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MenuI am having difficulty finding a technical co-founder. What is the best way to find and validate a technical co-founder?
I started discussions with some good resources I know but timing was not good for them. I am still looking within my network, but wondering if better options and how to best vet someone you don't know?
Answers
If the problem is vetting, really the best way is to get someone technical you trust (or with good reputation) to evaluate them. There are plenty of technical people whom you could hire for a day to give their opinion of any candidate.
However the real problem is usually finding the candidate and convincing them to want to join you. The people who you really want as a technical partner have a lot of other opportunities vying for their attention. You have to figure out how to stand out from the crowd.
I somewhat disagree. I'm also a non-technical cofounder and have searched around for tech cofounder. After talking to many people, I've come to the conclusion that it's more important to have someone who has the passion and is willing to work alongside you.
I've had the experience of being abandoned by a great programmer at the very last minute when he was uppos e to deliver. You need to find somoeone who would be willing ot take some risk wit you. But let's face it most tech guys aren't well known for their adventurous sides, so you'll really have to look hard.
You can always reach out to your network know you are looking, let other people know and recommend someone. Or finally (depending on your product) perhaps even consider hiring development until you find your ideal match. Don't settle to save a few mucks, most likely you end with more if you work with someone you trust.
Rememer, the best tech guy doesn't make them the ideal partner.
It's better to be a solo founder than to choose the wrong co-founder. The road is littered with startups that imploded because of the wrong co-founding team.
The best co-founders aren't those who just complement your areas of strength, but those whom you know well, and get along with best. That's why the most successful co-founding teams are made up of individuals who have a history together – often at college/university, or another startup. They know each other's temperament, risk tolerance, communication abilities and other critical factors.
Your own network of people is still the best place to start. From there, determine 'fit' – not skills – before anything else.
I'm happy to help you define your fit requirements further if you wanted to schedule a call. Good luck!
Certainly finding someone who believes in what you are trying to accomplish is extremily important. From there, test the person through some agreed upon goals. Watch, listen, read between the lines. People are people, aside from the qualifications, test the human side. Is this person committed? Do you connect. There are many ways of accomplishing this without making a business commitment. Take the time. Have several meetings with them. If they truly believe in you and what you are attempting to do, they will appreciate the process.
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How does a bootstrapping startup organize an exceptional team with no budget?
This is a typical problem with any start-up, i.e. intention to trade everything for equity. I am assuming that you're trying to trade equity for cash. In that case I would suggest you to look out for individuals with diversified skills and competencies. The reason being, less the number of individuals less the amount of equity that would be required to trade. Second option could be to look out for agencies to whom you could outsource the business process. I am not at all ashamed to mention that my own company is one such agency. However, my only piece of advice to to try and add some retainership component to your model, apart from equity, as in a long term it's easier for people to lose motivation in absence of any capital gains. The reason being, people don't understand the value of equity in startup. Rather, the time it could take for that equity to turn into something big; it may not happen as well. That's why they say there's nothing called free lunch. In my more than a decade experience working with entrepreneurs and helping them bootstrap, I have learnt that the market out there is crowded with individuals with a lust to join startup as a equity holder. In a short term, they may speak all those rosy language that may sound like coming directly from the Horse's mouth. But, in a long term you realize not everything is hunky-dory. As far as finding a co-founder or a CTO or any other executive team member is concerned, ensure that you put down the roles and responsibilities attached with each title. Apart from above, ensure that you communicate your expectation lucidly and understand the values everyone is required to bring on the table. Usual people who could be a good fit for you, apart from any agency, are people who aren't big on title. Is there anything specific you're looking at? Please feel free to revert with more clarity to receive clarity. I am just a call away. All the best!!SB
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How to deal with co-founders that aren't pulling their weight?
I feel your pain — I've been there several times in a couple of my companies. Each situation ended up being unique, and had to be handled differently. I think there are a few things to consider before you make your decision: -- 1. What is in your cofounder's way? Is you cofounder being held up by a lack of clarity? Lack of motivation? Lack of autonomy? One of my past cofounders was very good at getting the job done, but didn't naturally have the skill to lay out tasks in a manageable way. To get around this, I worked with the whole team (4 people) to write up process documentation that removed the need to "figure out what to do next" that was tripping up this cofounder. -- 2. What job was your cofounder brought on to complete? And is it being completed? One of my companies brought on a cofounder simply to give us a marketing platform — he had a huge online audience — but he did nothing else. At first, this caused tension; once we had specifically laid out who was on the team and for what purpose, it was easier to identify where responsibilities lay. -- 3. Is your cofounder capable of doing the job? One of the more painful ordeals I've gone through in business is bringing on a good friend, then realizing that — despite his talent and intelligence — he just wasn't able to perform the job I'd hired him for. His skills were better suited for a different job: he needs hands-on management; he works better with repetitive tasks that don't require big-picture thinking; he lacks assertiveness and confidence, which were critical for the management-level role he'd been hired to do. After I tried to clear everything in his way, it became clear the company couldn't survive if he remained on the team. I had to lay him off. -- 4. Do you just simply not like the way this cofounder works? In one of my startups, there was a cofounder who I didn't know all that well, but he had amazing industry contacts and domain knowledge. However, once we started working together it became clear that we had VERY different working styles. He drove me completely nuts with (what seemed to me to be) a very ADHD-style of planning, with projects starting and being dropped and then coming out of nowhere with a call at 21:00 to discuss something critical that would be forgotten tomorrow. I'm sure I drove him nuts, too. So eventually we ended up selling that company — it was that or shutter it — because we knew there wasn't a chance we'd be successful if we continued as we were. -- Working with other people is tricky in general. Our instinct is to assume that we're the best workers on the planet and everyone else is incompetent, an idiot, a slacker, or all of the above. Usually it's a combination of an organizational-level lack of clarity, poor communication, no processes, and (sometimes) plain ol' we-don't-see-eye-to-eye-on-things-ness. Hopefully that helps. Feel free to get in touch if you'd like to hear specifics on my situations, or if you'd like any help devising a strategy for resolving your cofounder trouble. Good luck!JL
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