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But the technical co-founder should understand that it's a startup, are people really not that open to taking a cut now for the possibility of better returns la

by jkaykin 14y ago

But the technical co-founder should understand that it's a startup, are people really not that open to taking a cut now for the possibility of better returns later? I think that finding a technical cofounder can be as hard as any business problem. The reason I say "can" is because many people are lucky and find their technical cofounder in college and that makes it pretty easy.

epc 14y ago
So, you have an idea, and all you need is a technical guy to make it happen. The problem is, whatever your idea is, you're failing to sell it to the very people you need to help make it succeed. "the technical co-founder should understand that it's a startup" is a bogus excuse. The co-founder you're looking for is smart enough to take your idea and implement it, but you don't respect his or her ability to assess risk? If you're selling an idea and no one's buying, you're either not making clear how you expect the idea to succeed, or you're being very clear and your potential co-founders don't think it's worth the risk.
- fredsanford 14y ago
  Where were you 20+ years ago? :)
  - epc 14y ago
    Failing to monetize gopher+.
chc 14y ago
> But the technical co-founder should understand that it's a startup, are people really not that open to taking a cut now for the possibility of better returns later? It depends on the possibility! "Possibility" could mean "vague chance in hell," it could mean "almost a sure thing," or it could mean anything inbetween. They need to feel that this "possibility" is enough to offset what they're giving up. Nobody's going to say, "Oh, this will probably be a huge loss, but they're a startup, so it's OK." They need to feel strongly that what you're proposing will be more rewarding in the long run than their other prospects. If you can't persuade anyone that working with you will be highly rewarding, then either a) You need to work on your communication and persuasion skills, b) What you are proposing is just not worth these people's time, or c) You're approaching the totally wrong kind of person.
samstave 14y ago
>The reason I say "can" is because many people are lucky and find their technical cofounder in college and that makes it pretty easy This is the secret sauce that stanford has realized - and pretty much the rest of the valley VC market. College students are (young "dumb" and full of [ambition]) The VC field uses the same model as the military. While there are many exceptions - the bang-for-buck is clearly on the out-of-college founder group. EDIT: when I say bang-for-buck - I mean cost-to-risk ratio college students are far cheaper, require less overhead and the potential return on them is far greater in large numbers. Although there are many many areas where you need a certain amount of domain knowledge that comes from experience in your field which would be required to disrupt the sector you are focusing on... it would be great to see a 30+ year old only fund to address this...

by jkaykin 14y ago

epc 14y ago

So, you have an idea, and all you need is a technical guy to make it happen. The problem is, whatever your idea is, you're failing to sell it to the very people you need to help make it succeed. "the technical co-founder should understand that it's a startup" is a bogus excuse. The co-founder you're looking for is smart enough to take your idea and implement it, but you don't respect his or her ability to assess risk? If you're selling an idea and no one's buying, you're either not making clear how you expect the idea to succeed, or you're being very clear and your potential co-founders don't think it's worth the risk.

fredsanford 14y ago
Where were you 20+ years ago? :)
- epc 14y ago
  Failing to monetize gopher+.

chc 14y ago

> But the technical co-founder should understand that it's a startup, are people really not that open to taking a cut now for the possibility of better returns later? It depends on the possibility! "Possibility" could mean "vague chance in hell," it could mean "almost a sure thing," or it could mean anything inbetween. They need to feel that this "possibility" is enough to offset what they're giving up. Nobody's going to say, "Oh, this will probably be a huge loss, but they're a startup, so it's OK." They need to feel strongly that what you're proposing will be more rewarding in the long run than their other prospects. If you can't persuade anyone that working with you will be highly rewarding, then either a) You need to work on your communication and persuasion skills, b) What you are proposing is just not worth these people's time, or c) You're approaching the totally wrong kind of person.

samstave 14y ago

>The reason I say "can" is because many people are lucky and find their technical cofounder in college and that makes it pretty easy This is the secret sauce that stanford has realized - and pretty much the rest of the valley VC market. College students are (young "dumb" and full of [ambition]) The VC field uses the same model as the military. While there are many exceptions - the bang-for-buck is clearly on the out-of-college founder group. EDIT: when I say bang-for-buck - I mean cost-to-risk ratio college students are far cheaper, require less overhead and the potential return on them is far greater in large numbers. Although there are many many areas where you need a certain amount of domain knowledge that comes from experience in your field which would be required to disrupt the sector you are focusing on... it would be great to see a 30+ year old only fund to address this...