Do you have a co-founder? How did you find them?
Sharath Kuruganty
54 replies
Finding a co-founder is hard, and sometimes it takes a lot of time.
Folks who have co-founders, drop your tips, hacks, and methods on finding one so that you can help fellow founders who are seeking one.
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Sharath Kuruganty@5harath
I will go first.
While I'm building community at Product Hunt on the side I run a SaaS product called Shoutout Initially, I built the MVP and validate the idea in the market. Later when I was looking for a co-founder to scale things, I went on Twitter to put a bat signal and found @curtisjcummings!
Here's a detailed story on how to find a co-founder.
Hope this helps!
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People you have worked with in the past make great co-founders - you already built trust, know whether you work well together and whether you complement each other well.
If you're considering someone you've never worked with before, I'd strongly recommend starting with short-term project with a clear outcome to see how it goes :)
1. Ex. Colleagues
2. Anglelist.io
Keep an eye on your
3. Suppliers / vendors &
4. Customers
3&4 can be as close as ex colleagues
I don’t have one. Nocode might increase the number of solo founder in the future.
@yusuke2424 definitely. It’s so easy to start and on both ends. If you are a Dev, there are thousands of mar/adtech growth tools. If you’re more on a business side, than you have an evolving market of no-code everything (from website builders to Natural Language processing). It’s never been so easy to build prototype and MVP
@yusuke2424 YC launched founders matching platform: https://www.producthunt.com/post...
I met my co-founder in school. We went to the same school
We don't have a co-founder. Sometimes one isn't needed. The founder of our company made it work without one. Sometimes a strong team is better than a good co-founder. With that being said maybe look for a few people you can build a team around.
@cash_monestine Sure thing. More power to your founder 🚀
I was lucky to find my co-founders during school, but YC's online startup school is a really cool resource as well. They do weekly group calls where you can meet and talk with other founders in a similar stage as you. You can also check a box that says you're looking for co-founders so people are aware. Seems to be a really good virtual option for finding!
https://www.startupschool.org/
Great Post! Can you share what things to keep in mind while building to keep in mind while building your first saas product
I met my co-founder during our studies in Barcelona 5 years ago. We've been flatmates since then and worked on many side projects and startup ideas before founding Wonderpath this year (https://www.wonder-path.com/). I definitely recommend side projects as a great way to get started.
Here's a post on how to find your co-founder from our blog, Flatmate Founders: https://flatmatefounders.substac...
Hi @5harath YC just launched a matchmaking platform to find your co-founders
Link to the announcement: https://blog.ycombinator.com/co-...
Link to the platform: https://www.startupschool.org/co...
Didn't try it though!
@5harath @flobbgt Ohh yes, absolutely! PH community loved it https://www.producthunt.com/post... Kudos to @catheryn and team 🙌
Finding a co-founder is a slow process because requires time working together to build trust and commitment with the product. I think the chances of finding great co-founder decreases while the product moves forward.
Ex-coworkers are a good source to find co-founders.
I don't have one, but my former CEO found one in a great story.
He was thinking about starting a software company, something that was different from his former line of work. So he made a list of a bunch of software people on LinkedIn, then reached out to them, took them to launch talked to them.
Found one he liked, proposed starting a business, and they had millions in revenue in a few years.
Important note, my friend brought a lot to the table. He brought ideas, business connections, and money.
A co-founder is a partner, not just 'someone to build your idea'
TLDR:
- Startup School co-founder match
- Intense trial period
- First Round founder dating playbook
My co-founder and I met on YC Startup School's co-founder matching platform! (https://www.startupschool.org/co...). Highly recommend.
We're now building Whalesync - a super simple way to sync data across your no-code tools. (https://www.whalesync.com/)
When we met, it was obvious from the beginning we shared a passion/experience in no-code and had complementary skills.
That being said, we took the partnership decision very seriously (which I'd also recommend) and went thru a rigorous process to make sure we'd be great partners long-term. This included:
- a 2 month trial period of working together full-time
- days spent deep diving on core values, goals, and desired culture
- First Round's founder dating playbook: https://review.firstround.com/th...
Certainly feels like a bit of luck that Curtis and I were able to meet, but hope that's helpful!
But first... maybe you don’t need a co-founder. Many have done it alone. I personally wouldn’t without someone because I know how much it takes, but if that's the path you want to go down - cool. If it's for the tech… consider low-code, no-code and bootcamps first.
Also, don’t rush it. You are looking for someone like you or maybe unlike you - but either way someone who compliments you and that you’ll work with for next 8-10 years. Key is to take your time and find the best fit(s).
Trust and joy. Whilst there are a lot of perspectives on this, I think choosing a co-founder boils down to these two words. Trust is about working with someone you can rely on and has the right intentions. Joy is joy - if you don’t enjoy their company then you’ve already lost.
Onto my tips:
Start with your circle, because you already have data.
1. Your immediate group of friends.
2. Ask your immediate groups of friends if they can recommend someone.
3. Tap the people you used to work with.
4. Think back to those you studied with.
Then reach outside your network.
5. Attend networking events: Hopin, Eventbrite, Meetup, or hang out at Coworking spaces.
6. Attend a hackathon: ie. StartupWeekend.
7. Try platforms: Product Hunt, CoFoundersLab, Lunch Club
8. Get on social: Clubhouse, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram - again, trying to stick to people that are 2nd degree wherever possible.
This discussion is timely cause I'm about to interview a potential co-founder. Will bookmark this page and come back to it on saturday.
On the Github issues
We met at a university hackathon. It's kind of like a "speed teaming". You work together with someone for a short period of time and that can be a strong indicator of how they are.
While we're on the topic of working together, a painful lesson I learned is try not to work with your friends. Ideally you want your co-founders to turn into friends.
I have found that friends, family, and prior co-workers make the best co-founders. Because, the foundation of a dope partnership is based on trust, cohesion, communication, and collaboration. These points are already proven out with the folks listed above.
As a backup, see if the FFPC Circle can tap their own networks. They might know someone who would best compliment your style and vibe.
Here is the best resource I have seen for vetting a co-founder be it a friend or someone you are just meeting.
A) https://review.firstround.com/th...
B) https://www.beondeck.com/post/ho...
I like the exercises that simulate the dynamics of a startup environment. It's critical to see firsthand how a potential co-founder thrives in and with:
1) a stressful pressure cooker environment/crisis
2) handles the division of duties
3) builds a culture and serves the greater good of the team/Co
4) Supports integrity & fairness
Ä°ndie Hackers