To kick ideas off of, mainly.

In that case you might get advisors. Many/most of the startups get advisors, people that get some small % of the shares (usually under 2%) to bounce the ideas with.

If you let co-founder in you are not only sharing % of the company but also vision. Getting co-founder is like getting married, if you struggle to find someone you know and trust maybe it's better to stick with advisor for now.

Pay a coach. That'll be much cheaper.

I've had both. Coaches are great - the main reason we hit PMF within 2 weeks.

But sometimes you need someone emotionally invested in it. Cofounders are much better. They don't necessarily have to have 50% share. I'd be happy to take on someone whose sole purpose is to be the customer surrogate and give them a 20% share.

My cofounder helped to keep a leash on me doing really dumb things. All good entrepreneurs are relentless, and a cofounder helps to keep it in perspective. Also a cofounder adds their network, and my minority share co-founder landed the acquisition.

Totally get that co-founders and coaches provide different levels of perspective. But if, as the parent of my comment said, all you are looking for is "[t]o kick ideas off of" someone, just get a coach or a mentor. Co-founders should help with everything, including execution.

Guess I need a few co-founders. A designer/product person and perhaps another engineer so I can focus more on operations.