4 ms·

> I'm also surprised that none of these points mention marketing - an ability to sell something seems vital in getting a startup going. I agree. One of the bes

> I'm also surprised that none of these points mention marketing - an ability to sell something seems vital in getting a startup going. I agree. One of the best assets for a good founder with tech-skills is a business/marketing founder. She can keep the ball rolling on the business things that would halt or slow software development, and during development she can be out discussing the product with potential customers. Once a MVP has been developed, she obviously becomes the sales and marketing manager. > Finding a co-founder is hard, though. Are you single? Notice that I said "she" above? Consider joining a dating site and trying to meet some cool women who have business or marketing backgrounds (obviously women that you would like to date as well). I've only been on OKCupid for a month, and I've already met a couple really cool, driven women who would be an amazing asset to a startup. I'm not saying to jump straight into a relationship just so that you can start your startup. My intent was simply to point out one way of meeting a potential cofounder, a way you probably never considered. There are countless other "hacks" that can be employed for meeting cofounders; you just have to put yourself into situations where you're likely to meet the kind of people you'd like to meet. It's really that easy.

ramanujan 16y ago
You probably don't want to do that. A new relationship is a green sprig which must be carefully tended, not an oak tree capable of bearing heavy load.
- BrandonM 16y ago
  I didn't mean to jump into a startup with someone that you've only been in a relationship with for a short time. I was just trying to point out a way of meeting a cofounder that others may not have considered. While it's clearly not a good idea to cofound a startup with a new significant other, I completely disagree with characterizing a new relationship as a "green sprig." If the relationship is so tenuous that it can't handle a little stress and strain, then is it really worth trying to "tend" into a long-term relationship? From experience, that just delays the inevitable breakup. Characterizing a new relationship like that also carries the implicit assumption that it's the last relationship you're capable of having. While I do my best to avoid hurting anyone, if a relationship is not working out there are other relationships to be had.
JimboOmega 16y ago
As my story goes, I met someone about 6 months into my year-long startup experiment. As luck would have it, she had relevant skills... and she did help a lot with my startup, but not on the level of a co-founder. She isn't that interested in cleaning up the existing mess and the subject matter and targeted audience don't really interest her. That startup sort of burned out, for reasons not worth going into. If we could find a new idea on a topic we're both passionate about (like travel), we'd pursue it. Also, she's more technical (front-end) while I'm also technical (back-end), and neither of us have much business/marketing background.
- BrandonM 16y ago
  That's excellent! So why did you say having a co-founder is the hardest part? Surely there's some way you can help the world doing something that interests the both of you.
  - JimboOmega 16y ago
    Before I met her, I had a cofounder that didn't work out. It really cost me. In essence, he was to do the front end, and me the backend. He didn't deliver anything of substance. It took me several months(which is millenia in startup land) before I gave up and just did it myself (with help from the aforementioned girlfriend). The story is much longer than that - but those next few months I spent learning javascript, CSS, html, design, etc, cost me what time I had left; the site got online, but it's a mess (it takes 15 seconds to load each page, for one thing). Since then, of all the stupid things, I haven't had any good ideas. I know, people always need - technical cofounders, or this, or that... ideas are cheap, right? But I haven't got one. Oh, we had a few. A simple iPhone app, a somewhat derivative board game... nothing really sticks as really a good idea that we both think would be awesome There has to be something out there, but no luck yet.

ramanujan 16y ago

You probably don't want to do that. A new relationship is a green sprig which must be carefully tended, not an oak tree capable of bearing heavy load.

BrandonM 16y ago
I didn't mean to jump into a startup with someone that you've only been in a relationship with for a short time. I was just trying to point out a way of meeting a cofounder that others may not have considered. While it's clearly not a good idea to cofound a startup with a new significant other, I completely disagree with characterizing a new relationship as a "green sprig." If the relationship is so tenuous that it can't handle a little stress and strain, then is it really worth trying to "tend" into a long-term relationship? From experience, that just delays the inevitable breakup. Characterizing a new relationship like that also carries the implicit assumption that it's the last relationship you're capable of having. While I do my best to avoid hurting anyone, if a relationship is not working out there are other relationships to be had.

JimboOmega 16y ago

As my story goes, I met someone about 6 months into my year-long startup experiment. As luck would have it, she had relevant skills... and she did help a lot with my startup, but not on the level of a co-founder. She isn't that interested in cleaning up the existing mess and the subject matter and targeted audience don't really interest her. That startup sort of burned out, for reasons not worth going into. If we could find a new idea on a topic we're both passionate about (like travel), we'd pursue it. Also, she's more technical (front-end) while I'm also technical (back-end), and neither of us have much business/marketing background.

BrandonM 16y ago
That's excellent! So why did you say having a co-founder is the hardest part? Surely there's some way you can help the world doing something that interests the both of you.
- JimboOmega 16y ago
  Before I met her, I had a cofounder that didn't work out. It really cost me. In essence, he was to do the front end, and me the backend. He didn't deliver anything of substance. It took me several months(which is millenia in startup land) before I gave up and just did it myself (with help from the aforementioned girlfriend). The story is much longer than that - but those next few months I spent learning javascript, CSS, html, design, etc, cost me what time I had left; the site got online, but it's a mess (it takes 15 seconds to load each page, for one thing). Since then, of all the stupid things, I haven't had any good ideas. I know, people always need - technical cofounders, or this, or that... ideas are cheap, right? But I haven't got one. Oh, we had a few. A simple iPhone app, a somewhat derivative board game... nothing really sticks as really a good idea that we both think would be awesome There has to be something out there, but no luck yet.