5 ms·

You didn't find a cofounder. You found a date for a party. In six months you may look back at this post and facepalm, or you may have a healthy relationship. Yo

by diego 13y ago

You didn't find a cofounder. You found a date for a party. In six months you may look back at this post and facepalm, or you may have a healthy relationship. You just don't know yet.

GuiA 13y ago
Despite the above being pessimistic, it is absolutely (and sadly) spot on. Let me detail a little bit, as often short concise posts are only evident to those with the experience, and appear dismissive or not very constructive to those without. The best candidates for co-founders are people you've already worked with, in a situation where your livelihood didn't depend on it (school project, same team at another company, etc.). When you launch a company with someone, you will essentially spend all of your waking hours in their company. That includes the long hours at the office, but also the phone calls at 11pm, the emails at 9 in the morning on Sundays, etc. In order for this to work out, you need someone you absolutely trust and can communicate effectively with, in the context of a healthy professional relationship. It's hard. I have really close friends with whom I would never start a company; there are people people I have worked with and deeply admire with whom I would never start a company. It's really hard. That's why if you want to maximize your chances of it working out, you have to really be confident about your choice. Picking someone you'd never met the week prior and making them your cofounder can work out, just like it can fail miserably. There are already so many variables in a startup; why add another unnecessary one? (I'm glad I wrote this entire post without making a parallel with marriage! :D )
- anthonycole 13y ago
  I completely agree. The way I put it in the incubator application was "Finding a cofounder is half-way between finding a housemate and a significant other". There's no way to tell whether anything like this will work out right away. Regardless, we'll see what happens. Some people were interested in the analytics behind the site, so that was one of my primary reasons for posting - and the backstory to give context.
  - dannyr 13y ago
    Trust is one of the most important aspects of cofounders. With such a short time, how do you know if you can trust him or vice-versa? Trust is something that can only be built over time.
- auctiontheory 13y ago
  More helpful would be actual suggestions on how to find a co-founder when ex-co-workers don't want to leave their safe employers, and classmates/spouses/siblings/are not an option.

by diego 13y ago

You didn't find a cofounder. You found a date for a party. In six months you may look back at this post and facepalm, or you may have a healthy relationship. You just don't know yet.

GuiA 13y ago

Despite the above being pessimistic, it is absolutely (and sadly) spot on. Let me detail a little bit, as often short concise posts are only evident to those with the experience, and appear dismissive or not very constructive to those without. The best candidates for co-founders are people you've already worked with, in a situation where your livelihood didn't depend on it (school project, same team at another company, etc.). When you launch a company with someone, you will essentially spend all of your waking hours in their company. That includes the long hours at the office, but also the phone calls at 11pm, the emails at 9 in the morning on Sundays, etc. In order for this to work out, you need someone you absolutely trust and can communicate effectively with, in the context of a healthy professional relationship. It's hard. I have really close friends with whom I would never start a company; there are people people I have worked with and deeply admire with whom I would never start a company. It's really hard. That's why if you want to maximize your chances of it working out, you have to really be confident about your choice. Picking someone you'd never met the week prior and making them your cofounder can work out, just like it can fail miserably. There are already so many variables in a startup; why add another unnecessary one? (I'm glad I wrote this entire post without making a parallel with marriage! :D )

anthonycole 13y ago
I completely agree. The way I put it in the incubator application was "Finding a cofounder is half-way between finding a housemate and a significant other". There's no way to tell whether anything like this will work out right away. Regardless, we'll see what happens. Some people were interested in the analytics behind the site, so that was one of my primary reasons for posting - and the backstory to give context.
- dannyr 13y ago
  Trust is one of the most important aspects of cofounders. With such a short time, how do you know if you can trust him or vice-versa? Trust is something that can only be built over time.
auctiontheory 13y ago
More helpful would be actual suggestions on how to find a co-founder when ex-co-workers don't want to leave their safe employers, and classmates/spouses/siblings/are not an option.