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I just applied to TechStars Cloud in San Antonio for http://commando.io http://commando.io and was denied as a single founder. I knew it was a long shot, but ha

I just applied to TechStars Cloud in San Antonio for http://commando.io http://commando.io and was denied as a single founder. I knew it was a long shot, but had to apply just for the amazing opportunity that is TechStars and the mentors and experience. Being a single founder is bloody hard. Mostly though it is lonely. Nobody to talk with, nobody to bounce ideas around and debate features or implementation with. Should we use MongoDB or Riak? Being a single founder you make all the decisions. Also investors believe if you can't convince anybody else to join your company, than its probably a bad idea. I don't necessarily believe this, since I am myself a single founder. So, why is finding a co-founder hard. I moved up to San Francisco over a year ago, left my pool of friends, and drove up in my car with everything I owned. Finding people in San Francisco that are either not already doing their own startup, or already working at a badass company is extremely difficult. Even more, there is the catch-22, I don't have any capital to pay you, but I have equity. Again, not a really convincing proposition for a rockstar developer or designer. Startups are hard, the hardest thing you will probably ever do. So being a single founder is just not mentally healthy and as productive as having co-founders.

benatkin 14y ago
> I just applied to TechStars Cloud in San Antonio for http://commando.io http://commando.io and was denied as a single founder. I knew it was a long shot, but had to apply just for the amazing opportunity that is TechStars and the mentors and experience. You speak this highly of TechStars, and yet you're still running an LLC?
- nodesocket 14y ago
  What does that have to do with anything? By the way, 37Signals is an LLC.
  - benatkin 14y ago
    http://ask.techstars.org/corporate-structure http://ask.techstars.org/corporate-structure
cardine 14y ago
Why do you need a cofounder for any of this? Just yesterday a friend of mine sat down and we both talked database architecture. We talked about it for his company (that I have no equity in) and my company (which he has no equity in).
mgkimsal 14y ago
Maybe this popularized "go west (to SF) young man" myth needs to stop being perpetuated? Going there with a solid business (after funding, whatever) probably makes sense because of the connections and network and such. Going there today with nothing but a dream, looking for assistance with 'equity' to pay people, and leaving behing a network of family/friends/business contacts just seems like a bad idea.

benatkin 14y ago

> I just applied to TechStars Cloud in San Antonio for http://commando.io http://commando.io and was denied as a single founder. I knew it was a long shot, but had to apply just for the amazing opportunity that is TechStars and the mentors and experience. You speak this highly of TechStars, and yet you're still running an LLC?

nodesocket 14y ago
What does that have to do with anything? By the way, 37Signals is an LLC.
- benatkin 14y ago
  http://ask.techstars.org/corporate-structure http://ask.techstars.org/corporate-structure

cardine 14y ago

Why do you need a cofounder for any of this? Just yesterday a friend of mine sat down and we both talked database architecture. We talked about it for his company (that I have no equity in) and my company (which he has no equity in).

mgkimsal 14y ago

Maybe this popularized "go west (to SF) young man" myth needs to stop being perpetuated? Going there with a solid business (after funding, whatever) probably makes sense because of the connections and network and such. Going there today with nothing but a dream, looking for assistance with 'equity' to pay people, and leaving behing a network of family/friends/business contacts just seems like a bad idea.