3 ms·

How do you find the non-technical cofounders to do this?

by arjvik 4y ago

Brajeshwar 4y ago
I seriously hope you are not kidding with me. Back-of-envelop, napkin-calculation, and my 8-ball wizardy data would say that there are 9 non-technical founders looking for every capable technical founder. Anyway, there are lots of communities, cohort-based, hybrid-style, and what-not options these days to find someone or a few. You can start with https://www.startupschool.org https://www.startupschool.org and/or https://www.beondeck.com https://www.beondeck.com
- afroisalreadyin 4y ago
  Thanks for those two links. I'm in the exact same place as the OP, and would love to start something of my own, but I have only technical skills, meaning all my startup ideas are for devs, a domain that's absolutely saturated. In the best case, I would pair with someone who is a "nerd" of a different domain, but somehow I find it rather difficult to meet such people. In case you (or anyone else) know of similar programs for Europe (esp. Berlin), I would be grateful for pointers.
  - SuoDuanDao 4y ago
    Meetup is still a good source for making lots of surface-level connections, here's a quick search I did: https://www.meetup.com/find/?keywords=startup&source=EVENTS&location=de--Berlin https://www.meetup.com/find/?keywords=startup&source=EVENTS&... edit: You'll probably have more success, as I don't know the German terminology for things like 'startup' - Geschaeftsaufstellung?
    - afroisalreadyin 4y ago
      Nah it's still startup, just capitalized like any other noun.
      - Vivtek 4y ago
        Englisch klingt so butterweich.
- waltbosz 4y ago
  Another place I've seen non-technical founders looking to pair up is at https://www.indiehackers.com/ https://www.indiehackers.com/
- paolomaffei 4y ago
  the problem is how to identify capable non-technical founders. I suspect the ratio of capable non-technical and technical founders is nearer 0.1-0.5:1 any thoughts on how to identify the unicorns?
  - meowtastic 4y ago
    I'd say 0.1:1 from personal experience. Often you see founders who want to build facebook-but-better type of stuff from day 1. My advice is to avoid first-time tech founders, it's very hard to coach them into adopting the lean startup mindset until they feel the pain.
  - Brajeshwar 4y ago
    This can be a blog post, hell, may be even a book on its own. For quick starters, look for someone who tinkered, cobbled, hacked, juggard[1] his/her way through an MVP with no-code, low-code, dump-code, Figma-ed, etc. Better yet, s/he had tried selling that idea, napkin-diagrams, to customers. Avoid anyone that smooth talks with nothing to show for (MVP/Customers/Prospects). While talking (do this for as long as you are comfortable moving ahead), watch out if s/he can articulate and build an idea maze[2] of what his/her current thoughts are. 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jugaad https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jugaad 2. https://cdixon.org/2013/08/04/the-idea-maze https://cdixon.org/2013/08/04/the-idea-maze
    - hackerfromthefu 4y ago
      Watch out though because those people are often busy selling 'you' and you have to also find one with integrity and properly values your input.
  - grepLeigh 4y ago
    Look for people who have revenue and traction, not just an idea. Some of the best non-technical Founders I've worked with: - Built a business trip packing / iterinerary recommendation system, using just Google Sheets plugins - Built a video transcription + recutting service in Bubble. Each of these made five-six figures of revenue with the MVP. The Founders couldn't code, but they used every tool at their disposal to get enough $$$ to find someone who can code. True grit!

How do you find the non-technical cofounders to do this?

by arjvik 4y ago

How do you find the non-technical cofounders to do this?

I seriously hope you are not kidding with me. Back-of-envelop, napkin-calculation, and my 8-ball wizardy data would say that there are 9 non-technical founders looking for every capable technical founder. Anyway, there are lots of communities, cohort-based, hybrid-style, and what-not options these days to find someone or a few. You can start with https://www.startupschool.org https://www.startupschool.org and/or https://www.beondeck.com https://www.beondeck.com

afroisalreadyin 4y ago
Thanks for those two links. I'm in the exact same place as the OP, and would love to start something of my own, but I have only technical skills, meaning all my startup ideas are for devs, a domain that's absolutely saturated. In the best case, I would pair with someone who is a "nerd" of a different domain, but somehow I find it rather difficult to meet such people. In case you (or anyone else) know of similar programs for Europe (esp. Berlin), I would be grateful for pointers.
- SuoDuanDao 4y ago
  Meetup is still a good source for making lots of surface-level connections, here's a quick search I did: https://www.meetup.com/find/?keywords=startup&source=EVENTS&location=de--Berlin https://www.meetup.com/find/?keywords=startup&source=EVENTS&... edit: You'll probably have more success, as I don't know the German terminology for things like 'startup' - Geschaeftsaufstellung?
  - afroisalreadyin 4y ago
    Nah it's still startup, just capitalized like any other noun.
    - Vivtek 4y ago
      Englisch klingt so butterweich.
waltbosz 4y ago
Another place I've seen non-technical founders looking to pair up is at https://www.indiehackers.com/ https://www.indiehackers.com/
paolomaffei 4y ago
the problem is how to identify capable non-technical founders. I suspect the ratio of capable non-technical and technical founders is nearer 0.1-0.5:1 any thoughts on how to identify the unicorns?
- meowtastic 4y ago
  I'd say 0.1:1 from personal experience. Often you see founders who want to build facebook-but-better type of stuff from day 1. My advice is to avoid first-time tech founders, it's very hard to coach them into adopting the lean startup mindset until they feel the pain.
- Brajeshwar 4y ago
  This can be a blog post, hell, may be even a book on its own. For quick starters, look for someone who tinkered, cobbled, hacked, juggard[1] his/her way through an MVP with no-code, low-code, dump-code, Figma-ed, etc. Better yet, s/he had tried selling that idea, napkin-diagrams, to customers. Avoid anyone that smooth talks with nothing to show for (MVP/Customers/Prospects). While talking (do this for as long as you are comfortable moving ahead), watch out if s/he can articulate and build an idea maze[2] of what his/her current thoughts are. 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jugaad https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jugaad 2. https://cdixon.org/2013/08/04/the-idea-maze https://cdixon.org/2013/08/04/the-idea-maze
  - hackerfromthefu 4y ago
    Watch out though because those people are often busy selling 'you' and you have to also find one with integrity and properly values your input.
- grepLeigh 4y ago
  Look for people who have revenue and traction, not just an idea. Some of the best non-technical Founders I've worked with: - Built a business trip packing / iterinerary recommendation system, using just Google Sheets plugins - Built a video transcription + recutting service in Bubble. Each of these made five-six figures of revenue with the MVP. The Founders couldn't code, but they used every tool at their disposal to get enough $$$ to find someone who can code. True grit!