabinet.com/) sounds appealing to you - let's connect!
Hey! Thank you for this article - it was so helpful! Just curious, are the no-code/drag-and-drop platforms inherently limited relative to normal platforms? I'm assuming the answer is they are, but just wanted to double check. Similarly, could you actually build an entire app using no-code? Thanks!!
Did you find out any more about the no-code apps? Curious myself.
Great post. I'm a non-technical founder working on my MVP right now before I even think of approaching a technical co-founder.
I've got someone on Upwork coding the MVP and I'll start doing some testing and refining for about a month before reaching out to potential co-founders. In the meantime, I'll be doing the research and finding potential co-founders so this is really useful and I appreciate any tips anyone has!
Really helpful guide - thank you!
I have been searching for a tech guy for some time now and have joined this group recently. I hope to meet people here who can help me out with networking. Has anyone found their tech guy in forums like these?
@rahulchavan34 at fuzen.io we are helping non-technical founders build simple SaaS apps free of cost. We handle, the product building, tech support, hosting etc on your behalf and in return we take a small share of your future revenue. DM to chat more.
been searching for a tech guy for my startup... its been a while, no luck yet! How do you that you have found the correct guy for partnering up ?
This is pretty detail and love a lot of points
Its just the beginning of no-code, going back to basics where its not about learning technology its about who addresses the problem.
As someone who is in the early stages of a new idea. This is brilliant write up. I have been struggling with the learning to code after a 20 year hiatus things have changed a lot. I'm just learning about no-code, and will see how that goes in the short term.
As someone who is middle aged, it's quite hard to network with those who are more clued up on newer tech, as I stand out like a sore thumb as someone who is waaaay behind the times.
This is a very useful guide and overview. Your first point really resonates well and the places to find co-founders is great, however, I have found that their platforms are not the most user friendly and actually pretty hard to navigate to what you're actually looking for.
Thank you for the input. I found a few platforms I didn't happen to know. The problem with most of them is that these communities tend to be quite "closed", e.g. its not possible to post with a new account in r/cofounders. With my project, we recently lost our CTO as CTO and he know functions as a consultant for tech and the hiring process of the new CTO. The rest of the team isn't that much into tech, so all of these platforms like indiehacker, etc. are new for us. But I think we will get there, this post definitely helps!
Great overview and relevant thoughts. I can relate, we are already in market for over 1.5 years and just now ready to find a CTO and give them the opportunity to become co-founder.
Yes, this was! Thank you. I went from filmmaking to co-founding an AI startup and to say it's overwhelming is a complete understatement. So many tiny mistakes that could have been avoided, but we made it to the next level and are currently looking for a tech founder, so I found this article right on time! Thank you!
I have am the Founder/CEO of a Startup called Idiom Publishing. Simply, we have ported the print Yearbook to digital. We just finished our beta year, all software is written and operational, we have paying customers. I need to replace my CTO. We just signed a huge Sales/Distribution deal that is going to be huge. My question, where do I go to post my needs. This is actually going to be a crazy opportunity. PS... I'm not a techie but I LOVE you guys! Sorry if this is the wrong place to post this.
Congrats! Check out section #4 above and my subsequent post on meeting cofounders. Hope it helps!
Very informative, thank you for this..Question still remains for me..
What project do you have in mind?
Hi Joe, it is still a work in progress idea, I have not validated it yet, the question I was asking was a hypothetical but I will be glad to connect with you again once I have it validated, if that's ok with you?
No problems, though I can't guarantee my availability, let's see how it goes. We can connect over WhatsApp or Email
Totally — I've done it.
You just need someone who is willing to bet on your idea — someone who is legitimately excited about building it, and who has the time/resources to do so. The further along you are, and the more validation you have, the easier that will be.
They'll also need to be willing to bet on you. This is one reason why family/friends/acquaintances are a helpful place to start. It's also a good reason to build in public and gain a following of people who know what you bring to the table.
Hope that helps - good luck!
So you're saying there's a chance...
Haha, yep 😁
This comment was deleted 3 years ago
This comment was deleted 4 years ago