> I have a decent-ish work history This is all you need - I think it's a necessity that you've proved to yourself (very important for your self-confidence) and

> I have a decent-ish work history This is all you need - I think it's a necessity that you've proved to yourself (very important for your self-confidence) and potential business partners that you're able to do some real work (otherwise it could be that you're simply a talker). The rest is finding the right people who believe in your vision. This is connected with a simple bit of luck, but I would definitely use networking - I did. Go to meetups, tell your friends that you're searching for committed people who want to do stuff and be able to tell the doers from the talkers. Meet with everyone who seems remotely interested in the idea of starting something. Don't get too excited and start a company with someone you don't know. Get to know each other. Continue to meet other people. I've met several interesting people before I've met my business partner. I've met him through table tennis. He already built something (small one-person company) and therefore I had the confidence that he says what he does. Make sure that you see a provable track record of work before making it official and make sure that you understand your partner on a psychological level - What motivates him? What are his life goals? Why is he a good fit? In which areas do you complement each other? What are your differences in your personalities? How do you resolve conflicts? (essential) Rational or emotional? Narcissistic or other tendencies? (You should know that about yourself, too). I do personality tests (most people like them, anyways) to identify the core strengths and weaknesses (I have to admit - I also did it for dating in the past). Most of the time the results are pretty accurate. It's not about a specific personality type I prefer (motivation is an important factor, too), but I need to know the weaknesses to accommodate for them (the same applies to me).