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Sure, this sounds like a great deal for you. But...what are you bringing to the table? There's 27 million software engineers. Let's say 99% of them are trash.

Sure, this sounds like a great deal for you. But...what are you bringing to the table? There's 27 million software engineers. Let's say 99% of them are trash. That means there's 270,000 amazing engineers this mythical sales-machine-with-a-big-audience Founder could partner with. Do you have any successful exits? Have you built [Saas, B2C, Hard-tech] from the ground-up yourself before? Have you built & managed a team of engineers? Have you ever fundraised before? Do you have any connections? Do you have any audience? Do you have any product design taste? Etc. And let's say you do tick all those boxes. Then that's maybe an even bigger problem. Because if both of you are so amazingly talented and in-demand, are you really going to stick to it when the going gets tough (which it will)? Especially with a 500k/yr do-nothing middle management FAANG gig as your opportunity cost? What's most likely is neither of you will tick most of those boxes, and it won't actually matter, because the market and your product's fit will weigh much heavier on your success. Better to pick a co-founder with some of those qualities that you already know and have a good level of trust with. You can absolutely figure out the rest.

papruapap 3y ago
I think it was implied that OP has enough experience for those to be the minimal requirements so both bring the same value to the table.
- pembrook 3y ago
  I would assume 99% of HN users (and most of people loudly proclaiming their high standards for a co-founder) do not fit that profile. This whole thread reads like a lot of 6's bragging how they only date 10's.
  - fendy3002 3y ago
    You know that getting a correct background of someone from hn comments are slim right?
  - rrr_oh_man 3y ago
    Read the article. It’s literally about that.
eropple 3y ago
> That means there's 270,000 amazing engineers this mythical sales-machine-with-a-big-audience Founder could partner with. But that founder isn't talking to 269,999 of them, in that situation. And the BATNA for not jumping on the technical cofounder train is "darn, keep my overpaid job". This arrow mostly goes one way.
- fakedang 3y ago
  > And the BATNA for not jumping on the technical cofounder train is "darn, keep my overpaid job". HN folks commenting about their overpaid jobs while lambasting Tech for underpaying engineers. Peak HN confusion.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - AnimalMuppet 3y ago
    Well, see, HN is more than one person. And different people have different perspectives. Some people here think FAANG overpays. Some people here think tech (including FAANG?) underpays. Some think that FAANG overpays and the rest of tech underpays. Some think the market in jobs is more or less efficient. Don't take comments here - even a number of them - as reflecting a consensus of "HN folks". There is rarely a consensus here. And that's fine, because thoughtful, well-reasoned comments from people I disagree with are one of the best things about HN.
  - eropple 3y ago
    I was being a little tongue-in-cheek there, but I think there's truth there too--while excellent tech workers absolutely capture too little of their value, that's, uh, not a universal thing in my experience. But, yeah, walking away from a very solid $150K+ job--especially outside of the Bay Area, I make way less than a Bay Area principal but simply do not think about money!--to play the lottery is not an economically rational decision, and so if you want somebody to do that, yes, you absolutely do need to come correct.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
whiterknight 3y ago
Yep the math does work out. Take the 27 million and start filtering: - is in your country - has an engineering degree - understands pointers - has worked in Faang and/or serious startups - is someone you can trust - has business acumen - is in a family position to do a start up The choices drop off pretty fast.
TuringNYC 3y ago
>> But...what are you bringing to the table? There's 27 million software engineers. The whole question is irrelevant. From what I've seen, it is Business Co-Founders chasing Technical Co-Founders. If i'm getting unsolicited messages and getting cornered at hackathons, I'm not sure why I would be answering these messages. I can just walk away.
- pembrook 3y ago
  It absolutely is a relevant question. I don’t disagree with the fact there’s tons of non-technical “idea-only” dreamers running around. Definitely more of them than engineers. But the type of people that OP described are far more rare than software engineers, who are dime-a-dozen by comparison. Maybe a little humility is in order here?
  - TuringNYC 3y ago
    >> Maybe a little humility is in order here? I agree with most of your statements. But you realize the whole discussion is about Non-Technical Co Founders chasing Technical Co Founders. If people are chasing the Technical Co Founder (at meetups, at industry dinners, at hackathons) why is it on the Technical Co Founder to go thru a full interview first? Shouldn't the person doing the chasing justify their side first? As a technologist being cornered, am I obligated to do a full interview every time someone has an unsolicited idea and approaches me? Or can I just enjoy hanging out with fellow technologists at Hackathons? I have literally gotten people pitch me ideas at cafes where I go to relax. Am i obligated to now do an interview on the spot? If random people started demanding unsolicited job interviews I think that would piss off most technologists.
triceratops 3y ago
> But...what are you bringing to the table? There's 27 million software engineers. Let's say 99% of them are trash. That means there's 270,000 amazing engineers this mythical sales-machine-with-a-big-audience Founder could partner with. There's 8b people, all of them have ideas and networks. Let's say 99.999% of them are trash. That means there are 8m people that these amazing 270k engineers could partner with. Almost 30 per engineer. And of course not all 270k amazing engineers will be interested in ever doing a startup so the ratio is even more unfavorable.

