Picking Your Co-Founders: What's luck got to do with it?

http://spencerfry.com/picking-your-co-founders

by spencerfry • 17 years ago

37 12 17 years ago

My advice: don't rush it. Work on a small project together first to make sure you're compatible.

spencerfry2• 17 years ago

But most big projects start as successful small projects (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, etc.). So you can't really set out to start something small just to test the waters. You'll either drown or you won't.

aaronblohowiak2• 17 years ago

"But most big projects start as successful small projects (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, etc.)"

Do you have a source for this?

With small projects you can a) severely limit scope b) enter a smaller market and c) define success in an accessible way.

Edit: Also, with your experiences (from spending 6 months getting to know someone or with your previous business with nterface guys,) it sounds like you were doing some sort of "small projects" with your future cofounders, even if it wasn't framed as such.

shmichael• 17 years ago

You could start working together and agree that both of you can split up after two or three months, both of you retaining the right to keep working on the idea.

If you do split up, it probably means your ex-partner wasn't that great, so he won't pose any real competition for you.

awolf2• 17 years ago

I think this is some of the most realistic advice about co-founders that I have read.

I need a co-founder for the company I'm starting right now; but how the hell can I expect to find what I want: "the best", as a newbie to the startup world? For me at this point it is going to be luck of the draw.

kevinholesh• 17 years ago

Spencer might not agree, but why not go at it alone until you find the right person? If you're driven enough to start your own company in a space you know a lot about, you should be driven enough to do so alone, at least temporarily.

aaronblohowiak2• 17 years ago

Few people are truly lone wolves. If you have a spouse you can lean on for a while, this may be doable.

awolf2• 17 years ago

I certainly plan to wait until I find someone that seems like a good fit. But once I get past "developer-heavy" phase of building a prototype I'm going to need someone to help grow my company- and quick. At that point it seems far-fetched that the "perfect" partner will materialize. I may have to settle for merely "good".

Perhaps I'll make it past the point of needing a cofounder at all and will instead be able to go directly into hiring salaried employees. Of course, getting this far on my own would also be pretty lucky.

chrischen• 17 years ago

This is why it doesn't pay to be antisocial. Spend your school years making friends and filtering out a potential list of cofounders.

Picking Your Co-Founders: What's luck got to do with it?

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