Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

How much more difficult is it to build a startup with a single founder?

quora.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 39 posts

Re: How much more difficult is it to build a startup with a single founder?

#21

Post by anonymouscowrd »

malux85 wrote: post #10

Being the technical co-founder I found it really helpful to get the manager / sales person onside. He does all of the "help me understand" when things need clarity. He also keep me on track and not mucking around on the internet ( except the occasional hacker-news comment ;] ) Another bonus I have found is that having a non-technical mind allows him to put a unique perspective. One example is he wanted a list of all…

I'm in the same situation but am growing more unhappy with it as time passes. A close friend is CEO/Idea Person/Sales Person with myself doing the development. A few big challenges I'm running into are:

- rudimentary stuff like web copy updates inevitably have to be done by me making it feel like I'm a glorified gopher

- a total lack of understanding on their part about the technology we're using (web apps, Facebook apps, UX, etc.) and lack of willingness to learn/contribute somewhere there

- a fixation with networking and building relationships as opposed to contributing directly to the product. Not one of these contacts has significantly impacted our product or bottom line despite numerous meetings, coffees, etc.

- big disagreements over our financial model. I advocated pursuing revenue immediately from day one vs. the "let's grow a big audience and figure out how to monetize later." This was a big source of tension. It took over a year for this person to realize our acquisition/monetization ratio was completely FUBAR before we "pivoted" to an actual revenue model. Now we're playing catch up.

- serious damage to our friendship. Now we only talk during the work week, never outside of it.

I give this person credit for raising the initial funding, however, I can't help but wonder if I'd be better off solo and trying to find a cofounder later as Mark Suster's article mentions. Part of me wants to walk, but another part feels like I should just suck it up and see it through until the end.

Re: How much more difficult is it to build a startup with a single founder?

#22

Post by alexqgb »

marcomonteiro wrote: post #16
keiferski wrote: post #2

Am 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.

"This work must be done now and I'm the only one who showed up for work today." Ergo, JFDI. That's a valuable outlook for anyone. Among single founders, it's baseline.

And I agree with the earlier posters - age is a big factor here, and not just because of the additional self-discipline and knowledge that it tends to produce. Assuming that you're starting something in a field you already know well, you probably have a lot of people you can call on for advice, help, resources, etc., not to mention more than a few credits in the favor bank. In other words, you're really not as solo as you were in your early 20's. Nor are you as likely to spend as much time trying to define your market, identify your customers, and work out your acquisition costs.

In other words, your need to iterate is probably a lot lower, since and older founder is more likely to be operating with a measure of specialized or otherwise hard-to-get insight, and are aiming for something specific that isn't low-hanging fruit, and that may depend - critically - on well established relationships.

From what I understand, the tech world is one of the few places where founders are commonly so young. I've lost the citation, but I believe the average age for start-up founders in the broader economy is 38.

Re: How much more difficult is it to build a startup with a single founder?

#23

Post by marcomonteiro »

anonymouscowrd wrote: post #21
malux85 wrote: post #10

Being the technical co-founder I found it really helpful to get the manager / sales person onside. He does all of the "help me understand" when things need clarity. He also keep me on track and not mucking around on the internet ( except the occasional hacker-news comment ;] ) Another bonus I have found is that having a non-technical mind allows him to put a unique perspective. One example is he wanted a list of all…

I'm in the same situation but am growing more unhappy with it as time passes. A close friend is CEO/Idea Person/Sales Person with myself doing the development. A few big challenges I'm running into are: - rudimentary stuff like web copy updates inevitably have to be done by me making it feel like I'm a glorified gopher - a total lack of understanding on their part about the technology we're using (web apps, Facebook…

I'm sorry. That's a really hard position to be in.

On another note what does "sucking it up until the end" entail? Where is the end? What happens when you get there? Lastly, what's the worst thing that would happen if you were to walk away?

Just some questions that popped into my mind. Hopefully you find them useful. Best of luck.

Re: How much more difficult is it to build a startup with a single founder?

