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Show HN: FoundersList – Looking for a cofounder or a new startup to work on?

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Re: Show HN: FoundersList – Looking for a cofounder or a new startup to work on?

#41

Post by anticsapp »

kristopolous wrote: post #32
werber wrote: post #22

Does anyone know of something similar for matching technical people with non profits? I’m suddenly filled with free time and want to find a non profit with short term technical needs. Ideally looking to help lgbtq organizations if that helps

At least before its acquisition, grindr had its hand in a bunch of non-profit tech stuff. I don't know if they consolidated it to a specific website. The times I ran into them, they were focused on homeless lgbt (they thought some app would help) and other kinds of public health initiatives involving racism, transphobia, safe spaces, all that ... don't assume the attitude of the users on the platform reflect that of…

I never knew grindr did that, that's awesome.

Re: Show HN: FoundersList – Looking for a cofounder or a new startup to work on?

#42

Post by eloff »

tmpz22 wrote: post #11
Taek wrote: post #9

Question for HN: I cannot imagine starting a company with a stranger. There are so many intense moments, points of extreme trust, and ways for things to go wrong, so much passion, and so much blending of self and company, that I wouldn't ever feel comfortable embarking with someone that I didn't know incredibly well as a cofounder. Are there reasons to believe that starting with a stranger as a cofounder will general…

Devils advocate, Tinder ends with plenty of long term relationships. Ultimately much of founderdom is a crap shoot because you never know what your partner will turn into three years from now with money on the table. Truly obvious good founders who have lots of experience or proven connections are few and far between such that for the average startup rolling the dice may be just as effective as picking your best frie…

This is more like if you married the first person who agreed to go out with you on tinder.

Which is probably a petty lousy idea.

I don't see how starting a company with a stranger is going to have better results. There will always be exceptions, but it seems like a bad idea.

Re: Show HN: FoundersList – Looking for a cofounder or a new startup to work on?

#43

Post by anticsapp »

gnicholas wrote: post #13
generalpass wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Similarly: Cofounders looking for salesperson to work for commission only.

I think this idea actually has a better chance of working, for a couple reasons: • There is less risk in starting the relationship. You're not divvying up shares in a company or even paying a fixed salary. The only thing you stand to lose is the time spent figuring out the comp structure • Founders don't have to open up quite as much about the business, and worry that their idea will be stolen/copied. This is partly…

Salesperson for commission is fine. They either work really hard for the LinkedIn credit and don't sell anything or they crush and sell and make money for you and them. I sold a $10,000 deal for a certain comedy adjacent startup because he said a certain vendor could not be closed. When the founder asked me what a fair commission would be I said mail me a t-shirt, sometimes it's just for fun.

edit: prospect, not vendor

Re: Show HN: FoundersList – Looking for a cofounder or a new startup to work on?

#44

Post by lukifer »

eloff wrote: post #42
tmpz22 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Devils advocate, Tinder ends with plenty of long term relationships. Ultimately much of founderdom is a crap shoot because you never know what your partner will turn into three years from now with money on the table. Truly obvious good founders who have lots of experience or proven connections are few and far between such that for the average startup rolling the dice may be just as effective as picking your best frie…

This is more like if you married the first person who agreed to go out with you on tinder. Which is probably a petty lousy idea. I don't see how starting a company with a stranger is going to have better results. There will always be exceptions, but it seems like a bad idea.

I don't think the idea is to pick someone at random; it's more like speed dating, where you check for initial chemistry and aligned interests, and then decide if you want to take it further. Maybe you even do some due diligence and check references.

You're perhaps incurring more risk, compared to a friend/colleague you've known for 10 years; but then, there may also be a reward in connecting with a talented mind who you wouldn't've otherwise. (And it's not as though startups with close friends can't also go south in very ugly ways.)

Re: Show HN: FoundersList – Looking for a cofounder or a new startup to work on?

#45

Post by generalpass »

gnicholas wrote: post #39
generalpass wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's not about cold-calling, it's about monetizing your network. If you have experience and contacts in an industry, and a startup offers you 30% commission on the revenue you bring in, it could be worth the time to see if you can make valuable connections for them. This is especially true if you're not tied to a full-time schedule with them — you could literally do this while still working another job. So, the sal…

How do you lose a contact by seeing if they’re interested in a new product/service?

> How do you lose a contact by seeing if they’re interested in a new product/service?

From the perspective of the prospect, the salesperson is making a recommendation. If the startup fails to deliver, then it can cause a lot of problems in the relationship.

Re: Show HN: FoundersList – Looking for a cofounder or a new startup to work on?

#46

Post by mijkal »

werber wrote: post #22

Does anyone know of something similar for matching technical people with non profits? I’m suddenly filled with free time and want to find a non profit with short term technical needs. Ideally looking to help lgbtq organizations if that helps

TWIF (The World Is Fun): https://www.theworldisfun.org

Re: Show HN: FoundersList – Looking for a cofounder or a new startup to work on?

#47

Post by seppin »

Taek wrote: post #9

Question for HN: I cannot imagine starting a company with a stranger. There are so many intense moments, points of extreme trust, and ways for things to go wrong, so much passion, and so much blending of self and company, that I wouldn't ever feel comfortable embarking with someone that I didn't know incredibly well as a cofounder. Are there reasons to believe that starting with a stranger as a cofounder will general…

People marry someone they met at a bar everyday, how is this any different?

Re: Show HN: FoundersList – Looking for a cofounder or a new startup to work on?

#48

Post by TenJack »

eloff wrote: post #42
tmpz22 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Devils advocate, Tinder ends with plenty of long term relationships. Ultimately much of founderdom is a crap shoot because you never know what your partner will turn into three years from now with money on the table. Truly obvious good founders who have lots of experience or proven connections are few and far between such that for the average startup rolling the dice may be just as effective as picking your best frie…

This is more like if you married the first person who agreed to go out with you on tinder. Which is probably a petty lousy idea. I don't see how starting a company with a stranger is going to have better results. There will always be exceptions, but it seems like a bad idea.

But you don't marry the first person you meet on Tinder. You go on dates with the person. I would imagine you can go on "dates" with potential cofounders as well.

Re: Show HN: FoundersList – Looking for a cofounder or a new startup to work on?

#49

Post by roshanj »

werber wrote: post #22

Does anyone know of something similar for matching technical people with non profits? I’m suddenly filled with free time and want to find a non profit with short term technical needs. Ideally looking to help lgbtq organizations if that helps

Check out https://ovio.org/ -- they target matching developers with Open Source projects, and many of them are for non-profit causes (several COVID-19 related projects right now: https://explore.ovio.org/covid-19)

Re: Show HN: FoundersList – Looking for a cofounder or a new startup to work on?

#50

Post by NomDePlum »

Taek wrote: post #9

Question for HN: I cannot imagine starting a company with a stranger. There are so many intense moments, points of extreme trust, and ways for things to go wrong, so much passion, and so much blending of self and company, that I wouldn't ever feel comfortable embarking with someone that I didn't know incredibly well as a cofounder. Are there reasons to believe that starting with a stranger as a cofounder will general…

I've started with a non-stranger. Someone I would even at one point called a friend.

It didn't end well.

There are no guarantees. Other than not starting won't end in failure. It just won't start.

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