How to Find the Right Co-founder
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- Опубліковано 11 чер 2024
- In this Startup School lecture, YC Partner Harj Taggar shares advice on how to find the right co-founder for your startup.
Transcript and lecture slides here: www.ycombinator.com/library/8...
This lecture is part of YC's Startup School, a free online program and global community of founders. Register and join the community at www.startupschool.org/
Chapters (Powered by bit.ly/chapterme-yc) -
00:00 Introduction
0:25 Why have a co-founder at all?
3:43 Starting without a co-founder
7:10 What to look for
11:13 What about skills?
13:38 Where to look for a co-founder
20:18 Making the leap
22:36 Deciding equity
24:40 Who's the CEO?
27:28 Formalizing things
Looking for a co-founder? Try YC's new co-founder matching platform: www.ycombinator.com/cofounder... - Наука та технологія
Looking for a co-founder? Try YC's new co-founder matching platform: www.ycombinator.com/cofounder-matching
Excellent
He looked through my soul
Just in the process of firing my co-founder who only works 2 days a week, 9 to 5 and then goes off on holidays on weekends. In my experience. having a co-founder narrative is over-rated and there merely to provide cushioning to the effing investors, unless the co-founder operates at the same bandwidth as you.
Spot ON! What did you have in place in terms of docs prepped to make this decision an easy one? Particularly on shares/equity-related part?
after all the main goal of investor is to have a successful investment, in some instants they don't correlate with your success.
This needs to be highlighted more
The investors insist on a founder-cofounder template to make divide and rule easier, quite simply. Most startup die of co-founders dispute, but that's risk the investor take anyway
Finding the right co-founder is very difficult. You need someone trustworthy, passionate as you are about the project, have a compatible character and conflict resolution (like a marriage), hardworker and willing to learn new skills and aligned in vision on the major issues. In fact I would argue you’re more likely to fill the skill gap either by learning by yourself or hiring/contract for specific things if you have a well laid out plan.
For those without easy access to a business partner, I would ignore the "you need a co-founder" narrative and just build the product yourself. If you can gain traction, passionate team members will most likely find you.
This is accurate
I’ve gone as far as I can and need help to continue. My business idea is not ordinary or the usual. And figuring out how to proceed is draining momentum. I have zero tech ability; this is not an excuse rather a reality. So maybe we can connect and see if you are interested.
Perfect!
They won't find you actually. They will literally look for you when you gain traction.
Though you're right. Some businesses are pretty hard building as a solo founder.
Very informative class on finding a co-founder!
Hope to see more videos from Y Combinator and Harj.
All the best for everyone starting out their startups and finding their cofounders!
Thanks Harj & YC. a very thorough talk. Enjoyed it
Great suggestion on when to look for co-founder is not at the time you need to find one, do some projects with them to get a taste of what kind of people you like or your energy aligned with them to work together.
Really Nice and informative Harj. Thank you for your time!
Masterclass! Great content, great find!
Thank you Harj. This is very helpful!
This information is great. Thank you for sharing your insights.
coming here after having to fire my cto/ co-founder (and friend) and having the company buying back the equity. it was the suckiest decision but also the right one, as 4, 5, 6 follow ups didn't result in.. well, results. send good vibes for me to learn best practices and find my next person! 🙏
Hey, man. How did you decide to fire him?I'm currently contemplating the same thing.
I had 2 co-founders that didn't do anything at all, and until i decided there is no point to expect anything anymore from them and to go on by myself it took a while. So i think it is really important that the people you partner up with are reliable.
Same situation Alex.
I build a platform and mobile app it took me almost 2 months of sleep less nights. After completing I asked co-founder Have you made marketing plan..he said noo..
For two moths he lying and wasting time and boostraped amount..
Monumentally useful, thankyou!
Learnt a lot, great content 👍🏻👍🏻
Excellent content.
Very informative
This one is thought provoking.
I need to comb through all the people I have respected over the years and see what happens.
I’ve tried to get started with just a team of volunteers…and let’s just say that I haven’t gotten very far. But I have learnt a lot!
so... did you find anyone.
