What would you need to see from someone with a web app company proposal to feel comfortable joining as CTO/Lead engineer? Let's assume that you did not yet know the person.
I'm asking b/c I have several plans that I am in the final process of developing but would like feedback on how to get real talent to join as co-founder. I know I can get your run of the mill coder easily, but what do I need to come to the table with to a top 10%er.
If you have those four things you're in the top tier of awesome opportunities. Any entrepreneurial-minded great hacker is going to be interested.
I would raise initial salary from my own pocket for the lead CTO, so I'm curious if I'd have enough. $90k+ is not feasible.
I might expect a relatively small (cover living expenses) salary if I were taking on, say, a 20-30% equity stake as a cofounder in a pre-traction startup. This is sort of a no-man's-land of risk/reward tradeoff, though. There's an awkward dynamic when you're paying someone else's living expenses and yet their salary is still well below market-rate. It's worked for a couple startups (Hotmail was one, Intuit may've been another, though the equity stakes for Intuit all got renegotiated when they almost went bankrupt), but you don't see it often.
Once you're down in single-digit equity stakes, it's expected that you'll pony up market-rate salaries. That's what fundraising is for. :-) The equity stake for early employees is there to compensate (and incentivize) them for the possibility that their salary may not be their tomorrow, not for the lack of a salary.
Whoever pays that salary should get equity in exchange, whether it's you or an outside investor. Ideally it's an outside investor (who can afford to lose it). Either way it should be at a reasonable valuation.
Courage to try new things.
Willingness to accept some of those 'new things' aren't working as planned and change course or drop them.
Ability to examine situations logically, but also to get passionate about the offering.
Basic agreement that revenue and profit are king, and decisions should be made based on the numbers.
Clear vision for how money will be made.
Ability to articulate customer base.
Demonstrated ability to sell, or to find people who can.
1. "Smart People That I Like Having a Beer With" is a must have. There is so much that happens in a startup that its more like a family than a job. And in this case, picking your family is wisely is the path to happiness AND success. 2. Deep experience in their field and / or a clear way to generate early revenue (through network, former company, etc.). The hardest part of starting a company is early traction and if I can't bring it then I want it in the people I work with.
Notice that none of this is really about the idea because if you have someone with deep experience or early sales, then the idea will evolve over time as it finds the right Customer Need.
Good luck!
If you don't have traction, it's a much harder sell. In that case, the first thing I look for is the team. Are you someone I could hit it off with over drinks? Do you have deep expertise in your area of your startup? Are you driven by data or by dreams? Do you have a plan for how you're going to attack your market, or is it just "There must be riches out there somewhere"?
