3 ms·

> 65% of founders do Product > 57% of founders do Operations > 52% of founders do Sales and Marketing > 37% of founders do Design > 31% of founders do Engin

> 65% of founders do Product > 57% of founders do Operations > 52% of founders do Sales and Marketing > 37% of founders do Design > 31% of founders do Engineering > Engineers seem to be in high demand. Among founders who do not do Engineering, 80% prefer a co-founder who does Engineering. This mirrors what I've seen in every co-founder matching forum: A huge imbalance of soft skills over engineering experience. I'm sure some of those founders are extremely talented at product, operations, sales, and design. However, there are many others who fit the classic "idea guy" stereotype. One thing I've learned from using co-founder matchmaking services like this is how hard it is to tell the difference between the two types of founders from credentials alone. A striking number of the people with impressive resumes and FAANG backgrounds got there by mastering big company skills and working their way up the ladder and through interview processes. Eventually they conclude that a startup is just more of the same big skills but with them at the top of the org chart. Some of the most promising people I've talked to on these platforms had less traditionally impressive resumes. They didn't necessarily have Ivy League university backgrounds or FAANG companies on their resume. That's likely what led them to use these platforms in the first place: Smaller personal networks that necessitate reaching farther for potential co-founders. These services can be interesting, but it really feels like a numbers game. Be prepared to take a lot of conversations very quickly, don't let impressive credentials alone sway you, and don't get discouraged by the volume of negative matches.

mancerayder 5y ago
I'd like to comment here as a tech person that's moved into management. Not as a founder, but I've done consulting in the past and I've worked in all sized companies. As I've become less technical, I occasionally come across the highly technical, often almost genius-like engineer who fails to comprehend organizational structure and social structures. They fail to 'see' them, so sometimes decisions that you make as manager, or that the company makes, feel foreign to them. And so they often have cynical ideas (often found online) about companies, managers and so forth. While some of the cynical stuff can often be true, my point is this: the successful engineer is also someone with social skills, and that includes company skills as you put it. The person with pure ladder climbing skills is a fraud. But the person who can both be technical 'enough' and understand organizational and human structures can help things scale. What's missing from the conversation is Creativity, I think, or maybe it's me that's out of touch. Successful people seem to be ones that aren't afraid to take unique approaches to solving problems. Sometimes 'engineers' are highly talented but they're looking for blueprints and patterns to follow rather than create - and I am not talking about code.
jokethrowaway 5y ago
I ran into the same issue. Of all the people I've met who end up being successful startup founders I never guessed correctly they would end up successful (a couple even became unicorns) and the cofounders I picked turned out to not so great. From my experience ex-FANG guys are helpful when it's time to raise money but they rarely have the skills needed in a startup environment. My approach now is to partner up with people I have a lot of history with and that I know they get things done, even if they're all technical. We're figuring out how to become the founders we need. We are also not a fan of the entire "startup", high risk, high reward thing. It's too much risk, hassle and stress and you can live comfortably with a smaller profitable business.
atlgator 5y ago
I have an engineering background. My experience with cofounder matchmaking services is that non-tech cofounders often just want someone who will code the entire product in exchange for some equity. Hard no.
blueblisters 5y ago
Isn't it good to have complementary skills in the founding team though? Technical founders often struggle with sales, marketing, raising money, operations and their time is better used in building the actual product. Having said that, founders with non-technical backgrounds who have experience working in startups are likely going to understand and enjoy the grind better v/s MBAs fresh out of B-School or a consulting firm.

mancerayder 5y ago

I'd like to comment here as a tech person that's moved into management. Not as a founder, but I've done consulting in the past and I've worked in all sized companies. As I've become less technical, I occasionally come across the highly technical, often almost genius-like engineer who fails to comprehend organizational structure and social structures. They fail to 'see' them, so sometimes decisions that you make as manager, or that the company makes, feel foreign to them. And so they often have cynical ideas (often found online) about companies, managers and so forth. While some of the cynical stuff can often be true, my point is this: the successful engineer is also someone with social skills, and that includes company skills as you put it. The person with pure ladder climbing skills is a fraud. But the person who can both be technical 'enough' and understand organizational and human structures can help things scale. What's missing from the conversation is Creativity, I think, or maybe it's me that's out of touch. Successful people seem to be ones that aren't afraid to take unique approaches to solving problems. Sometimes 'engineers' are highly talented but they're looking for blueprints and patterns to follow rather than create - and I am not talking about code.

jokethrowaway 5y ago

I ran into the same issue. Of all the people I've met who end up being successful startup founders I never guessed correctly they would end up successful (a couple even became unicorns) and the cofounders I picked turned out to not so great. From my experience ex-FANG guys are helpful when it's time to raise money but they rarely have the skills needed in a startup environment. My approach now is to partner up with people I have a lot of history with and that I know they get things done, even if they're all technical. We're figuring out how to become the founders we need. We are also not a fan of the entire "startup", high risk, high reward thing. It's too much risk, hassle and stress and you can live comfortably with a smaller profitable business.

atlgator 5y ago

I have an engineering background. My experience with cofounder matchmaking services is that non-tech cofounders often just want someone who will code the entire product in exchange for some equity. Hard no.

blueblisters 5y ago

Isn't it good to have complementary skills in the founding team though? Technical founders often struggle with sales, marketing, raising money, operations and their time is better used in building the actual product. Having said that, founders with non-technical backgrounds who have experience working in startups are likely going to understand and enjoy the grind better v/s MBAs fresh out of B-School or a consulting firm.