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PG: What would your advice be to someone with no co-founder? Apply anyway and see what you think, or don't even bother and wait until you've found someone to wo

PG: What would your advice be to someone with no co-founder? Apply anyway and see what you think, or don't even bother and wait until you've found someone to work with? I appreciate the issues with single founder companies however am finding it hard to locate someone with the required interest and skill in my area.

olivercameron 14y ago
As someone who applied as a single founder (and got in), just apply anyway. However, ensure that you get across that you are indeed open to finding a co-founder.
- kaolinite 14y ago
  Thanks Oliver, that's reassuring. May I ask what happened after you were accepted - did you find a co-founder then?
  - olivercameron 14y ago
    Yep, pretty much immediately after starting YC I met my co-founder (through an intro from PG).
glaugh 14y ago
For what it's worth, about 15% of last batch had only one founder: http://blog.statwing.com/a-statistical-portrait-of-a-y-combinator-batch/ http://blog.statwing.com/a-statistical-portrait-of-a-y-combi...
- kaolinite 14y ago
  That I did not know. I always thought that single founder companies were quite rare. Many thanks.
pg 14y ago
Get a cofounder. If your startup succeeds, you could spend 5 years or more working on it. It's rounding error to spend 6 months making a concerted effort to find a cofounder first. And while it can be hard to find a cofounder, it's not as hard as starting a successful startup.
- kaolinite 14y ago
  Thanks for the reply. Based on your response and the responses of others, I think that I will in all likelihood apply with the intention of searching for someone to work with (perhaps local to SF) if my application progresses. If it does not, it will allow me to focus my search on my local area. Thanks again :-)
- taytus 14y ago
  For me has been extremely hard to find a cofounder. Hey there people from Dallas TX, do you want to create something awesome and needs a developer!? Please contact me.
  - zlatan1 14y ago
    If you're not set on being in the same location, check out my entry in the co-founder spreadsheet and see if we could match.
- mindcrime 14y ago
  pg: Do you make a distinction between "solo founder who is and intends to remain solo" and "solo founder who just hasn't happened to meet the right co-founder(s) yet?" Just curious, as I see those as being pretty distinct cases. With Fogbeam Labs, I was a "solo founder" for a year or so, before our second founder came onboard, and then it was about 8 months after that when our 3 founder joined up. I imagine other people find themselves in that place where they are open to (even seeking) a co-founder, but just haven't met the right person yet. In any case, my thought, FWIW, is that a founder should keep working on advancing their vision, whether or not they have located (a) co-founder(s) yet. I wouldn't "stop the world" to do nothing but look for a co-founder.
bfe 14y ago
Drew Houston originally applied as a single founder (and then lined up a talented and committed co-founder) and turned into one of YC's two biggest successes so far, so take heart.
- pg 14y ago
  He filled out the online application as a single founder but he had found Arash by interviews, a few weeks later.
  - pc86 14y ago
    Was Arash central to choosing to invest? What I mean is do you think you would have passed if he hadn't found a co-founder by the interviews?
    - pg 14y ago
      I'm pretty sure we'd have funded him anyway. Trevor had tried his prototype and said it was good. The big advantage of Arash (and of good cofounders in general) was not that he got Dropbox through YC interviews but that he helped make the company successful.
tylermenezes 14y ago
Even if you manage to get in without a co-founder, you'll probably still want a co-founder. I've talked to several YC alums without a co-founder looking to hire an employee who can serve as a co-founder.
- kaolinite 14y ago
  I absolutely do however I want to find someone as enthusiastic as I am, not somebody who is just coming along for the ride because I convinced them it's a great idea. Where I am currently (location-wise), finding the former will be harder than the latter, I suspect, and if possible I would rather work with someone locally rather than remotely.
  - tylermenezes 14y ago
    I totally agree with you, you don't want to take finding a co-founder lightly. Just meant it as a heads-up. Apply as a single-founder anyway :)
  - intellegacy 14y ago
    Hey kaolinite, where are you based? Are you still in school?
    - kaolinite 14y ago
      I'm from Liverpool, UK. I turned down a place at university to become a programmer as I was sick of formal education, preferring instead to teach myself. It's a choice I regret in some ways but the past few years since leaving college have been fun, working as a programmer.
      - jlees 14y ago
        There's a growing startup scene in the UK. You may have to travel as far as Edinburgh or London, but go to enough events and you should run into plenty of people with the same kinds of passions. Add to that looking in places where people share your subject passion, and I'm sure you'll find someone. It's all about hustling.

