For me it's pretty simple, though finding and verifying is the tricky part.
- You have to be able to put up with them. A lot of them. Really a lot of them. It's kind of like getting married there.
- They should be able to do something essential to the company's survival. And they should do that while "getting" what you're doing and thinking it's special.
- You trust their judgement. Enough to bet a few years of your life on it.
"Art of the Start" also has some decent info there.
http://www.paulgraham.com/start.html
For me it's pretty simple, though finding and verifying is the tricky part.
- You have to be able to put up with them. A lot of them. Really a lot of them. It's kind of like getting married there.
- They should be able to do something essential to the company's survival. And they should do that while "getting" what you're doing and thinking it's special.
- You trust their judgement. Enough to bet a few years of your life on it.
"Art of the Start" also has some decent info there.