#24

Post by Androsynth »

Androsynth wrote: post #19

My 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…

After reading through all the answers, I've come to the conclusion that Quora is the most vapid, rockstar oriented community ever. To everyone who claims the HN community is dying, go read quora. It's all about me-too posts (which is evidenced by the fact that this post consists of 40 PG regurgitations and ~5 great answers), where the biggest rockstars get voted up the highest. At least HN still has deep, contextual discussion.

Re: How much more difficult is it to build a startup with a single founder?

#25

Post by marcomonteiro »

alexqgb wrote: post #22
marcomonteiro wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

"This work must be done now and I'm the only one who showed up for work today." Ergo, JFDI. That's a valuable outlook for anyone. Among single founders, it's baseline. And I agree with the earlier posters - age is a big factor here, and not just because of the additional self-discipline and knowledge that it tends to produce. Assuming that you're starting something in a field you already know well, you probably have…

Agreed. I'm 29 and have been doing real estate sales and mortgage origination for the past five years. I've always been a hacker, though admittedly much less so over the past few years. I'm scratching my own itch. Turns out it's a common itch in the real estate industry.

Re: How much more difficult is it to build a startup with a single founder?

#26

Post by mindcrime »

marcomonteiro wrote: post #16
keiferski wrote: post #2

Am 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.

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.

Same here, basically. I'm not opposed to joining up with a co-founder or two (in fact, I'm actively seeking them) but I'm not going to stop working just because it's only me at-the-moment. F%!# that.

Re: How much more difficult is it to build a startup with a single founder?

#27

Post by marcomonteiro »

mindcrime wrote: post #26
marcomonteiro wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

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. Same here, basically. I'm not opposed to joining up with a co-founder or two (in fact, I'm actively seeking them) but I'm not going to stop working just because it's only me at-the-moment. F%!# that.

How are you actively seeking them? I'm just curious because I'm sure I could be doing more.

Re: How much more difficult is it to build a startup with a single founder?

#28

Post by phlux »

anonymouscowrd wrote: post #21
malux85 wrote: post #10

Being the technical co-founder I found it really helpful to get the manager / sales person onside. He does all of the "help me understand" when things need clarity. He also keep me on track and not mucking around on the internet ( except the occasional hacker-news comment ;] ) Another bonus I have found is that having a non-technical mind allows him to put a unique perspective. One example is he wanted a list of all…

I'm in the same situation but am growing more unhappy with it as time passes. A close friend is CEO/Idea Person/Sales Person with myself doing the development. A few big challenges I'm running into are: - rudimentary stuff like web copy updates inevitably have to be done by me making it feel like I'm a glorified gopher - a total lack of understanding on their part about the technology we're using (web apps, Facebook…

One of the problems that I have is that I am considered a "non-technical" person because I am not a coder, yet I AM very technical. I have very good technical skills - but they are not around development.

I am fixing that now though by learning to code - but at the same time, people need to also recognize that non-technical does NOT immediately mean "Marketing/MBA".

Everyone is/should be Sales though.

Re: How much more difficult is it to build a startup with a single founder?

#29

Post by mindcrime »

marcomonteiro wrote: post #27
mindcrime wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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. Same here, basically. I'm not opposed to joining up with a co-founder or two (in fact, I'm actively seeking them) but I'm not going to stop working just because it's only me at-the-moment. F%!# that.

How are you actively seeking them? I'm just curious because I'm sure I could be doing more.

How are you actively seeking them? I'm just curious because I'm sure I could be doing more.

Posting here on HN; tweeting; emailing old friends, former co-workers and asking them; standing up at meetings like TriJUG, TriLUG, etc. and announcing that I'm looking for a co-founder; hitting up the recruiters who call trying to recruit me; asking other local entrepreneurs; running a "Hackers & Founders" meetup, etc., etc.

And I do have a couple of irons in the fire, including one acquaintance I've known for a while, who is in graduate school and is interested in possibly joining me once he graduates in a month or so. Also one former co-worker who may be interested. It's been a slow process, but I'm not eager to jump in bed (so to speak) with just anybody either. I'm looking for somebody who's passionate about startup-life, willing to go "balls-out" to succeed, and - ideally - has a complementary skill-set to my own.

Post reply on HN