This was my experience last year... Start over.. do it alone till you've built the basics.. then as you are marketing your business.. look out for supporters, partners, etc
Co-founder conflict is the biggest reason for startup failure. It's better to go solo than to wait for a co-founder.
Not sure. When you're solo there's always a risk you'll drop dead from a heart attack or something.
We have a small team and the energy dynamic between myself and the other 3 is way off. I feel like they’re waiting for someone to help give them direction while I’m out pounding the pavement daily. The business is tough but getting them in gear is excruciating 😖
Great advice
Thanks, it essential points to take into consideration
This is super insightful. Thanks for sharing
Thank You
thank you!!!!!!!
I've heard more than one YC founder talk about splitting equity equally. It's fraught with all kinds of perils. Maybe you want If...Then clauses to handle situations that may come up. Where a co-founder isn't able to meet the commitments you thought they would meet.
You start equally then add in sweat equity over a certain period.
HAHAHA Just applied solo two hours ago. Whoops. At least I'm technical and have confidence in my idea. Still though not liking my odds if they rejected dropbox.
Did you get rejected or did you get an interview request? I'm a solo founder and I got rejected, but it was probably more about my idea rather than me being a single-founder
How did you go?
Thanks. I needed this badly.
I'm working on an app that let's you find a cofounder in your area, what do you think about it? would it be something you would use?
Terrible idea. You should know your cofounder before hand, they should be your friend.
Excellent advice, especially on the reasoning behind the split (CEO vs another pos like CTO). Thinking this way, I can see where the CEO's opinion may carry more weight on business decisions and the CTO on more technical decisions. It may seem obvious to some, however, when you are in the early stages and excited, rational thought can be a challenge to come by.
Never ever ever think you need a co-founder cause someone is doing a ridiculous single dimension pattern matching to decide if they'll invest in your company or not. Rarely you get bad advise from YC and this is one of those rare cases. IMO, you have a chance to become successful without a co-founder but good luck making any progress with a bad co-founder.
The piece of advice is easier than that: focus on building a strong network of people you trust and respect professionally. In the future it’ll be easier to find a good cofounders among those people. Take it or leave it, but don’t distort the Y Combinator’s message
ayyy I'm right here 😎
full stack software dev looking to start an AI startup
What's going on? I just applied for the y combinator trying to find a co-founder in the AI space 💪 Care to shoot some ideas back and forth?
I really wanted to listen to your full video, I like the content but it's not the best audio experience.
Thank you for this video! I did just start a company by myself, and I do move things forward, I get some parts sub-contracted, I have friends who can advise me on technical aspects when needed, and with that soft-network I have enough to move things forward.
My problem that I want a partner for is the Really complex technical problems, for which I would need a technical super-star. The problem I have with finding someone complementary, is that I haven't worked in intense situations carrying complimentary skills, and who also are extremely stress tolerant. How does one solve this problem of knowing someone very well, but still have them having complementary skills and experiences?
Hey. How is it going for you? I have the same hurdle to overcome!
@@letmesummarize1176 I haven't found a co-founder.
For now I work with people as subcontractors, which means I have to pay them of course, while I also learn the skills necessary to do as much as I can myself.
Some agree to half their payment if they get some equity in return, but then I only give very little equity since they also get payed, but I hope that that can turn into a long term relationship. Otherwise I don't see how to solve that problem. I develop what I can, and get to know more and more people and users. Most important for me is not to "wait" on someone, but finding ways to move forward anyways.
@@andreasv9472 Yes I decided to go the same path and in the meantime try to find great people to hire for long term. As long as we keep striving solutions will come up!
I'm a tech guy looking to find a business partner
as usually, great content. Thank you!
what if after testing the idea co-founders wants to go separate ways then who gets to use the idea further???
Same question here too
Thanks for sharing structured info about finding co-founder. I’d just be careful with sharing equity in 50/50 model. In startups, things will change fast and founder maybe in trouble if they legally document ownership as 50/50 and co-founder will deviate from original plan for any reason. I personally have been in such situation, luckily we did not legally documented anything and my co-founder who has had a day job decided to pursue corporate career. I recommend to ready a book “Slicing Pie” by Mike Moyer. Good luck in your journey!
