- trust issues in starting a co-founding relationship with a stranger (though i worked for startups/clients remotely for years)
- difficulties in setting criteria for selecting a person
Though not vital for my current goal of launching an MVP/proof of concept, I’m thinking about giving co-founder dating another go and wondering if anybody knows of success cases (co-founders that met and eventually launched a minimally successful startup project) ?
Startups are an exercise in risk mitigation and cofounders mitigate your intrinsic/personal risk. (Every human has flaws.)
VCs and angels often talk about team risk and how its better to have multiple (but not too many) founders. This is because every individual has flaws and founders offset each others. The team risk is the sum total of the founders intrinsic risk. To give yourself the best shot, find someone who will hold you while bombs are going off in the trenches but isn't totally like you. (Same reason why "diversity" is important)
That said culture is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING so you definitely have to be compatible.
Your wife is not like you, but you still love her. Find someone who is different but you can love through the hard times.
"University of Pennsylvania physicist looking for programming partner to develop software for use in radiation oncology."
Pretty short. I was a grad student at the time, so I leveraged that in the post. I think it was in the "gigs" section. Total fluke that it worked.
It might also help to get stories of failures and why they failed. I will give you mine.
I met someone online who wanted me to partner with them on a business. I was interested, but later learned that what they wanted from me was illegal. At that point, I bowed out.
A not for profit project that I worked on turned sour for me and I bailed. Looking back on it, I concluded the founder was looking for a step and fetch to provide the time and energy for the project they could not spare while also working full time and raising a family.
If you just want a step and fetch, don't pretend they are a partner. Pay someone to do menial tasks that you simply don't have time for.
Make sure there is something in it for them. Both of the above examples were looking out for their interests. Neither really thought about my side of things. Screwing someone over is not a means to lay the foundations for trust and a long term partnership.
People always seem to think I am talking about ethics. I'm not. I'm just saying "You can't get there from here."
If you want a partner, you need to do certain things that establish that we are in this together and it needs to be designed such that when you both work together, you are both better off for it.
Using people comes back to bite you. You don't need ethics to decide it is stupid and doesn't really work. Pissing on someone tends to come back to bite you exactly when you need someone to have your back. Pressure reveals exactly what you have built and that the foundation is not strong.
My co-founder and I met through Angellist. We've launched a product and have double digits of customers. And revenue!
It sounds like you've already made the decision and want to hear anecdotes that validate your choice, and you'll probably disregard the survivorship bias (explicitly asked for successful examples) and participation bias (hacker news users voluntarily answer).
What you should do is look at some numbers -- % of friends vs nonfriends founders that exited successfully, perhaps.
After that, I suspect the question you will want to ask instead is "How do I find a good cofounder outside of college?"
The one successful startup was with someone I met online. I bought his book, he added me on Facebook. We trolled each other a lot and became friends. When I asked him to join as a cofounder, it was the second time I met him in person.
On the other hand, the biggest failure was something I did with a former best friend and roommate. He was a true hustler, but his approach was very different to mine. He would lie, cheat, and outright refuse to pay partners.
One startup also failed, with a person I knew for years, but not very well. It was a good idea, very solid market. But startups are mentally exhausting and neither of us could push hard enough.
I think the key is really whether you would trust this person. Would you hang out and talk with them for no reason? Would you add them on Facebook? It's a major red flag if you don't.
Basically, would you marry this person? Because that is what a startup really is like. You literally share the same hotel room at times. Sometimes the office is the hotel room. You have to be that comfortable with them.
And you have to make sacrifices. You're sacrificing years of your career for the dreams of this person. You might be sacrificing your relationships with others. I know a person who never saw his newborn son until the baby died, because he was busy with his startup.
It doesn't really matter if you know them for years or days. What really matters is that you're willing to put everything aside and commit to them.
But I met an investor, interested to invest, who asked me if I have a team or any plans. So they expect us to have a team. I'm the kind of freedom guy, thats why Im in business, dont want a boss, not going for the money.
But there is a problem with success. I fear that if it will be successful, I'll have to partner with a CTO as I'm not the stronger tech guy. And I will not have time to do everything myself.
What I thought about is to contact people I read on the internet, anywhere on the internet. Its likely that they have a job but you never know. If they have time to write on the internet maybe they are not that busy. And I identified someone that I would like to partner with if needed.
This idea with dating a co-founder would be very useful. Even if you dont find or need a co-founder, just to meet like minded people is good. I'm happy I answered you because I understand you.
Two years later, Saurabh decided to close it down but we had by then seen each other's style of working. So for our next startup, we just decided to do it together as co-founders.
Hackr.io is doing well and remains as one of the All-Time Top 50 Hunts on Product Hunt till date.
have they demonstrated they can commit to a project in the past?
do they're strengths align with your weaknesses?
are they interested in the project?