olivercameron 14y ago

As someone who applied as a single founder (and got in), just apply anyway. However, ensure that you get across that you are indeed open to finding a co-founder.

kaolinite 14y ago
Thanks Oliver, that's reassuring. May I ask what happened after you were accepted - did you find a co-founder then?
- olivercameron 14y ago
  Yep, pretty much immediately after starting YC I met my co-founder (through an intro from PG).

glaugh 14y ago

For what it's worth, about 15% of last batch had only one founder: http://blog.statwing.com/a-statistical-portrait-of-a-y-combinator-batch/ http://blog.statwing.com/a-statistical-portrait-of-a-y-combi...

kaolinite 14y ago
That I did not know. I always thought that single founder companies were quite rare. Many thanks.

pg 14y ago

Get a cofounder. If your startup succeeds, you could spend 5 years or more working on it. It's rounding error to spend 6 months making a concerted effort to find a cofounder first. And while it can be hard to find a cofounder, it's not as hard as starting a successful startup.

kaolinite 14y ago
Thanks for the reply. Based on your response and the responses of others, I think that I will in all likelihood apply with the intention of searching for someone to work with (perhaps local to SF) if my application progresses. If it does not, it will allow me to focus my search on my local area. Thanks again :-)
taytus 14y ago
For me has been extremely hard to find a cofounder. Hey there people from Dallas TX, do you want to create something awesome and needs a developer!? Please contact me.
- zlatan1 14y ago
  If you're not set on being in the same location, check out my entry in the co-founder spreadsheet and see if we could match.
mindcrime 14y ago
pg: Do you make a distinction between "solo founder who is and intends to remain solo" and "solo founder who just hasn't happened to meet the right co-founder(s) yet?" Just curious, as I see those as being pretty distinct cases. With Fogbeam Labs, I was a "solo founder" for a year or so, before our second founder came onboard, and then it was about 8 months after that when our 3 founder joined up. I imagine other people find themselves in that place where they are open to (even seeking) a co-founder, but just haven't met the right person yet. In any case, my thought, FWIW, is that a founder should keep working on advancing their vision, whether or not they have located (a) co-founder(s) yet. I wouldn't "stop the world" to do nothing but look for a co-founder.

bfe 14y ago

Drew Houston originally applied as a single founder (and then lined up a talented and committed co-founder) and turned into one of YC's two biggest successes so far, so take heart.

pg 14y ago
He filled out the online application as a single founder but he had found Arash by interviews, a few weeks later.
- pc86 14y ago
  Was Arash central to choosing to invest? What I mean is do you think you would have passed if he hadn't found a co-founder by the interviews?
  - pg 14y ago
    I'm pretty sure we'd have funded him anyway. Trevor had tried his prototype and said it was good. The big advantage of Arash (and of good cofounders in general) was not that he got Dropbox through YC interviews but that he helped make the company successful.

tylermenezes 14y ago

Even if you manage to get in without a co-founder, you'll probably still want a co-founder. I've talked to several YC alums without a co-founder looking to hire an employee who can serve as a co-founder.

kaolinite 14y ago
I absolutely do however I want to find someone as enthusiastic as I am, not somebody who is just coming along for the ride because I convinced them it's a great idea. Where I am currently (location-wise), finding the former will be harder than the latter, I suspect, and if possible I would rather work with someone locally rather than remotely.
- tylermenezes 14y ago
  I totally agree with you, you don't want to take finding a co-founder lightly. Just meant it as a heads-up. Apply as a single-founder anyway :)
- intellegacy 14y ago
  Hey kaolinite, where are you based? Are you still in school?
  - kaolinite 14y ago
    I'm from Liverpool, UK. I turned down a place at university to become a programmer as I was sick of formal education, preferring instead to teach myself. It's a choice I regret in some ways but the past few years since leaving college have been fun, working as a programmer.
    - jlees 14y ago
      There's a growing startup scene in the UK. You may have to travel as far as Edinburgh or London, but go to enough events and you should run into plenty of people with the same kinds of passions. Add to that looking in places where people share your subject passion, and I'm sure you'll find someone. It's all about hustling.