Ask HN: Where to meet non-technical cofounders?

There's one way and one way only: former coworkers. That's the only good option. Someone you've worked with. And not just someone you liked... someone you admire.

That being said, all high-impact jobs at a startup are technical at first and then slowly shifts to nontechnical. So early on, your non-technical cofounder will be bored and not have much to do. And as time goes on, assuming they are still around, that will shift.

Consider instead going with two technical founders, and assume one or both of you will end up shifting into a more operational role.

For context: I am a software engineer and angel investor that specializes in early stage exits. I have built and exited multiple startups together with a bunch of wonderful people over the years.

The problem you are describing is not unique in any way, shape or form. I coach dozens of startups every year and your problem is more common than you might think. When I first started, I was just like you. I had no one to turn to and I felt like I could get nowhere. Meetups and networking events were and still are a waste of time for the most part as you don’t really want to get into business with people you´ve only met for 2 hours and know very little about on a personal level. So where does that leave you?

1) You don’t need a non-technical person: Find a technical co-founder who has transitioned into management or have some sense of how to run a business and have said person be in charge of the duties that you don’t excel at. The reason I usually make this recommendation to people in your position is that most non-technical people tend to have a problem communicating with their technical counter-part because they don´t understand the technical challenges ahead the same way you do. It leads to resentment and hostility when communication breaks down. This is one of the most common reasons startups fail. Communication is key in team building.

2) Keep working on your product and ignore all the fluff: Put your head down and grind an MVP out before worrying about any of the other stuff. We can all pump out ideas by the hundreds, but execution is really what matters at the end of the day. Building an MVP most often does not require a co-founder. It just requires you to spend some of your free time building things. Do what you can for now (if you are serious about this) and stop worrying about “expansion plans”, “go to market strategies” and “networks”.

2) Get a couple of advisors that you can trust: Ask those who have gone through this whole thing before and let them mentor you. A lot of times people connect via their advisors´ networks and that usually ends up being a lot more successful of a partnership. This is because any person your advisor is going to suggest you partner up with in some capacity will have been screened/filtered by said advisor. I connect people at least a dozen times a year that I think would be great fit for each other, and that ends up working a lot better than finding people via networking events. The key here is to find advisors that are honest and want what is in your best interest.

3) Utilize capital properly: If you have an MVP for an idea that is worth its salt, finding capital these days is extremely easy. In fact, it is so easy that people raise absurd amounts because capital is competing for deals. There is a lot more money out there than there are good companies to invest in. All you need is for your product to be in the hands of a couple hundred people. This validates you and shows that you are actually doing real work. Investors invest in people first; products and ideas are secondary for the most part. Take that money and hire for the things you are not good at. You don’t always need a co-founder. Sometimes a good employee can become your co-founder after the fact as they prove to you over time that they are trust-worthy, hardworking and capable.

4) Create a communication channels: Once you have an MVP ready, make sure that communication channels with your users are well established for continuous feedback. As an example, you can create a Discord group where your users can give you feedback and feature requests/ideas. That becomes the mechanism for other like-minded people, that are already using your product, to reach out to you. It would be impossible for me to count the number of times people have reached out to me via one of those communication channels about one of my startups. When people are excited about what you are doing, they will seek you out rather than the other way around.

5) COVID is actually a blessing not a curse: There are now tens of thousands of people like you that are sitting at home waiting for their moment to shine. They are all motivated and willing to get to work. You just need to have something to present to the world so that people can be excited. Remember, you are asking for someone to go on a journey together with you. Excite people and have them chase you.

Finally, if you (or anyone else for that matter) wants to have a chat about their startup/product, feel free to reach out to me. My email is in my profile.

You'd be surprised. VCs will often respond to cold calls because part of their job is to cultivate connections with people who will be starting the Next Big Thing. The best way to do that is to get them into their rolodex before they get on anyone else's radar.

But be careful what you wish for. Getting the cold call response and even the first meeting is relatively easy. But it is also easy to exhibit a level of cluelessness that will get you blackballed, and if that happens you will probably never know it. So that first meeting can be very much a two-edged sword. You only get one chance to make a first impression.

It occurred after Eric Schmidt took over operational control of Google. He focused in on a rational business model (swiped from GoTo.com [1]), it's specifically why the venture capitalists installed him. Schmidt had both an engineering background and management experience. The story I recall from back then was about John Doerr telling Schmidt to not fuck it up (recounted in a nicer way by Schmidt, below [2]); the advertising runway was pretty simple for Google, given the product they were building under the hood.

Schmidt joined Google in March 2001. For all of 1999 Google only had $220,000 in revenue (founded Sept 1998). Their early, primitive experiments in advertising worked well enough, they brought in $19m in revenue for 2000 (which would increase 300% in 2001, and then 400% in 2002).

[1] 2013: https://slate.com/business/2013/10/googles-big-break-how-bil...

[2] 2005: https://www.gq.com/story/google-larry-sergey

> Schmidt met all of Larry and Sergey's stringent criteria. He had a credible name, a Ph.D. (from Berkeley), and he promised not to push the boys aside or dismantle the quirky culture they'd engendered. "The board members told me, basically, 'Don't screw this thing up!' " Schmidt says. "They said, 'It needs some infrastructure, some growing, but the gem here is very real.'"