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I think most people recognize that the team is the most important aspect of a startup - from Paul Graham allowing people to apply to YCombinator without an idea

I think most people recognize that the team is the most important aspect of a startup - from Paul Graham allowing people to apply to YCombinator without an idea, to investors my co-founder and I have talked to being much more interested in who we are, what we know, how we get along, and why we do what we do than product or traction, I think it's safe to say that the team is the most important aspect of a company. I wouldn't, however, decide to "go solo" next time; that may even be a worse option. You'll never find someone who you work with 100%, but you need a co-founder. Keep "shopping," find someone you click with, and have another go.

dennybritz 13y ago
Good points, but I think blindly following the advice can be dangerous. That's exactly what I did. I went out to find a founding them because I knew (from books, YC, PG's essays) that teams are more likely to succeed. What I really should have done is not "look for some team to increase the chance of success", but rather start solo, and take my time looking for the right team. Of course that's easier said then done. You don't get to know people unless you work with them over a longer period of time. So, just to clarify, I'm not suggesting that one should go solo completely, but rather wait for the right team. Don't settle for "some team" just because someone says that teams are "better".
- austenallred 13y ago
  Fair enough; the title was a touch misleading then. And it's not just a matter of advice, those are just evidences of people who see the most startup. I can speak for personal experience that if I didn't have a solid co-founder the product would be 1,000x worse than it is now, we'd be going in completely the wrong direction, and the implementation would have been pretty bad. I have a ton of respect and admiration for my co-founder, and without him our company would either not exist or would be pretty terrible.
marcofloriano 13y ago
Not true for me. Got two failed business with bad co-founders. Now, two years alone and never made so well. I really think it´s "co-founder" law is much more relative then it really appears, specially outside SF Bay area.
marcc 13y ago
I disagree with your last paragraph and caution anyone reading to think hard about your statement. Working with a co-founder who isn't as committed as you are will be trouble from day one. Ultimately you will end up with disagreements about everything from equity to product direction and it will be difficult. I'd go alone before working with someone I was dragging along.
- austenallred 13y ago
  Do you honestly believe that you can find two people with exactly the same level of commitment? You can't pretend like there aren't external factors that affect that - families, other opportunities, etc. One can be 99.9% and one can be 99.8%, but that's still different. I'm getting downvoted like crazy, but I still hold to that statement. You will never, ever, find the absolutely ideal circumstances, but that doesn't mean you should just give up on working with other people.
7Figures2Commas 13y ago
Building a solid team does not require one or more co-founders. It is entirely possible to start a company on your own, hire employees/contractors and then recruit for key leadership positions. Mark Suster's Co-Founder Mythology (http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2011/05/09/the-co-founder-mythology/ http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2011/05/09/the-co-founder...) and comments at Startup Grind earlier this year (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAHgGUFjK3c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAHgGUFjK3c) are well worth reading/watching. Of course, if your goal is to have a great team on paper so that an investor will feel comfortable writing you a check, let's call the exercise what it is: building a team that might build a business once it has funding. That's not building a business.
- austenallred 13y ago
  I can only speak for my own experience; I would be dead in the water without a co-founder, and I would never try to do it alone, nor would I recommend someone else try alone.
  - 7Figures2Commas 13y ago
    Fair enough, but translating your experience into such absolutist advice is sort of like saying "I wouldn't be able to drive without an automatic transmission therefore I recommend that everyone avoid manual transmissions."
- beat 13y ago
  Thanks for that link. Totally grok what he's saying. One thing I've realized is that, when pitching, I have to pitch me rather than pitching a team. Or more to the point, pitching that a: I have a real solution for a real problem for real customers (enterprise change management ain't the same as monetizing pictures of cats on the internet), and b: I'm capable of creating a company and building a team to bring this vision to life.

dennybritz 13y ago

Good points, but I think blindly following the advice can be dangerous. That's exactly what I did. I went out to find a founding them because I knew (from books, YC, PG's essays) that teams are more likely to succeed. What I really should have done is not "look for some team to increase the chance of success", but rather start solo, and take my time looking for the right team. Of course that's easier said then done. You don't get to know people unless you work with them over a longer period of time. So, just to clarify, I'm not suggesting that one should go solo completely, but rather wait for the right team. Don't settle for "some team" just because someone says that teams are "better".

austenallred 13y ago
Fair enough; the title was a touch misleading then. And it's not just a matter of advice, those are just evidences of people who see the most startup. I can speak for personal experience that if I didn't have a solid co-founder the product would be 1,000x worse than it is now, we'd be going in completely the wrong direction, and the implementation would have been pretty bad. I have a ton of respect and admiration for my co-founder, and without him our company would either not exist or would be pretty terrible.

marcofloriano 13y ago

Not true for me. Got two failed business with bad co-founders. Now, two years alone and never made so well. I really think it´s "co-founder" law is much more relative then it really appears, specially outside SF Bay area.

marcc 13y ago

I disagree with your last paragraph and caution anyone reading to think hard about your statement. Working with a co-founder who isn't as committed as you are will be trouble from day one. Ultimately you will end up with disagreements about everything from equity to product direction and it will be difficult. I'd go alone before working with someone I was dragging along.

austenallred 13y ago
Do you honestly believe that you can find two people with exactly the same level of commitment? You can't pretend like there aren't external factors that affect that - families, other opportunities, etc. One can be 99.9% and one can be 99.8%, but that's still different. I'm getting downvoted like crazy, but I still hold to that statement. You will never, ever, find the absolutely ideal circumstances, but that doesn't mean you should just give up on working with other people.

7Figures2Commas 13y ago

Building a solid team does not require one or more co-founders. It is entirely possible to start a company on your own, hire employees/contractors and then recruit for key leadership positions. Mark Suster's Co-Founder Mythology (http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2011/05/09/the-co-founder-mythology/ http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2011/05/09/the-co-founder...) and comments at Startup Grind earlier this year (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAHgGUFjK3c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAHgGUFjK3c) are well worth reading/watching. Of course, if your goal is to have a great team on paper so that an investor will feel comfortable writing you a check, let's call the exercise what it is: building a team that might build a business once it has funding. That's not building a business.

austenallred 13y ago
I can only speak for my own experience; I would be dead in the water without a co-founder, and I would never try to do it alone, nor would I recommend someone else try alone.
- 7Figures2Commas 13y ago
  Fair enough, but translating your experience into such absolutist advice is sort of like saying "I wouldn't be able to drive without an automatic transmission therefore I recommend that everyone avoid manual transmissions."
beat 13y ago
Thanks for that link. Totally grok what he's saying. One thing I've realized is that, when pitching, I have to pitch me rather than pitching a team. Or more to the point, pitching that a: I have a real solution for a real problem for real customers (enterprise change management ain't the same as monetizing pictures of cats on the internet), and b: I'm capable of creating a company and building a team to bring this vision to life.