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Why I'll be a solo founder next time

dennybritz.com

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Re: Why I'll be a solo founder next time

#11

Post by austenallred »

dennybritz wrote: post #9
austenallred wrote: post #7

I think most people recognize that the team is the most important aspect of a startup - from Paul Graham allowing people to apply to YCombinator without an idea, to investors my co-founder and I have talked to being much more interested in who we are, what we know, how we get along, and why we do what we do than product or traction, I think it's safe to say that the team is the most important aspect of a company. I w…

Good points, but I think blindly following the advice can be dangerous. That's exactly what I did. I went out to find a founding them because I knew (from books, YC, PG's essays) that teams are more likely to succeed. What I really should have done is not "look for some team to increase the chance of success", but rather start solo, and take my time looking for the right team. Of course that's easier said then done.…

Fair enough; the title was a touch misleading then. And it's not just a matter of advice, those are just evidences of people who see the most startup. I can speak for personal experience that if I didn't have a solid co-founder the product would be 1,000x worse than it is now, we'd be going in completely the wrong direction, and the implementation would have been pretty bad. I have a ton of respect and admiration for my co-founder, and without him our company would either not exist or would be pretty terrible.

Re: Why I'll be a solo founder next time

#12

Post by 7Figures2Commas »

I think it's important to be honest with oneself about the motivations for starting a business with somebody else. From what I see, some entrepreneurs don't want to go it alone because they believe there's safety in numbers. If you're leaving a good job, have a family to take care of, etc., it can be easier to convince yourself that you're doing the right thing if someone else is taking the plunge with you.

This is a really bad excuse for bringing on a co-founder. In my opinion, it's a primary reason you often see bloated founding teams comprised of individuals who have similar skills, not complementary skills.

Re: Why I'll be a solo founder next time

#13

Post by marcc »

austenallred wrote: post #7

I think most people recognize that the team is the most important aspect of a startup - from Paul Graham allowing people to apply to YCombinator without an idea, to investors my co-founder and I have talked to being much more interested in who we are, what we know, how we get along, and why we do what we do than product or traction, I think it's safe to say that the team is the most important aspect of a company. I w…

I disagree with your last paragraph and caution anyone reading to think hard about your statement. Working with a co-founder who isn't as committed as you are will be trouble from day one. Ultimately you will end up with disagreements about everything from equity to product direction and it will be difficult. I'd go alone before working with someone I was dragging along.

Re: Why I'll be a solo founder next time

#14

Post by [deleted] »

RyanZAG wrote: post #3

Interesting points, but a lot of it is contradictory to the advice you hear from successful startups, so I'd take this with a grain of salt. "I believe that my previous two ventures failed mainly because of the founding team (which I’m included in). How do I know? Because companies with almost identical products and value propositions succeeded afterwards. " I'm not sure if you're drawing the correct lesson there. So…

[deleted]

Re: Why I'll be a solo founder next time

#15

Post by jmathai »

I co-founded a startup that lasted for 4 years. Once we wound that down I began doing side projects on my own or with another friend of mine.

In the end I decided that I'm better off going at it alone. Mainly because I had a hard time finding someone else to join me at the same commitment level (and that's with a side project).

So I quit my job and started to bootstrap as a solo founder (this time with a wife, two kids and single income --- mine). I brought on a co-founder about 6 months in to fill out a few gaps that I didn't have the experience or time to do myself. Not having enough revenue to pay them meant equity was the only collateral I could offer.

Fast forward 2 years and I can say that without a doubt, if I was a single founder I'd probably have thrown in the towel by now.

And my co-founder is remote! 1/2 way around the world. So as the post suggests, it's harder but I don't think it's impossible.

Obviously it depends on the individual and the business. All I can say is that the value my co-founder brought to the table was different than what I originally thought. The emotional support greatly outweighed what I thought I was bringing him on board for.

If I had picked the wrong co-founder it would have been much worse than not having one at all.

Re: Why I'll be a solo founder next time

#16

Post by acjohnson55 »

I think your (the author) ability to be a solo founder will probably be a great deal more successful simply because you've been a founder before. That's a huge leveling of the learning curve. I don't think I could recommend going solo to a first-time founder though, unless it's someone who has capital on hand to hire people to fill out the team.

Lack of skills: Don’t work with people that don’t bring unique skills (applicable to a startup) to the table. Having someone like this in your team will down the mood of the other teams members that are providing value. There is one exception to this: Bring on smart people that are willing to learn whatever it takes. Be particularly wary of people that have a certain skillset, but are not motivated to learn new skills relevant to a startup environment.

That's really great advice, but not really a reason to go solo. It's just a reason to pick your partners carefully.

Re: Why I'll be a solo founder next time

#17

Post by austenallred »

marcc wrote: post #13
austenallred wrote: post #7

I think most people recognize that the team is the most important aspect of a startup - from Paul Graham allowing people to apply to YCombinator without an idea, to investors my co-founder and I have talked to being much more interested in who we are, what we know, how we get along, and why we do what we do than product or traction, I think it's safe to say that the team is the most important aspect of a company. I w…

I disagree with your last paragraph and caution anyone reading to think hard about your statement. Working with a co-founder who isn't as committed as you are will be trouble from day one. Ultimately you will end up with disagreements about everything from equity to product direction and it will be difficult. I'd go alone before working with someone I was dragging along.

Do you honestly believe that you can find two people with exactly the same level of commitment? You can't pretend like there aren't external factors that affect that - families, other opportunities, etc. One can be 99.9% and one can be 99.8%, but that's still different.

I'm getting downvoted like crazy, but I still hold to that statement. You will never, ever, find the absolutely ideal circumstances, but that doesn't mean you should just give up on working with other people.

Re: Why I'll be a solo founder next time

#18

Post by wikiburner »

I just figured I'd throw this out there to see if anyone has any insight on it: Do you think certain personality types are probably better off being solo founders? Maybe loners, or people who aren't people persons. Or maybe ADHD types who have trouble keeping relationships on an even keel? Or maybe the Steve Jobs egomaniac, force-of-will types (although, I know he started w/ a co-founder).

Obviously, it could depend on the nature of the startup, in that it could be strategically important to compensate for one of those "weaknesses".

Re: Why I'll be a solo founder next time

#19

Post by hnal943 »

j45 wrote: post #2

A partnership is more work and harder than marriage because you have to: - get on and stay on the same page - agree on both of your live's direction and commitment to a path has to be the same for the next 2-3 years - have the ability to defer to each other in your area of competence - have to be skilled at learning and getting anything done, whether its business or tech. - know that your entry and exit goals have to…

Almost all of these things apply to marriage as well, minus the bits about exit strategy. If you think committing to the same direction for 2-3 years is difficult, it's not time to get married yet!

Re: Why I'll be a solo founder next time

#20

Post by 7Figures2Commas »

austenallred wrote: post #7

I think most people recognize that the team is the most important aspect of a startup - from Paul Graham allowing people to apply to YCombinator without an idea, to investors my co-founder and I have talked to being much more interested in who we are, what we know, how we get along, and why we do what we do than product or traction, I think it's safe to say that the team is the most important aspect of a company. I w…

Building a solid team does not require one or more co-founders. It is entirely possible to start a company on your own, hire employees/contractors and then recruit for key leadership positions.

Mark Suster's Co-Founder Mythology (http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2011/05/09/the-co-founder...) and comments at Startup Grind earlier this year (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAHgGUFjK3c) are well worth reading/watching.

Of course, if your goal is to have a great team on paper so that an investor will feel comfortable writing you a check, let's call the exercise what it is: building a team that might build a business once it has funding. That's not building a business.

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