my goal is to be the business cofounder, yet with a strong technical background (i.e. i code). probably want to get a m.s. in cs before my mba.
Finding Your Co-Founders
21–30 of 48 posts
Re: Finding Your Co-Founders
#22What are the good networking events in Seattle? I know plenty of engineers but would like to meet some business and designer folks.
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Re: Finding Your Co-Founders
#23To everyone pointing out sites for networking with potential co-founders: I find them disappointing. They're great places to chat with interesting folks, but if you're like me you've been to them for months without actually getting to first base with anyone. First base isn't exchanging bodily fluids. It's hacking together on a project. Why's it so hard to find people to actually hack with for an evening? We all know…
Agree here. Never see anyone find a co-founder by networking. And, probably not suggest it as well since it takes time to know if someone is a GREAT cofounder.
In Australia, we had 'Bootup Camp' http://www.bootupcamp.com/. In 2 weeks, they went from idea to auctioning the business. In this event, i have seen people that eventually become friends and continue to build their next startup.
Re: Finding Your Co-Founders
#24I built hndir.com to help solve the challenge of finding technical cofounders at universities. everyone in there is verified and has probably signed up from this site.
your site does not accept .ac.uk e-mails. Is this by design?
Re: Finding Your Co-Founders
#25To everyone pointing out sites for networking with potential co-founders: I find them disappointing. They're great places to chat with interesting folks, but if you're like me you've been to them for months without actually getting to first base with anyone. First base isn't exchanging bodily fluids. It's hacking together on a project. Why's it so hard to find people to actually hack with for an evening? We all know…
The description PG gives of 'the ideal cofounder' tends to be someone who you've known for a long time, or have a fairly 'deep' history with - you're good friends or colleagues who get on really well or something like that.
If you go by that definition, you simply cannot 'go out and find' someone because it would then take years to reach that level of comradeship.
Re: Finding Your Co-Founders
#26To everyone pointing out sites for networking with potential co-founders: I find them disappointing. They're great places to chat with interesting folks, but if you're like me you've been to them for months without actually getting to first base with anyone. First base isn't exchanging bodily fluids. It's hacking together on a project. Why's it so hard to find people to actually hack with for an evening? We all know…
Go find a cofounder through hacking!
I met my cofounder at a hacking party: http://superhappydevhouse.org
Re: Finding Your Co-Founders
#27To everyone pointing out sites for networking with potential co-founders: I find them disappointing. They're great places to chat with interesting folks, but if you're like me you've been to them for months without actually getting to first base with anyone. First base isn't exchanging bodily fluids. It's hacking together on a project. Why's it so hard to find people to actually hack with for an evening? We all know…
Go find a cofounder through hacking! I met my cofounder at a hacking party: http://superhappydevhouse.org
Yes, shdh used to be awesome! But it seems every iteration diverges further from what I'd like to get out of it. More people attending, more aimless talking and partying, less hacking. And the hackers are all going it alone, being anti-social.
You need to go there and hack. But it needs to be with someone else.
Re: Finding Your Co-Founders
#28Earlier quoted context omitted.
Go find a cofounder through hacking! I met my cofounder at a hacking party: http://superhappydevhouse.org
Yes, shdh used to be awesome! But it seems every iteration diverges further from what I'd like to get out of it. More people attending, more aimless talking and partying, less hacking. And the hackers are all going it alone, being anti-social. You need to go there and hack. But it needs to be with someone else.
Yeah, that's why you should come to the casual hacking sessions at the Hacker Dojo. There's less partying here because the hack sessions recur every week. I've done a bit of pairing with random people that show up and want to hack.
Re: Finding Your Co-Founders
#29I've never understood the purpose of co-founders. If you are a hacker, create your product. Then figure out were you need help and find it. It's hard to overstate the amount that one additional person can dilute the efficiency of a one-person business.
It depends on your working habits. Simply having someone else to report/share progress, ideas, etc to can make a huge difference, especially if, as recently discussed on HN, you're inclined towards the manic depressive. Having someone else there really helps during the low periods.
Re: Finding Your Co-Founders
#30I think one unraised question is: what do you do once you have a potential cofounder?
Do you interview them? How do you figure out if this is going to work? Is it all on instinct?
In my case it's been the latter, mostly, but I think it would have been better in retrospect to work on something together - these hack days/weekends/Launch48 etc sound ideal - before bringing him into a business I'd founded. Then I would have had more of an idea how to establish the relationship formally within the business too; doing it casually has its downsides, especially if you're not in the lifelong friends situation.