papruapap 3y ago

I think it was implied that OP has enough experience for those to be the minimal requirements so both bring the same value to the table.

pembrook 3y ago
I would assume 99% of HN users (and most of people loudly proclaiming their high standards for a co-founder) do not fit that profile. This whole thread reads like a lot of 6's bragging how they only date 10's.
- fendy3002 3y ago
  You know that getting a correct background of someone from hn comments are slim right?
- rrr_oh_man 3y ago
  Read the article. It’s literally about that.

eropple 3y ago

> That means there's 270,000 amazing engineers this mythical sales-machine-with-a-big-audience Founder could partner with. But that founder isn't talking to 269,999 of them, in that situation. And the BATNA for not jumping on the technical cofounder train is "darn, keep my overpaid job". This arrow mostly goes one way.

fakedang 3y ago
> And the BATNA for not jumping on the technical cofounder train is "darn, keep my overpaid job". HN folks commenting about their overpaid jobs while lambasting Tech for underpaying engineers. Peak HN confusion.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- AnimalMuppet 3y ago
  Well, see, HN is more than one person. And different people have different perspectives. Some people here think FAANG overpays. Some people here think tech (including FAANG?) underpays. Some think that FAANG overpays and the rest of tech underpays. Some think the market in jobs is more or less efficient. Don't take comments here - even a number of them - as reflecting a consensus of "HN folks". There is rarely a consensus here. And that's fine, because thoughtful, well-reasoned comments from people I disagree with are one of the best things about HN.
- eropple 3y ago
  I was being a little tongue-in-cheek there, but I think there's truth there too--while excellent tech workers absolutely capture too little of their value, that's, uh, not a universal thing in my experience. But, yeah, walking away from a very solid $150K+ job--especially outside of the Bay Area, I make way less than a Bay Area principal but simply do not think about money!--to play the lottery is not an economically rational decision, and so if you want somebody to do that, yes, you absolutely do need to come correct.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

whiterknight 3y ago

Yep the math does work out. Take the 27 million and start filtering: - is in your country - has an engineering degree - understands pointers - has worked in Faang and/or serious startups - is someone you can trust - has business acumen - is in a family position to do a start up The choices drop off pretty fast.

TuringNYC 3y ago

>> But...what are you bringing to the table? There's 27 million software engineers. The whole question is irrelevant. From what I've seen, it is Business Co-Founders chasing Technical Co-Founders. If i'm getting unsolicited messages and getting cornered at hackathons, I'm not sure why I would be answering these messages. I can just walk away.

pembrook 3y ago
It absolutely is a relevant question. I don’t disagree with the fact there’s tons of non-technical “idea-only” dreamers running around. Definitely more of them than engineers. But the type of people that OP described are far more rare than software engineers, who are dime-a-dozen by comparison. Maybe a little humility is in order here?
- TuringNYC 3y ago
  >> Maybe a little humility is in order here? I agree with most of your statements. But you realize the whole discussion is about Non-Technical Co Founders chasing Technical Co Founders. If people are chasing the Technical Co Founder (at meetups, at industry dinners, at hackathons) why is it on the Technical Co Founder to go thru a full interview first? Shouldn't the person doing the chasing justify their side first? As a technologist being cornered, am I obligated to do a full interview every time someone has an unsolicited idea and approaches me? Or can I just enjoy hanging out with fellow technologists at Hackathons? I have literally gotten people pitch me ideas at cafes where I go to relax. Am i obligated to now do an interview on the spot? If random people started demanding unsolicited job interviews I think that would piss off most technologists.

triceratops 3y ago

> But...what are you bringing to the table? There's 27 million software engineers. Let's say 99% of them are trash. That means there's 270,000 amazing engineers this mythical sales-machine-with-a-big-audience Founder could partner with. There's 8b people, all of them have ideas and networks. Let's say 99.999% of them are trash. That means there are 8m people that these amazing 270k engineers could partner with. Almost 30 per engineer. And of course not all 270k amazing engineers will be interested in ever doing a startup so the ratio is even more unfavorable.