Had an interesting conversation with an angel today (the kind of angel that does not imply insanity of this writer based on this sentence). We happened to talk about this exact issue, and he mentioned a relevant book -- David G. Thomson's Blueprint to a Billion. The book says that one of the common charecteristics of these successful companies is having 2 founders -- one dealing with internals of the company, one presenting a public face and dealing with externals. I am planning to check out the book.
What are the downsides of being a single founder (ie. not having a co-founder)?
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Re: What are the downsides of being a single founder (ie. not having a co-founder)?
#32One technical founder will not be able to do as much work as a 2 technical founders. So the downside is less man hours to get your product coded and polished. This is assuming everyone is equally talented. I think it's very inspiring to see two motivated and talented people together set on one goal with nothing else in mind. Also, with 2 people, it's less likely to get depressed because you are always trying to appear motivated for the other person. You just don't want someone unmotivated or without a high value add. He or she should add as much value as you.
Re: What are the downsides of being a single founder (ie. not having a co-founder)?
#33I know a guy who would make a good partner. Good programmer, with domain knowledge. But Wife+family+a love of FPSs == nevermind.
Re: What are the downsides of being a single founder (ie. not having a co-founder)?
#34Ohh the dreaded "single founder thread" Let the good times roll on this one. Ok I'm a single founder, when I read PG's essays about singles, I experienced a wave of insecurity on my part which lasted approximately 3-4 months. Whatever experiences I had back then could more likely reflect the experiences felt by other single founders here. Most YCer's know the game and how it's played. We all know to a certain degree…
One of the things you must realize to make sense of a lot of PG's advice is that the default business model for YC companies is to build a promising product so that venture capitalists will give you money or that a Yahoo/Google/Microsoft will buy your company.
For those two goals, which are based as much on impressing investors as on anything else, your chances are much better if you're not a single founder. Investors are much happier investing in a team than they are investing in a single person. To that end, PG's advice against single founders is spot on.
Re: What are the downsides of being a single founder (ie. not having a co-founder)?
#35my thoughts (I am still trying to succeed):
I am wondering whether news.YC is the worst place to look for a cofounder - everyone is into their own startup!
The problem with going solo is - if and when you achieve traction (users are the only thing that counts), then you will find people willing to join. But then, they will want amounts of equity that will appear unreasonable to you - because you invested so much sweat, toil, tears and brains - when no one believed in it.