"... Assume that the programmer is good but isn't that brave enough to take the risks and has a good day job ..." Are you a born salesman? Do you have great pe

"... Assume that the programmer is good but isn't that brave enough to take the risks and has a good day job ..." Are you a born salesman? Do you have great persuasion skills and killer smile that can motivate others to do what you want? Are you capable of identifying the targets motivation and swaying them over? If you did you wouldn't be asking this question. Find another. A programmer is not by default an ideal Startup Founder. Finding someone who is technical and who compliments your skillset is important. Someone who can build stuff. But if someone has to be convinced and not brave enough to leave what they are doing. When things get tough guess who will leave? Are they motivated enough to stick out the marathon? I've often thought to myself, "what is the best measure of a potential co-founder?". Is it a combination of raw ability, skill & determination? Could the "X" factor be a fierce desire to do something for themselves? Build something (product) and profiting from it? If the fire is not there, a programmer might make a good employee. But Co-founder?