I would want to know 1) does this person have some basic competence at building something similar to what we need and 2) more importantly, have they shown initi

I would want to know 1) does this person have some basic competence at building something similar to what we need and 2) more importantly, have they shown initiative, grittiness, and quickness in creating things from scratch before. (In the form of their own projects they have worked on.) Beyond basic competence, those second traits are far more important for a potential cofounder than technical rigor. And a lot of technical people do not have those skills and cannot operate successfully in a self-directed environment.