Re:Ask HN: How to decide if someone is a right partner?
by brianwawok on Sunday August 20, 2017 @08:52PM
(#15061144)
Agreed, this is how I expect things to shake out. A tech company when partnering with non-tech people needs to be the right set of circumstances to make work.
Say if one of those doctors quit and did this full time for you pushing sales to other doctors, maybe it would have worked. But trying to build a product with people not at the same commitment level is hard.
Re:Ask HN: How to decide if someone is a right partner?
by hwoolery on Sunday August 20, 2017 @12:54PM
(#15059139)
adding on to this, don't partner with two people who are non-technical. Early on they won't be needed for any work (unless one is a skilled designer or something), and you will be taking all the risk, and they will control the company (see company 2 above). In this situation it makes the most sense to be ask to be paid for your work, and if the idea takes off, they can take you on as a founder.
Company 1: Started by myself, partnered with a sales guy 50/50 after a few months. Company took off after the sales guy because he was able to close large contracts.
Company 2: Started with two other people I knew well (doctors) who were in the field but non-technical. I ended up leaving company after 3 years. This was in part because they couldn't put in the same amount of work (never partner unless they can contribute full time).
Company 3: Started by myself, raised money by myself.
Moral of the story: Partner with a sales guy if you have something to sell, and make sure they have a proven sales track record. If you're building a product that won't be ready for a long time, work on it alone and test the markets as soon as you can, then partner. There is no right answer, but don't partner with somebody simply because they are on the business side. It's also much easier to pitch with a sales guy. And don't partner simply because the business guy has an idea.