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This is an issue I'm dealing with in relation to a possible YC application. My assumption has been that the best co-founder is one you have some history with s

This is an issue I'm dealing with in relation to a possible YC application. My assumption has been that the best co-founder is one you have some history with so you know that you're compatible for the long term. Is it realistic to expect that you can find a person and accurately make that assessment in six months? Particularly if it's from a different mindset (e.g. sales/bizdev cf. tech) and/or location. Are there any successful examples from YC? FWIW my concept is embedded hardware-based, in a toy/education market, I have technical experience and am looking for someone with financial, business development, marketing and sales experience & knowledge.

pg 17y ago
More time would be better. I suggested 6 months because there's a new YC cycle that often, but a year would be better. Though in fact 6 months of working together is probably enough to bring most problems to the surface. Just make sure you work together on stuff that's demanding enough to put some strain on your relationship. It's more important to have a good cofounder than to have one with particular skills. So if I were you I'd simply try to find someone you work well with, whether he/she's a business person or not. Two hackers can figure out how to do sales eventually, as long as they don't give up.
- jayliew 17y ago
  Good tip .. I will keep that in mind in my search
- chrischen 17y ago
  What advice would you give a younger person like me? I don't have the network built up yet and my main pool of potential cofounder is whoever responds to my online ads. Finding nice cofounder for me could potentially take much longer than 1 year for me if it requires building a network. At the same time I feel I'm ready, and I'm in the moment right now (this isn't even my first startup). I've moved forward irregardless of a cofounder and have even taken this semester from school off. Waiting could mean losing the ability to work on this idea and the idea is very dear to me. Plus I can't wait--that's how excited I am. I only took school off because I knew the startup would win if they got in a fight. I'm not sure what to do if not having a cofounder makes me immensely unattractive to fund, because I'd have to go back to school in the summer or I lose health insurance. Conflicts will probably arise then, and it would prevent me from spending the time I want with my startup.
DaniFong 17y ago
I had the experience of finding the right person and being able to make that judgment call in just a month. It just felt right. He was really exceptional. On the other hand, I guessed wrong twice. YMMV.

pg 17y ago

More time would be better. I suggested 6 months because there's a new YC cycle that often, but a year would be better. Though in fact 6 months of working together is probably enough to bring most problems to the surface. Just make sure you work together on stuff that's demanding enough to put some strain on your relationship. It's more important to have a good cofounder than to have one with particular skills. So if I were you I'd simply try to find someone you work well with, whether he/she's a business person or not. Two hackers can figure out how to do sales eventually, as long as they don't give up.

jayliew 17y ago
Good tip .. I will keep that in mind in my search
chrischen 17y ago
What advice would you give a younger person like me? I don't have the network built up yet and my main pool of potential cofounder is whoever responds to my online ads. Finding nice cofounder for me could potentially take much longer than 1 year for me if it requires building a network. At the same time I feel I'm ready, and I'm in the moment right now (this isn't even my first startup). I've moved forward irregardless of a cofounder and have even taken this semester from school off. Waiting could mean losing the ability to work on this idea and the idea is very dear to me. Plus I can't wait--that's how excited I am. I only took school off because I knew the startup would win if they got in a fight. I'm not sure what to do if not having a cofounder makes me immensely unattractive to fund, because I'd have to go back to school in the summer or I lose health insurance. Conflicts will probably arise then, and it would prevent me from spending the time I want with my startup.

DaniFong 17y ago

I had the experience of finding the right person and being able to make that judgment call in just a month. It just felt right. He was really exceptional. On the other hand, I guessed wrong twice. YMMV.