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The biggest problem with finding a co-founder is that there is often some sort of reputation or comradere already existing between the individuals and often nev

The biggest problem with finding a co-founder is that there is often some sort of reputation or comradere already existing between the individuals and often never begins on the premise of building a business together. A common interest like programming, design, technology, some specific market will bring the two together, find a common problem and resolve to work toward solving that problem knowing _already_ what sort of working relationship there will be beforehand. Co-founders will need a fantastic amount of trust and loyalty to work well together in the long term. This formula is difficult to satisfy with this method. Not trying to crap, but I'm currently fighting down this road myself and have resolved to let the process work organically rather than trying to find serendipitous luck (semi) anonymously on HN.

olalonde 16y ago
+1. However it's not easy for all of us to make "co-founder potential" relationships organically. In fact, most of my friends are not tech savvy or entrepreneur minded.
- mikegreenberg 16y ago
  I have the exact same problem. While my friends all have fantastic minds, none are particularly interested in the "risk" of starting a business when they are just getting on their feet. I try to involve myself in local societies and organizations which have the sort of individuals I want to work with. Alternatively, there are other online forums which add a nice structure to the process of finding a co-founder. Tristan Kromer has put together http://startupsquare.com http://startupsquare.com which he has made promising progress in. I've also put in an application with the (fairly new) http://cofoundersnetwork.com http://cofoundersnetwork.com. There's an entire section of questions based around this here: http://www.quora.com/Finding-Co-Founders/ http://www.quora.com/Finding-Co-Founders/ And while the option isn't available for everyone, sometimes going to the mountain instead of waiting for the mountain to come to you feels more productive. I intend to move to Boulder, CO where these crowds are much more abundant than where I am and do some schmoozing there to grow my network. And if schmoozing is hard, I hear Toastmasters is a fantastic experience everyone should try. Hope this helps.
imasr 16y ago
it happened to me the other way around once and though the startup didn't make it, we're still good friends (He was a F&F investor)
jdavid 16y ago
Some of us might have just moved out here to SV, and are still building our networks. I would like to meet anyone that is interested in one day starting a business or has already started on and is looking for a tech partner in crime.

olalonde 16y ago

+1. However it's not easy for all of us to make "co-founder potential" relationships organically. In fact, most of my friends are not tech savvy or entrepreneur minded.

mikegreenberg 16y ago
I have the exact same problem. While my friends all have fantastic minds, none are particularly interested in the "risk" of starting a business when they are just getting on their feet. I try to involve myself in local societies and organizations which have the sort of individuals I want to work with. Alternatively, there are other online forums which add a nice structure to the process of finding a co-founder. Tristan Kromer has put together http://startupsquare.com http://startupsquare.com which he has made promising progress in. I've also put in an application with the (fairly new) http://cofoundersnetwork.com http://cofoundersnetwork.com. There's an entire section of questions based around this here: http://www.quora.com/Finding-Co-Founders/ http://www.quora.com/Finding-Co-Founders/ And while the option isn't available for everyone, sometimes going to the mountain instead of waiting for the mountain to come to you feels more productive. I intend to move to Boulder, CO where these crowds are much more abundant than where I am and do some schmoozing there to grow my network. And if schmoozing is hard, I hear Toastmasters is a fantastic experience everyone should try. Hope this helps.

imasr 16y ago

it happened to me the other way around once and though the startup didn't make it, we're still good friends (He was a F&F investor)

jdavid 16y ago

Some of us might have just moved out here to SV, and are still building our networks. I would like to meet anyone that is interested in one day starting a business or has already started on and is looking for a tech partner in crime.