It depends on the type of startup, your own skills and stress tolerance level.I would support going at it alone ,if its possible to do so and circumstances permit. Whats the point of trying to get people on board as cofounders is you the only one who has the vision.Those people will not be motivated as you are and wont be so passionate.
How much more difficult is it to build a startup with a single founder?
11–20 of 39 posts
Re: How much more difficult is it to build a startup with a single founder?
#12If a single person builds the 1st version of the application and gets the first 20 or so paying customers, is the 2nd person to work with the 1st person considered a founder?
I guess I'm just not sure where the line is drawn between a founder and the 1st employee
Re: How much more difficult is it to build a startup with a single founder?
#13More than 2x.
Re: How much more difficult is it to build a startup with a single founder?
#14Earlier quoted context omitted.
Doing that worked well for me in my first company, which lasted 10 years. But I didn't get to that point on the second one and I burnt out working on it completely on my own. It was working, but still too early to hire and a cofounder would have definitely helped push on. Had the wrong cofounder on the third one though, and I can't stress enough how important having the right cofounder is after that experience. It wa…
I've been in both situations. I've had cofounders, who weren't quite as motivated as me, at which point I felt, "I might as well have done this alone". Then I tried doing it myself and found myself overwhelmed and thinking "wouldn't it be nice to have some support". Wonder if there are any articles on how one could go about finding a good co-founder that you would "jive" with. BTW, which one is worse, going it alone…
I'd say bad cofounder, because you can find someone as a solo founder, but you have to first get rid of a bad cofounder (or put up with it).
I'd break it down into 3 things to look for in a cofounder: proof that they're hard-working, that they have complementary skills, and that you really gel with each other. Kinda gotta feel the last one out, but the others should show up in their past work and their work ethic.
Re: How much more difficult is it to build a startup with a single founder?
#15If a single person builds the 1st version of the application and gets the first 20 or so paying customers, is the 2nd person to work with the 1st person considered a founder? I guess I'm just not sure where the line is drawn between a founder and the 1st employee
The line is drawn by agreement. The relationship is explicitly specified. It would be foolish on the part of either of them to not be clear on this point.
Re: How much more difficult is it to build a startup with a single founder?
#16Am I the only one that really doesn't like Quora's answer summary? Especially for a question like this, because some (somewhat contrary) valuable opinions are essentially ignored in favor of a catchy one liner.
No. I don't like it either. Primary because I'm a single founder and secondly because it does ignore the other opinions posted. Also I'm not going to give up or stop working on my product because I don't have a co-founder. Not to say I wouldn't take one or two on later if they can be a valuable asset to the company, just that this work must be done now and I'm the only one who showed up for work today.
Re: How much more difficult is it to build a startup with a single founder?
#17So, when people submit these Quora links, do we answer the Quora question here on HN, or answer on Quora and have a meta-discussion about Quora here on HN? (LOL)
Re: How much more difficult is it to build a startup with a single founder?
#18I wonder if age and experience might be a component here. A lot of the internet startups quoted as examples of two founders being ideal were founded by really young people. In that context having support might be an absolute necessity. How does that compare with more experienced individuals in their 30's?
Having been a solo founder all my life I know just how hard it can be. I would not wish some of the lows I have had to navigate on my worst enemy.
If you are unfortunate enough to be in really difficult situations you really need the intestinal fortitude and mental stability to deal with life-changing problems. Few people in their early 20's have had enough life experience to have developed these qualities.
The problem with the co-founder model is that when life is peachy everyone is working hard and having a good time. However, when things turn ugly if all founders are not equipped to manage the situation it can easily turn in to a nightmare. Things like not being able to make payroll, facing lawsuits, facing bankruptcy, catastrophic supply chain problems (manufacturing), etc. can easily create a set of conditions that can break apart a partnership that was great during good times.
While I will not dispute that having like-minded co-founders can be an advantage, I am of the opinion that --for a certain type of businesses-- I'd rather go solo than run the risk of partnering with someone who might become my worst enemy when things become difficult. The right partner, however, can be an incredible asset, no question about it.
I don't think there's an easy universal answer to this question.
Re: How much more difficult is it to build a startup with a single founder?
#19My biggest problem with Quora is that the answers tend to be from people that aren't relevant. If you are asking about single-founder startups, why are the top answers from 2-founder startups? There is lots of information out there on 2-founder startups, written by co-founders. I went to that thread looking for first-hand accounts from a single-founder, someone who the question was actually intended for.
This problem also came up the other day in the 'what skills do self-taught programmers lack'. I am a self-taught programmer and I don't care how many engineers you have managed, you can never actually understand what skills I lack. That thread should have been a bunch of auto-didacts explaining what they've had problems with over the years. Instead it read as a bunch of cs majors listing out the cs curricula from their schools.
Re: How much more difficult is it to build a startup with a single founder?
#20Its not. Start on your own, keep the equity, and in 6 months you can hire the same person for just a salary and only 1 or 2%
I agree with this. I'd love a co-founder who had the same passion, drive, work ethic and commitment to the company but I just haven't found them yet. It's also much easier to sever an employment relationship than one with a co-founder. On the other hand an employee collecting a salary is much more expensive than a co-founder working for equity.