31–40 of 74 posts
Good cofounder > solo > bad cofounder. Pretty simple.
As a side-note, the exact skills you need will depend on which metric you use to become successful (e.g. whether you want to bootstrap a self-sustainable company, or if you are happy with quick growth, raising money and exiting), but generally you need skills to build the product(s), and the skills to sell them. I personally couldn't sell my way out of a paper bag, but could build pretty much anything based on software and Internet. My attempts to build a startup failed precisely because I didn't have a hustler on the team, and I gave given up on trying again unless I can either a) find one, or b) build something that sells itself.
Whether you need a co-founder or not is not about individuals, it's about the skills. To make a startup successful you need to have the required skills; if you are lucky enough to have those skills in a single person, you don't need a co-founder. As a side-note, the exact skills you need will depend on which metric you use to become successful (e.g. whether you want to bootstrap a self-sustainable company, or if you…
Beyond that point you can hire.
The idea is that startups are very hard work and you need someone to bounce your ideas off, do some heavy lifting, who is also completely supportive of your success. Someone who pulls you back up when you hit the floor hard. My theory has often been that many "solo founders" actually get some very strong support elsewhere - whether it's their spouse or a relative. A lot of the more modern VC companies target very you…
I would argue even teams of co-founders require a diverse support network! Relying on only your team is putting all of your eggs in one basket and superficially restricting the diversity of views you need to be innovative.
Right...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not just that. Defining a successful startup as a startup that exited is a bit narrow of a definition. A bootstrapped startup that has sustainable growth and can remain independent is successful in my book.
Not quite. The point of a startup is to get rich and then not think about money. It's why people endure the pain. (It wasn't till I tried starting one that I realized just how painful it is.) A bootstrapped startup that you stop paying attention to will rapidly stop making money.
I thought YC said #1 failure reason for startups was cofounder conflict? Unknown source.
The idea is that startups are very hard work and you need someone to bounce your ideas off, do some heavy lifting, who is also completely supportive of your success. Someone who pulls you back up when you hit the floor hard. My theory has often been that many "solo founders" actually get some very strong support elsewhere - whether it's their spouse or a relative. A lot of the more modern VC companies target very you…
I personally bootstrapped mark II of my business while working full time with a wife and family who all thought I was crazy. It just took me a little longer than if I had been working 100 hours a week with a co-founder.
One of the good things about going slower is you have more time to think through problems and you can get by with less feedback from others (i.e. you have the time to solve your own problems).
Whether you need a co-founder or not is not about individuals, it's about the skills. To make a startup successful you need to have the required skills; if you are lucky enough to have those skills in a single person, you don't need a co-founder. As a side-note, the exact skills you need will depend on which metric you use to become successful (e.g. whether you want to bootstrap a self-sustainable company, or if you…
Sales is an interesting skill. People will buy from pretty bad sales people if the sales person is a) knowledgeable and b) genuine. As a founder you should be both so as long as you get out and meet potential clients (or pick up the phone) you will sell as well as any skilled sales person. The skill that good professional sales people have is selling when they don’t know or care about the product.
Don’t ever think you can't be an effective sales person for the company you founded and built. Every founder can sell as long as they try.