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You can now use YC's Startup School directory to find a cofounder

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Re: You can now use YC's Startup School directory to find a cofounder

#71

Post by matz1 »

davidw wrote: post #68
matz1 wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is it a bad idea? To find friend you have to start from somewhere right ? One way maybe from this "dating" site

I don't have first hand experience, but my impression is that the best co-founders are those who you've got some history with, who you know and trust. That doesn't happen overnight. Kind of like an actual dating site might be a good way to meet potential marriage partners, but you'd look at someone pretty weird if you went on a date and they suggested they want to get married right away. But who knows; those guys see…

The same way you use dating site to make that initial connection for that history to begin with.

Dating site doesn't imply anything regarding having to get married right away.

Its simply a medium for that initial connection, that's it.

Re: You can now use YC's Startup School directory to find a cofounder

#74

Post by rmac »

pbiggar wrote: post #29

Looks like a good time to write my guide on how to find a cofounder and what to do when you do. Quick summary: - based on 3 failed cofounder relationships, 1 successful company (CircleCI) - current cofounding ( https://darklang.com ) very strong - spoke to 50 potential cofounders (not 2-3 like before) - 50% of my pipeline were founders with underrepresented backgrounds - after first 10 had a profile that I was lookin…

Can you share the questionnaire?

Re: You can now use YC's Startup School directory to find a cofounder

#75

Post by felipap »

codesushi42 wrote: post #40
eloff wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are always exceptions. It still makes it a bad idea. And I don't think there's anything wrong with using it to meet like minded people who you might collaborate with one day. But let's not ignore the fact that single founders can be successful too, and one of the biggest causes of startup failure is co-founder disputes, according to YC's own data. The real question is, will it help more than it hurts? The good…

Successful single founders are very rare. Agreed that the biggest cause of failure is issues between founders. One could say then that you should only start a company when you have a cofounder, and one that is good. But in reality there's no way of knowing who will be good. The best proxy is choosing someone you have worked with before. A coworker for instance. Simply choosing a founder because you hang out with them…

Aren't successful founders very rare, "period"?

Re: You can now use YC's Startup School directory to find a cofounder

#76

Post by nl »

codesushi42 wrote: post #40
eloff wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are always exceptions. It still makes it a bad idea. And I don't think there's anything wrong with using it to meet like minded people who you might collaborate with one day. But let's not ignore the fact that single founders can be successful too, and one of the biggest causes of startup failure is co-founder disputes, according to YC's own data. The real question is, will it help more than it hurts? The good…

Successful single founders are very rare. Agreed that the biggest cause of failure is issues between founders. One could say then that you should only start a company when you have a cofounder, and one that is good. But in reality there's no way of knowing who will be good. The best proxy is choosing someone you have worked with before. A coworker for instance. Simply choosing a founder because you hang out with them…

Successful single founders are very rare.

It's unclear they are remarkably more rare than other types. The data appears to show that single founders are the second most successful arrangement after pairs.

https://techcrunch.com/2016/08/26/co-founders-optional/

Re: You can now use YC's Startup School directory to find a cofounder

#77

Post by codesushi42 »

nl wrote: post #76
codesushi42 wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Successful single founders are very rare. Agreed that the biggest cause of failure is issues between founders. One could say then that you should only start a company when you have a cofounder, and one that is good. But in reality there's no way of knowing who will be good. The best proxy is choosing someone you have worked with before. A coworker for instance. Simply choosing a founder because you hang out with them…

Successful single founders are very rare. It's unclear they are remarkably more rare than other types. The data appears to show that single founders are the second most successful arrangement after pairs. https://techcrunch.com/2016/08/26/co-founders-optional/

Second most doesn't mean anything when you're talking about three arrangements, realistically.

I would like it to be true that solo founders have just as much chance of success. I have been unable to find a cofounder for years, and I am not biased against solo companies. People are unpredictable, and even wildly successful companies have some disheartening back stories. I've learned that from books like Idea Man (Microsoft) and Masters of Doom (id Software) where founding members got screwed by morally challenged cofounders. In the case of id, Tom Hall received nothing from id in the end, and forfeited all of his equity when he was fired. Because they decided he wasn't needed anymore, despite him being there from the beginning through the tough times.

But it stands to reason that you are better off if you can find someone who is honest and is going to work hard with you, simply because two heads are better than one. When used together at least. Emphasis on honest, I would rank trust and ethics over experience and intelligence.

If you can't find that person, and you are determined, then may as well go ahead and go it alone. You only live once. Just realize the odds are stacked even higher against you. You are only lying to yourself if you refuse to accept that truth.

And you can be a cofounder of a successful company, but still fail miserably and have it all taken away by a bad cofounder.

Re: You can now use YC's Startup School directory to find a cofounder

#78

Post by atlasunshrugged »

rmac wrote: post #74
pbiggar wrote: post #29

Looks like a good time to write my guide on how to find a cofounder and what to do when you do. Quick summary: - based on 3 failed cofounder relationships, 1 successful company (CircleCI) - current cofounding ( https://darklang.com ) very strong - spoke to 50 potential cofounders (not 2-3 like before) - 50% of my pipeline were founders with underrepresented backgrounds - after first 10 had a profile that I was lookin…

Can you share the questionnaire?

I'd also love to see the questionnaire if you're willing to share it

Re: You can now use YC's Startup School directory to find a cofounder

#79

Post by dheera »

TuringNYC wrote: post #30
mrep wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> starting a company with someone is a bigger commitment than getting married How? You can leave a company you founded at any any time without any financial repercussions usually but marriages you cannot unless you get a prenup (which probably costs legal fees) and that's not even including the ring nor wedding.

>>>> starting a company with someone is a bigger commitment than getting married >> How? You can leave a company you founded at any any time without any financial repercussions Absolutely not! Leaving a company has huge financial repercussions! If you have no agreement, you are either killing the company (as everyone disbands) or end up with either no ownership or end up with some uncertain amount of ownership as all…

With marriage the initial intention is for life.

With a startup, often the intention is to make a dream succeed, and then potentially move on to bigger things, not necessarily stick with it for life.

Re: You can now use YC's Startup School directory to find a cofounder

#80

Post by navigatesol »

mrep wrote: post #27
eloff wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm with pg on this, starting a company with someone is a bigger commitment than getting married and without the physical chemistry to help things through tough spots. You'd be crazy to do that with someone you just met. I can't help thinking you'd actually be decreasing your odds of success versus just being a single founder. I'll stay a single founder and I feel that's the right decision for me. I can weather the h…

> starting a company with someone is a bigger commitment than getting married How? You can leave a company you founded at any any time without any financial repercussions usually but marriages you cannot unless you get a prenup (which probably costs legal fees) and that's not even including the ring nor wedding.

>You can leave a company you founded at any any time without any financial repercussions

This mentality is the exact wrong one to have, especially if you're "co-founder dating".

Unless you're two people hacking away in a dorm room with no customers, making no money (hardly a "business"), there are all kinds of obligations and financial repercussions you might have.

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