Ask YC: Finding a Co-Founder
I've seen a lot of people say that they felt they weren't going to get into YC because they didn't have a co-founder. It seems like a shame that good ideas would go to waste because people don't happen to know anyone else who wants to try a startup.
Does anyone in the YC community have any ideas for helping people to meet co-founders? There are some websites for this purpose, but they don't seem to be working. Maybe if we come up with a solution to our problem (meeting other founders interested in ycombinator) we can then apply to it a more general audience.
Here are some existing co-founder websites: http://partnerup.com http://cofoundr.com http://www.founderlink.com
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I build things I find interesting, and search for product ideas that other people are willing to pay for. I talk about what I do. This seems like a good way to meet and talk to the sort of people who are interested in making money by doing the sort of thing I do.
There's been a lot of talk about how not having a CF is a handicap. Let's say it is. You can get started, or not, but not getting started doesn't seem to get you closer to your goal, make you a better CF, or bring you into contact with people who can help you with your business.
It would be nice to have a good CF; a long-time acquaintance with a compatible personality, complementary skill-set, rich parents, entrepreneurial bent, few obligations, etc., but you either know someone like that or you don't. If you don't, it will take years to change that ("long-term") and it seems silly to wait, if you really want to do your own startup.
Sometimes, you have to make do with what you have.
As soon as my apt. lease is up, I'm seriously debating about: leaving my job, traveling to another country to maximize savings and learn Spanish, code, code, code, put it out there..
Even though I have a good job (and with this economy, as my Mom tells me), I have four or five ideas that I want to execute on. I'm starting to delude myself that I'd be happier slaving away in retail or the service industry (the economy) and coding at nights, working on projects that I am interested on. But I know that if I execute right, that finding a job won't be a problem (it will be a choice - job or startup)
I'm just curious...are their any hugely successful tech startups that went the route of "maximizing savings" to the point of moving to a super cheap country very far out of reach of the tech industry?
I can't help but think that being far out of the technology loop and away from peers is good for literature and, maybe, art but incredibly bad for creating an application that people want to use. There's something about Silicon Valley that, despite the extremely high cost of living, leads to more successful tech startups than anywhere else. Readily available funding can't be all of it...can it?
I agree that it's harder to start a successful company virtually without face to face networking. Silicon Valley will always be Valhalla. There are a handful of people on News.YC who are already living abroad and managing to code to support themselves.
I made my decision back in October, and gave notice then. I was in my cube, an email with a busywork task popped into my inbox, and I knew right then that it was time to go. (I had been preparing for years, however, saving money and keeping expenses low.)
I think your idea of relocating to a lower-cost country is intriguing. Moving can be disruptive, though, so you want to make sure the additional time you get (through a lower cost of living) isn't all eaten up with the distractions of travel.
I've heard Argentina is pretty wired.
Why don't you just code, code, code now? If you work 40 hours per week, that still oughta leave plenty of time to get started on your ideas. Even if you only get 10% done, that's a lot better than 0%.
"You don't 'find' a cofounder, just like you don't 'find' a wife. It's a relationship with someone else that evolves over time and then someday, someone pops the question."
1. You could get a potential cofouder pregnant with your idea.
2. The hornier you are with your idea, the sooner you'll find a cofounder.
3. Work hard in the gym of coding so that a hot, I mean, skilled cofounder will find you and want you to screw her brains off until acquisition.
Examples: integrating yc into twitter, being alerted about yc post by a certain user, organizing and displaying multiple startup school meetups from different websites
People can sign up to form teams to solve each problem. The idea is that people will be able to work together to do something small before they try to work on something bigger. This way people can get to know each other better through a shared experience.
It doesn't matter what the projects are, though simple ones sound like they'll work better. People who don't code can do research or come up with marketing ideas. The website will just serve as a listing and all the details can be coordinated however the people working on it choose.
I'm willing to code and host it if there is enough interest, unless someone else wants to.
As far as FounderLink itself is concerned my feeling is that it is still very early days and there is a lot more that needs to be done before it is truly useful in finding a partner, I also need to open it up more and make it a lot more accessible(which is coming). Then there is the always large issue of getting users. :)
On a more general note though people just need to get out there and network more with people in different interest groups. It's very easy to pick a group(hackers, business, marketing, sales) and stick to that group of people. If you're a business/sales/marketing person head down to your local ruby user group/beer night and shoot the shit. If your a coder try one of the business conventions/meetups. Just get out there and meet people outside of your norm. Learn a bit about what they do and I see what they do. Make friends and get introductions.
I cant seem to find a co-founder, I am 22. I have many friends who are in tech, many in the bay area. Most of them are just not interested in doing startups right now. Some of them just want a stable job, they are getting paid well. Some of them are just not really into web2.0, someone of them don't have the passion/not driven.
So it is possible that your idea is great and it just so happens that you are unable to find a partner. I am in that boat and I think if there was a tool to find co-founders. There is definitely a good chance of having success in your idea, especially since there are many other people like me with the same dilemma.
Yes, it's possible that you'd be a great co-founder, and that you have a great idea -- but if you're looking and can't find anyone willing to sign onto your idea, stop for a moment to ask yourself if it's remotely possible that either (a) you're not very attractive as a co-founder, or (b) your fantastic idea isn't actually quite so fantastic as you thought.
Being enthusiastic is good, but sometimes realism is also good.
Not all of us run in the right circles.
Yeah but that goes for everyone else too! And when you look at most of the people you have known for any length of time...
The problem with searching for a co-founder whom you don't know beforehand is that you don't know much about the person and so you don't know what to expect. From experience, you can get yourself into all types of trouble that way. What I'm trying to get at is that it's better to go out and look for friends who could later become partners.
But I agree with you.
at least that's my primary idea atm. I have many others.
The problem is that most of the people I know wouldn't want to leave there security blanket of a comfortable job. Aren't technically adept enough, or generally aren't smart enough. I only can think of one person I would really, really consider. But he is part of the first problem, and working on a drinking addiction :(.
The rest of the people who I might consider I wouldn't get along with and don't share their style of visions.
...But then again, some people don't want or are better off without partners.
I might have been able to find one if I hadn't only had a week to apply.
thanks for the links. The last looks the most promising.