Hey hey, what the author suggests is not that solo founder is better. It's that temporarily solo founder is better than getting fucked by adding the wrong co-founders.
Why I'll be a solo founder next time
91–100 of 156 posts
Re: Why I'll be a solo founder next time
#92Earlier quoted context omitted.
""(in reference to the tribal organization of Native American tribes, where in fact there was exactly one Chief who was the final arbiter)"" AFAIK absolutely false. It is also a gross generalization about a diverse group of people with differing sociopolitical structures. I would suggest reading "Empire of the Summer Moon" for an example of a famous and incredibly egalitarian American construct, or just read about Ir…
omg, secret political correctness police, please go away!
Whiddershins' comment has nothing to do with political correctness, but rather with actual historical correctness. The comment is polite, sincere, and provides a further source of information for those who seek it.
Re: Why I'll be a solo founder next time
#93Earlier quoted context omitted.
Two months? Just wait. I'm 9 months in solo, and day-jobbing to pay for the bootstrap. It's incredibly exhausting. If I could find a co-founder or two, I'd be thrilled. But finding someone really worth their weight hasn't happened yet. And I'm not going to just sit there and ignore this opportunity just because I can't find someone to hold my hand while I'm doing it. I'm going to get it out the door, even if I have t…
I'd suspect there are a number of people in your shoes and in the shoes of this entire thread. I read these responses and thought "Hmm I wonder what it is they're doing. Maybe I could help or at least offer some brain power?" then realized clicking usernames revealed dick-all about any one of you. I had a thought "Why hasn't there been a matchmaking service for entrepreneurs?" A quick Google search gave me the answer…
It might be a poor idea, but I've planned to hold off on actively searching until I get more funding
Re: Why I'll be a solo founder next time
#94If you're not good at building a founding team, how will you excel at building a company? Technology and design are great, but companies are the people that they are comprised of. There's nothing wrong with being a solo founder because being one doesn't mean you can't build a good team. But you obviously have issues with team building, so I'd work on that first or found a company with someone who is actually good at…
> If you're not good at building a founding team, how will
> you excel at building a company?
Re: Why I'll be a solo founder next time
#95What I'm learning as an early stage solo founder... 1. Not having co-founders is no excuse to not work. I want to turn this idea in my head into a working product. Saying you can't do it because you don't have a co-founder is an excuse, not a reason. It's not impossible, merely harder. 2. The critical problem is bandwidth. I'm day-jobbing to make ends meet, which bites even more into my time. My primary challenge now…
An extrovert is typically better at marketing and sales, namely for the social aspect. For someone like me that's an introvert and extremely shy around new people, I gain XP by tackling technical problems.
That doesn't mean technical people can't be a visionary too because you'll definitely need it. Someone that can get a complete grasp of the scope to tell you when a decision will lead you into more or less technical debt. You can make all the right business decisions and still fail miserably if you make wrong technical ones.
I'm likely not telling you anything you don't already know but I just wanted to make sure you weren't compartmentalizing things too much.
Re: Why I'll be a solo founder next time
#96I'm a single founder and can only say the experience is rather grinding. I'm all up for the "If you don't help, at least don't get in the way" motto. I decided to pursue my current venture without a cofounder precisaly because I didn't find enough people that had both the skills and (understandably) the willingness to quit their nice paying jobs. For me, it doesn't really make sense to have people aboard unless they…
I agree that it is exhausting. I'm 2 months into a solo founded startup and the mental fatigue is not what I expected. Reflecting on it now, it certainly makes sense, but I just didn't know that it can be so taxing. I've told myself that if I make it to a next round of funding I need to find a partner stat.
Some investors say that they back the team, not so much the product. In which case, if you're going to need a partner to fulfill the vision you sell investors, you may want to pick one sooner.
Re: Why I'll be a solo founder next time
#97Earlier quoted context omitted.
I suspect this is a key insight. There is a colloquialism for a company of people all trying to be 'the boss' called "Too many Chiefs, not enough Indians" (in reference to the tribal organization of Native American tribes, where in fact there was exactly one Chief who was the final arbiter) but another spin on this is "Too many Medicine men, not enough Indians." The "fantasy" life of a startup founder is that they se…
""(in reference to the tribal organization of Native American tribes, where in fact there was exactly one Chief who was the final arbiter)"" AFAIK absolutely false. It is also a gross generalization about a diverse group of people with differing sociopolitical structures. I would suggest reading "Empire of the Summer Moon" for an example of a famous and incredibly egalitarian American construct, or just read about Ir…
We have the exact same saying in Brazil and our native tribes are very different from north american ones. I am pretty sure this is just an analogy, using the terms everybody knows ("chief" and "indians") to explain whatever environment where are too many people giving orders and too few following them (aka working).
Not related in any way to actual organizations of any actual tribes.
Re: Why I'll be a solo founder next time
#98The article makes a fantastic argument... for investing a lot of time in picking your founders. This is like a single person saying that they're going to stay single forever because two previous relationships didn't work out. Except instead of a marriage here, you're talking about something which greatly increases the chances of success in an endeavour.
I'm the solo founder of a venture-backed startup in London. That's a bit like being the single mother of a kid in the projects who ended up going to Harvard. When we successfully make a 100x return on investment for our backers it will be the equivalent of that kid becoming president. This is a tough business and whilst I don't whinge because I knew what I was signing up for, OP is misguided to think the sole-founder grass is greener. Sole founders exist in a vacuum irrespective of how many great colleagues and mentors they have.
Re: Why I'll be a solo founder next time
#99Interesting 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…
I find everything that the article says to be practical advice, but it would have a much more positive spin if the article was titled "pitfalls to avoid when building your team." Instead the author seems to have written off the chance that he will find compatible partners.
Re: Why I'll be a solo founder next time
#100> In particular, don’t found a startup with people that ... have newborn kids As a startup founder with a newborn (well, 14-month-old) I would say that this shouldn't be a global condition. There are plenty like me that I know who can put forth their full commitment - because we have supportive spouses that are completely on board with our entrepreneurial ambitions.
I'll agree and raise another important point: With enough money, almost nothing is a barrier. I wouldn't found a startup with no income and looking to leverage that success early or your family will starve. If you have an adequate enough padding though, and yes a supportive family, you can easily be solo.
Yep!
I think a main consideration for a co-founder is the ability to weather the inevitable storm, along with the willingness to ride it out.