Ask HN: Technical cofounders, what's most important to you?
9 comments
1. Some form of "moat". Do you have expertise, whether as a user or product? Some claim they can "execute" but the average assistant manager at a gas station can execute too. Pitching takes an hour to learn, and only requires time & practice to master. But there are some who can execute and pitch extraordinarily well, and that's valuable.
2. Willingness to put in the work. Vast majority seek passive income, and are dead weight after launching.
3. A conscience. No cults. No lying to investors. None of this "fake it before you make it" crap. Negotiation is fine, but not to the point of demoralising your partners and employees.
4. Humility. I was pretty eager to work with one guy, until he argued that my tech stack was stupid because we'd have to pay licensing fees to Oracle if we used JavaScript.
5. Trust. Many have done a fairly successful business before, and bring in cultures that really don't work with tech talent. If you're negotiating sick days and expecting people to be in office for a fixed period, everyone will leave. One guy hired a supervisor whose role is to watch the devs code.
6. Sales skill. Not just getting leads. Not just running ads. Just being able to close a deal, take money, repeat the process, get feedback, and hire someone to repeat that.
2. Willingness to put in the work. Vast majority seek passive income, and are dead weight after launching.
3. A conscience. No cults. No lying to investors. None of this "fake it before you make it" crap. Negotiation is fine, but not to the point of demoralising your partners and employees.
4. Humility. I was pretty eager to work with one guy, until he argued that my tech stack was stupid because we'd have to pay licensing fees to Oracle if we used JavaScript.
5. Trust. Many have done a fairly successful business before, and bring in cultures that really don't work with tech talent. If you're negotiating sick days and expecting people to be in office for a fixed period, everyone will leave. One guy hired a supervisor whose role is to watch the devs code.
6. Sales skill. Not just getting leads. Not just running ads. Just being able to close a deal, take money, repeat the process, get feedback, and hire someone to repeat that.
For a "nontechnical" co-founder to have some actual domain knowledge that lets them understand a customer problem, gained through real experience. Not just someone businessy who wants to make a startup. So being able to attract and vet cofounders with real complementary experience.
* Decent human beings, not asshole tech bros
* A cogent vision that addresses a real customer need
* Someone (senior) on the team who knows the domain
* A reasonable real-currency salary
* A reasonable equity share
* A reasonable level of autonomy; not micro-management, especially for technology choices
* Transparency in all things, but especially finances, board, investors, and deals
* A cogent vision that addresses a real customer need
* Someone (senior) on the team who knows the domain
* A reasonable real-currency salary
* A reasonable equity share
* A reasonable level of autonomy; not micro-management, especially for technology choices
* Transparency in all things, but especially finances, board, investors, and deals
I’ve spent a good amount of time on YC’s cofounder matching service and my biggest problem is not anything that can be fixed by a better platform. Most the “ideas” for products are dystopian, moral-less get-rich-quick schemes that I’d have to abandon any semblance of ethics to get behind. Web3 especially has brought out the “music men” of the world and given them a platform. Fuck this “do anything for a buck” world we’ve built.
Not a technical cofounder, but I have read too many weeping in the /newest page:
* Not zero salary in cash (not IOU, not cryptocoins, not equity, real green cash)
* At least 20% of equity. (YC uses 10% instead, and they know more than me, so you probably should follow their threshold.)
* Not zero salary in cash (not IOU, not cryptocoins, not equity, real green cash)
* At least 20% of equity. (YC uses 10% instead, and they know more than me, so you probably should follow their threshold.)
As someone who as been pitched a lot to be tech-cofounder this is what I was looking for:
1- Talking is easy. Show me what have you built. Business plan, market research, list of potential investors.
2- Long term vision. I've been always reluctant to work with people whose goals are 6-12 months.
3- If you are not a leader, know that.
1- Talking is easy. Show me what have you built. Business plan, market research, list of potential investors.
2- Long term vision. I've been always reluctant to work with people whose goals are 6-12 months.
3- If you are not a leader, know that.
Even if they're non-technical I value a technical approach to problem solving.
I've always liked the idea that if they didn't have a technical cofounder they might still be able to hack together an MVP using tools like Bubble, Zapier, Airbase, Sheets, etc.
I've always liked the idea that if they didn't have a technical cofounder they might still be able to hack together an MVP using tools like Bubble, Zapier, Airbase, Sheets, etc.
I tried starting projects with several people already and I will not do it again unless they have previous experience of starting a business and getting it beyond idea phase.
I want someone who is:
a. not an idiot. b. understands business (product marketing, finance) concepts. c. doesn't need to be baby-sat.
a. not an idiot. b. understands business (product marketing, finance) concepts. c. doesn't need to be baby-sat.
I'm interested in building a cofounding matching platform that focuses on the interests of the technical cofounder.