You don’t actually need a co-founder (2016) • Hacker News Board

Re: You don’t actually need a co-founder (2016)

#71

Post by grogenaut » Sat, May 05, 2018, 11:59 PM UTC

loceng wrote: post #65

BerislavLopac wrote: post #32

Whether you need a co-founder or not is not about individuals, it's about the skills. To make a startup successful you need to have the required skills; if you are lucky enough to have those skills in a single person, you don't need a co-founder. As a side-note, the exact skills you need will depend on which metric you use to become successful (e.g. whether you want to bootstrap a self-sustainable company, or if you…

"I personally couldn't sell my way out of a paper bag" - Is this an expression you've seen before? First time I've seen it, I like it. It's opposite to idea of someone who can sell pet rocks.

It's pretty common in my experience. Couldn't x their way out of a paper bag. Code, talk, etc. About the only thing that can't get out of a paper bag is a sammich and a kitten.

Re: You don’t actually need a co-founder (2016)

#72

Post by rajacombinator » Sun, May 06, 2018, 5:30 AM UTC

danieltillett wrote: post #41

rajacombinator wrote: post #24

Good cofounder > solo > bad cofounder. Pretty simple.

If only you didn’t have to worry about good cofounders turning into bad cofounders.

Indeed, some times simple rules are hard to follow!

Re: You don’t actually need a co-founder (2016)

#73

Post by BerislavLopac » Sun, May 06, 2018, 5:35 PM UTC

iovrthoughtthis wrote: post #33

BerislavLopac wrote: post #32

Whether you need a co-founder or not is not about individuals, it's about the skills. To make a startup successful you need to have the required skills; if you are lucky enough to have those skills in a single person, you don't need a co-founder. As a side-note, the exact skills you need will depend on which metric you use to become successful (e.g. whether you want to bootstrap a self-sustainable company, or if you…

Eh, depending on the depth of knowledge required to build your startup I believe the skills required to get your project off the ground can be learned. Beyond that point you can hire.

> Beyond that point you can hire.

Which is a skill of its own.

Re: You don’t actually need a co-founder (2016)

#74

Post by BerislavLopac » Sun, May 06, 2018, 5:42 PM UTC

danieltillett wrote: post #40

BerislavLopac wrote: post #32

Whether you need a co-founder or not is not about individuals, it's about the skills. To make a startup successful you need to have the required skills; if you are lucky enough to have those skills in a single person, you don't need a co-founder. As a side-note, the exact skills you need will depend on which metric you use to become successful (e.g. whether you want to bootstrap a self-sustainable company, or if you…

If you are bright(ish) you can figure almost all of the needed skills with a bit of reading and practice. I taught myself everything I needed to make a success of my business from software development, devops, accounting, tax, marketing, sales, etc. Sure I made more than a few mistakes, but I didn’t run across anything insurmountable. Sales is an interesting skill. People will buy from pretty bad sales people if the…

> If you are bright(ish) you can figure almost all of the needed skills with a bit of reading and practice.

Fair point, but one should beware the survivor's bias. I've seen so many people who have won the talent genetic lottery, and practising something they're talented for seems so natural and easy to them, and they can't understand why would others have trouble with the same.