I have met endless people who have a mediocre understanding of something and have a solution to a problem no one has. Or they have a problem and try to solve it with something that creates an equally annoying problem or the solution requires millions of dollars for any hope of working.

I welcome anyone who has a real solution for a real problem that needs building - send me a message via reddit and I will be more than happy to build it for you: https://www.reddit.com/user/beeboopp/ (since I don't have an email I want to tie to this account)

I can't speak from experience (or I'd have my own startup) but I think the best non-technical cofounder is found while working a technical job with someone of like mind. Or at Uni it seems.

Also, does their idea make intuitive sense to you, especially in terms of how can this be monetized? Vague, handwavy social apps that don't charge directly are a common problem. Apps for customers who don't have money is another popular antipattern. Apps that seem trivial are generally bad. Apps that respond Boolean true to "Can I already do this with Yelp?" are toxic.

But you find someone who has a couple of businesses already under their belt, who has some specific customers in mind who have a specific problem that person already understands... then you're getting somewhere. And it may be an entirely unsexy problem. One of my favorite startups locally is a company that has built a system for detecting excessive water use/leakage in toilets - something that can be repaired at cost savings if you have a large building (say, apartment complexes). Totally unsexy. Great market.

Email in bio.

There is a very big difference between understanding the technological problem of something and then the business opportunity of that problem.

Latest Episode of Silicon Valley kind of touches on that.