I met my cofounder in the university. We were taking an algorithms analysis class together, and were later reintroduced by a common friend. We didn't know each

I met my cofounder in the university. We were taking an algorithms analysis class together, and were later reintroduced by a common friend. We didn't know each other very well and just jumped into it. After some initial friction, it worked out really well (you'd have to ask him if he agrees), but I think it's an exception rather than the rule. We were incredibly lucky it worked out the way it did. If I were to do it again and had to find a cofounder, I wouldn't leave it up to chance. The biggest mistake I see is people jumping into it with friends who aren't qualified to take a company off the ground at all. Think about it - you wouldn't just hire someone because they're a nice guy without doing an interview, and the cost of a bad hire is much lower than the cost of a bad cofounder (which more often than not is fatal). So don't leave it up to chance. Make a list of qualities you want to see in your potential cofounder. Then hit up everyone you know. Call everyone you respect and ask them for a list of five people they respect. Go to university professors and ask for top five students they know. Go to events and introduce yourself to people. Do founder dating. Compile a list of twenty people you're impressed with (and hopefully are a little intimidated by) who want to start a company. Then interview each one of them. Rigorously. Make sure they're qualified. Let them interview you (in fact, don't start a company with them if they don't rigorously interview you). Talk completely openly about your goals and theirs. Take it slow. Act as a professional - design an interview process and stick to it with all candidates. It can take a couple of months to interview and close a senior executive hire, it should take about as long to interview and close a cofounder. Do it in steps over a period of a few weeks. Define criteria and goals for each step and stick to them. Do not wing it, or you will have wasted the next two years of your life. I'd say that if the whole process takes you less than four-six months of nearly full-time work, you're probably being way too cavalier about it (unless you already know someone you've worked with before who has all the qualities you're looking for).