[Long Post] The Definitive Guide to Getting a Technical Co-Founder if You Absolutely Don't Know Anyone

Hi guys!

I hope anyone that is reading this is staying safe and healthy. My name is Jerome and I'm the Founder of ShopMe (www.getshopme.com), and we're a platform that helps retailers reduce costs and increase their efficiency by automating the most painful part of the shopping process - checkout.

Before that, I was the Co-Founder of RefundMe (lazy naming, I know), which is a digital VAT refund platform that uses IoT to help governments validate tax-free shopping exports (funded by Startupbootcamp and a couple of angel investors based in Europe).

ShopMe is actually a pivot from RefundMe, as our government contracts got cancelled this May because of COVID19. I officially pivoted in August and have built our MVP, signed a 2 year distribution contract with a mall, and onboarded a CTO. We start with retailer integration tomorrow and will launch on March 18 with the opening of the mall we've partnered with.

A bit about my background: While I do have a BSc in CS, I've never really coded professionally and was basically doing UI/UX and project management stuff during college. Shortly after uni, I did my Master's degree in Business so I do consider myself a non-technical founder with a technical background.

For all of my startups (before the two aforementioned companies, I started a food delivery startup in the Philippines), I was able to find a technical co-founder. I know that for a lot of people here, finding a technical co-founder is the biggest hurdle when it comes to moving forward, and as someone who has recruited a tech co-founder 3 times I feel like I've noticed some patterns/requirements needed to attract tech talent early on. Moreover, all of the tech co-founders I onboard worked on an equity basis (including my current CTO).

The best scenario is for you to partner with someone that you've known/worked with for a while. But what if that is not your case? What do you need to get a technical co-founder if you don't know anyone (i.e. ex colleague/close friend/former high school or uni friend)?

-Proof that the problem you're solving is real and people are willing to pay for it
The proof that I'm mentioning can come in many different forms, but the best example would be some form of commitment to pay/use the product that you want to build. It depends on the type of business you're in; if you're B2B, it would be in the form of contracts/pledges to purchase (these are usually non binding so it can be tricky, but I'll address this later on). For B2C, it can be sign ups or positive feedback of your wireframes/prototype.

Figuring out if the problem you're solving is real can be a challenge since most people suck at asking the right questions and people on the other side of the table don't want to hurt your feelings so they will give false positives. I suggest that you read The Mom Test for guidance since contracts, pledges, and signups don't really mean anything until.......

-You've built the first version of your product
Sorry to break your bubble, but I believe that in order for you to attract a technical co-founder, you need to have an MVP. That's right, an MVP. You might be wondering: "But Jerome, the reason why I need a technical co-founder is because I need someone to build the MVP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

(AVOID SHOTGUN PARTNERSHIPS WITH RANDOM PEOPLE. Sam Altman put it perfectly: Being a solo founder is bad. Having a bad co-founder is fatal.)

I understand. That logic might have worked in the early 2000s, but it's not going to work now. The reality is that signs ups, contracts, and pledges are great for your ego, but unless people get to actually use your service you still don't have enough proof that you're working on something that people want.

How do you build an MVP? The short answer is: you hire a freelancer to build it with you

A freelancer. Not an agency (expensive and the requirements constantly change as you talk to more potential users), not a venture studio, not a tech-for-equity company, but a cheap but decent freelancer. There are plenty of websites where you can find them including AngelList and even on Hacker News!

Take note: get a FREELANCER. A single person. Not a company.

You need to be able to manage tech talent and by working with one closely, you'll get an idea on how the development process works, how product is built, and exactly how it is like working with a developer. At this point 99% of you wouldn't know how to manage a developer and I think you would rather learn from a freelancer (that doesn't have a stake in your company) than learn the hard way from a tech co-founder that you created a shotgun partnership with :)

The way that I would recommend it is hiring people who can work with you on a continuous basis per month. The way that I did it was when I had a pretty good idea on what the product would be based on user interviews, we agreed on what features to build per month. We'll have weekly sprints and demos, and I would talk to users on a regular basis to refine anything that needs to be refined.

How do you get the funding for the freelancer? Unfortunately, you have to take it from your own pocket. Building a business is an investment. If you don't have the funds, you can try your luck by raising a small ticket from friends in family (this is what I did). If you can't raise from friends and family, then unfortunately your journey ends here. Investing your OWN money is the ultimate proof that you're committed to the project.

The hard reality is that developers have the abundance of choice, and you need to show them that you can continue forward even WITHOUT their help. This is what attracts talent, whether it's tech, business, or design. You, as the founder, need to show everyone that nothing can stop you. You need to show that it is in their best interest to join YOU because your rocket is going to Mars even without their help.

-You got an MVP? Go take it to your users!

You finally have some form of traction based on actual usage
Once you've launched your MVP and people start using it, it's not a guarantee that it will fly. Maybe you've literally built something that people didn't really want because you asked the wrong questions (and again, unless people start using it, their comments are useless!). Make sure to read The Mom Test so you can arm yourself with the arsenal to let you ask the right questions.
Let's say that there is indeed traction. People are using it, giving good feedback based on their usage but there are still unknowns that you haven't figured out or unknowns that suddenly popped up.

When you have traction, that is the time to get a tech co-founder (Take note: make sure to keep the freelancer until you find one). At this point, you want to think about raising a round soon and we all know that investors who invest in solo founders working with a freelancer is rare as you don't want your cost growing in proportion to the amount of tech work needed to be done.

For me, I've found my previous tech co-founders on AngelList, and they coincidentally have been in my city.

The narrative that I've used when approaching developers is:

-Hey, my name is so and so.
-I've been working on X, and have got this much traction w/. a freelancer
-What I want to do next is Y but I need an in-house team moving forward
-Your profile is great, and I was wondering if you're available for a chat? Are you looking for something new at the moment?

When you approach a developer with traction and an MVP, you have LEVERAGE. You have the luxury to take your time in choosing the right person instead of going into a shotgun partnership. I really can't stress this enough! When you look for someone when you don't have anything, your standards DROP. If you have something, your standards INCREASES (as it should be).

This is just the basics. I might create another post regarding a guide on how to interview a potential tech co-founder later on.

-You've got a commit, what's next?
Give your new tech co-founder a two-three month trial period to see if you guys will jell together. Keep the freelancer as the main engine of the development in case your new recruit screws up (it can happen. People can have great resumes but you won't really know how they are unless you work with them). Have the new guy work on small tickets in the backlog for the first few weeks. By month 1 you'll have a better idea on how the person works, if he delivers on time, and most importantly, if you jell together. Remote Co-Founders are okay and this is the period to test whether you can work with them.

This is it for now. If this post gets some attention, I'll talk later about the interview process, how to split equity with someone who just joined when you already have traction, and other important things to consider when starting a company.