A common antipattern I see in people creating a startup is that they seek out cofounders to complement their skills the same way that they would seek out an employee. (This is true both for non-technical cofounders seeking technical cofounders and vice versa.) They’ve got checklist of skills and qualities. They go out and try to find people that match their checklist, enthusiastically talking about their idea and trying to enroll them in their idea. This comes from misunderstanding the difference between thinking like an employee and thinking like an entrepreneur.

An employee is someone who is enrolled in your vision. Good employees fill in the gaps in skills and resources that the company needs. But employees don’t care as much about your vision as you do. They get paid for their work; they risk less and have less ownership of the business (both literally and figuratively.)

Entrepreneurs are *creative*; they’re always creating something new. They have their own visions, their own dreams. When entrepreneurs work together it is to create something synergistic. (I’m speaking here about people with an entrepreneur *mindset*, which might be independent of whether they are actually a business owner.) They take more business risks and are significantly more invested in the vision, because they helped create that vision.

Entrepreneurs are also learning-oriented. If they lack technical skills, or business skills, or people skills, they learn what they need to do to address that. They learn those skills. They hire employees. They ask for help. They know what they’re good at and what they’re not, acknowledge that they can get better at anything given enough time and focus, and get really creative about what they focus on and what they don’t.

So if you’re looking for a cofounder, don’t try to sell people on your idea. Find people who have a similar passion, and create something even better.