"But under the circumstances, I'd rather plow along, always positioning myself to have a co-founder, but just as ready to launch alone if need be. I'm not afrai

"But under the circumstances, I'd rather plow along, always positioning myself to have a co-founder, but just as ready to launch alone if need be. I'm not afraid to do that and I don't think other single co-founders should be either." I think that's the right attitude. It's like a marriage. Dual income is a wonderful thing. Sharing costs, having a permanent partner to plan with, complementary skillsets, etc., etc. But that doesn't mean you should go grab a mail order bride catalog. There are plenty of successful solo founders out there. There are also plenty of amputees who overcome that disadvantage and run marathons. 2 good founders are way more than 2 x 1 good founders. Having a good co-founder almost certainly increases your chance of success and magnitude of it. It's not just that you have 2x the work output. You have a duty to someone else all of a sudden-- quitting is less of an option (and quitting ALWAYS kills startups). You have a second set of brain cells to catch you being stupid-- and you will be stupid about some things. You have a cheerleader at the low points. You have someone else keeping their eyes peeled on your market for opportunities that you might miss. You have a whole new set of connections/relationships to leverage. There are some great studies showing that a group of average people outperforms solo smart people on complex problem solving tasks (here's one-- there are lots: http://is.gd/4O3kn http://is.gd/4O3kn ) I think you're wrong about the child/stepchild analogy, though-- or maybe it's just that I think you're wrong that your child has even been BORN yet. It's more like a house that you've started building, but all you really have is a couple of boards, a few sketches, and maybe a solid foundation. Of course, maybe you are more in love with YOUR idea/vision/existing code than the idea of just building something great and being successful... Which I guess is fine. :-) But unless you already have a growth curve that goes up and to the right, I tihnk a good co-founder is way more of an asset than the thinking/coding you've done to date.