Hi, what way to follow in a case where I want to build an outsourcing company focused on making mobile apps. Which way is the best model for it? I want to find a co-founder who will be focused on sales to us customers.
Great content¡
Too bad the sounds sucks. Could you improve your sound recording maybe with an external mic in the future ? Thank you.
Need someone for business side and someone for engineering
Im almost 4 years into my company. I wish i had a cofounder in the beginning...I would have saved so much cash
You don't know what you don't know. So you don't want to learn by experience. It's expensive. You need a mentor.
Recent video for COVID times. Thank you!
I was looking this for a long time ago. Thanks for the great content
Super
The breadth-first search algo to find cofounders at work lol
ycombinator benim hayat
Dont forget to use nice vesting schedule or some earn out to keep you safe from predators/ sleazy people.
i need to ask a question, what if my cofounder is very rich but the idea is mine and i have been working on the company a little longer, how do we perform equity?
If I get your point, he is an investor in your company. if so the person will have a share based on the investment and the valuation of the company.
I have tried several startups ideas with different teams. Definitively you want someone that complement not just your skills, but your work style. I would not consider someone that cannot commit at least 30 hours per week, just from experience hehe.
The audio quality is terrible.
co-finder
Great advice. I only wish I had heard this 20 years ago! A good book for folks getting into the start-up world is the "The Founder's Dilemma" by Wasserman. It is eerily accurate.
I'm just going to go down to the honky-tonk bar and have people draw the short straw.
Read the transcript, the audio here needs fixing
very important content but almost unlistenable. the sound recording quality is very bad. please try to make sure you are recording this very important content with good enough microphone.
What a marvelous video and I really adored the ideas shared, but the audio was just horrific.
I got my ears cleaned in hopes of processing the soundwaves slightly better but to no avail. I tried turning up the volume on my headset, but the audio was still incomprehensible on some occasions. I bought a new set of speakers just to see if I could savour the juicy words leaving his lips, but still to no avail. I am disheartened that the talent, and wisdom, of such a wise young man, has been dwindled down into almost nothingness; not due to his failure but rather due to the failure in the technology used.
If only this man had used the included headset in his phone's box, or maybe even used his phone as a microphone, would this failure have been avoided. I leave this video with my head low and my spirit crushed. Till we meet again, young YC Partner Harj Taggar. Till we meet again.
Anyone here looking for a cofounder?
Great video, but awful sound :(
totally agree. Couldn't understand some words mentioned here and there. Even the included earpiece with your phone would have worked wonders
Start yourself, go ahead and when you see someone who is passionate about like you then cooperate!
You know, it is not that easy to fond a co-founder. It painfully hard to see or even convince your best Friends, brothers or whatever to join you in a project. Most prefer to work for big companies. It bleeds my heart to constantly be politely rejected by closed people. In this case, my experience is that you better start alone, learning technical skills yourself if required. May be someone will join you in the way.
How has it gone so far?
You are addressing the wrong ppl
Pattern matching to success sounds very much like a cargo cult.
Hello YC, I just submitted my application, a bit late but I'd appreciate if I could send you a link via YT for early review Thanks
Cofounder = unagreeable lawsuit city. I get the same answers from my employees at a lower cost and pass them a bonus
Can you elaborate on this a little bit more? You said that you get the same answer from your employees at a lower cost and pass them a bonus so do you just go to them with your co-founder like questions?
Sadly the sound quality is very bad, microphone sounds like cheap chinese products, please get a better 🎤 next time, it sad your valuable advice is not clear
Just appreciate him instead for bringing this important advice to all founders.
@@jabezborja its good thing to let them know so next time they will do better, i wasn't able to continue the video i stopped after 7 minutes i would love to listen to it, but sound is very bad
My father’s invention could save 12,435,974 and more ! Just need investors for funding 🙏
Best advise : DON'T
Please. Stop doing that. promoting what can brings just more chaos.
The shot is too close to his face lol. Unfomfortable. and the sound quality is a bit bad. Pay for a filmographer its worth it!
I guess this was made in lock down or something and thats why..
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