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Do you think it's usually possible for two potential cofounders who don't already know one another to sufficiently evaluate one another quickly enough to start

Do you think it's usually possible for two potential cofounders who don't already know one another to sufficiently evaluate one another quickly enough to start a company together in the short term (say, less than 3 months)? There seem to be similar challenges to creating a scalable solution for finding an SO/spouse (another unsolved problem).

arm55 10y ago
Perhaps YC could pay people to take a 4-12 week startup school, in which group projects were heavily encouraged. If a company was formed out of the school, YC would get the right to invest at the standard investment terms.
- GFischer 10y ago
  YC actually has a new MOOC lined up. Maybe encourage group work in it? https://blog.ycombinator.com/yc-changes https://blog.ycombinator.com/yc-changes
ajpgrealish 10y ago
This sounds very similar to a programme in London called Entrepreneur First where they recruit individuals based on their technical skills and then form ideas and teams during the programme.
snowwrestler 10y ago
There are precedents for quickly building trust among people who don't know each other. For example a mountaineering class at the National Outdoor Leadership School puts students who don't know each other, and might not know anything about climbing, into serious high-mountain situations for a month. At the end of the class, groups of students head off on "small group expeditions" for a few days without instructors. NOLS has an excellent safety record and students often form strong friendships. The military is another institution that takes people who don't know each other and quickly forms bonds of trust and mutual understanding to perform under very serious conditions. Granted--those are carefully managed situations where the people are facing shared challenges. But maybe that's what YC would need to create in order to foster an environment in which founders can build strong enough relationships to feel comfortable building companies together.
- w1ntermute 10y ago
  Building trust is one component, but it's equally important to explore whether you're compatible with your cofounder (or SO) across a wide range of emotions and circumstances. There are people I personally know pretty well who I trust but don't think I'm very compatible with. They might be great advisors or board members, but I wouldn't want them as a cofounder. Like you said, in a constrained environment like the military, it might be possible to achieve this in a short period of time through deliberate actions. I'm not sure how much that approach would prepare potential cofounders, since they're going to be operating in a much more ambiguous and freeform environment.
  - snowwrestler 10y ago
    NOLS is probably a better model than the military.

arm55 10y ago

Perhaps YC could pay people to take a 4-12 week startup school, in which group projects were heavily encouraged. If a company was formed out of the school, YC would get the right to invest at the standard investment terms.

GFischer 10y ago
YC actually has a new MOOC lined up. Maybe encourage group work in it? https://blog.ycombinator.com/yc-changes https://blog.ycombinator.com/yc-changes

ajpgrealish 10y ago

This sounds very similar to a programme in London called Entrepreneur First where they recruit individuals based on their technical skills and then form ideas and teams during the programme.

snowwrestler 10y ago

There are precedents for quickly building trust among people who don't know each other. For example a mountaineering class at the National Outdoor Leadership School puts students who don't know each other, and might not know anything about climbing, into serious high-mountain situations for a month. At the end of the class, groups of students head off on "small group expeditions" for a few days without instructors. NOLS has an excellent safety record and students often form strong friendships. The military is another institution that takes people who don't know each other and quickly forms bonds of trust and mutual understanding to perform under very serious conditions. Granted--those are carefully managed situations where the people are facing shared challenges. But maybe that's what YC would need to create in order to foster an environment in which founders can build strong enough relationships to feel comfortable building companies together.

w1ntermute 10y ago
Building trust is one component, but it's equally important to explore whether you're compatible with your cofounder (or SO) across a wide range of emotions and circumstances. There are people I personally know pretty well who I trust but don't think I'm very compatible with. They might be great advisors or board members, but I wouldn't want them as a cofounder. Like you said, in a constrained environment like the military, it might be possible to achieve this in a short period of time through deliberate actions. I'm not sure how much that approach would prepare potential cofounders, since they're going to be operating in a much more ambiguous and freeform environment.
- snowwrestler 10y ago
  NOLS is probably a better model than the military.