

Ask YC: Looking for a co-founder - mixmax

I'm seriously considering applying for funding in the upcoming YC round, I have an excellent idea that is very well thought out (I think...), I have learned how to program so that I can implement this idea, and I'm roughly 2/3 done. Since this is my first real programming project there are probably issues in the form of scalability, security, modularity, etc.<p>The idea is an online project management/ productivity enhancement tool. If implemented correctly it might even solve the problem of email overload that PG brought up in a comment: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=144127<p>Since YC seems very reluctant to take single founders I thought that I would look for a cofounder here...<p>I'm looking for a hacker that knows php (yeah - I know...), javascript, css, and mysql as this is what I have programmed it in. Pretty standard. The important thing is that you are smart and get things done.<p>I am currently located in Denmark, but will move to wherever the action is - the startup scene here is horrible, and I don't mind seeing the world ;-) I have done startups before, and have always been the glue that keeps the team together - half business half tech kind of guy.<p>My mail is in my profile if you think it sounds like fun :-)
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dkokelley
Just a thought, if you're planning on applying to the round coming up in a few
days I would suggest holding off until next time. Your odds will be better
because you will have A: a further developed product, B: A cofounder who you
know very well and are comfortable with, and C: more time for PG and crew to
look at your application.

Of course after you consider the upsides to this, there aren't really any
downsides to applying now, even if you don't get accepted. But if you don't
get accepted, I encourage you to apply again in the winter round. The problem
you're addressing I believe is a good one to solve.

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pg
There's always a downside of waiting to do anything in a startup: you have
competitors. You may not know who they are, but odds are there's someone else
out there working on roughly the same thing.

If you're not committed to a particular idea, you can safely wait, yes. But if
there is something specific you want to work on, you can't safely delay at any
stage, whether it's getting funding, releasing, or adding new features.

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dkokelley
Sure. I wasn't suggesting not doing anything until the next funding round.
Ideally, mixmax would continue working on the idea, while hopefully getting to
know potential cofounders and making other contacts. That way, when YC hosts
its winter round, their team will have the benefits already mentioned in my
above post.

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dennykmiu
This might be somewhat off topic since you are looking for another technical
co-founder to build a product as opposed to someone to help build a company.

At the risk of being presumptuous, I like to offer my latest chapter on how to
build a team, not so much on how to entice talents but to screen the wannabes
who do not have the staying power to be in a startup.

<http://www.lovemytool.com/blog/2008/03/team-building.html>

Good luck. It sounds like fun.

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mixmax
Not at all - after all building a product is only the first step to building a
company.

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edw519
mixmax, I recognize you from your many contributions here and wish you the
best of luck. My skill set is very close to what you seek, and I'd love to
meet you and talk about possibilities some day, but for the time being I'm
completely consumed by my own startup.

When you say "the upcoming YC round", do you mean 4/02/08? If so, I imagine
that you'd be better off applying as a single founder. Probably not a good
idea to go into business with someone you've only known for 8 days. As a
single founder myself, I'd need at least 6 months to a year to get to know
someone and work with them before I'd make a commitment. Better yet, I'd
prefer someone I've known for years, but the dozen or so possibilities always
seem to have some other road block.

Is there anyone you already know and have worked with before that could join
you? That way, your odds would be much better (for YC and beyond).

Good luck and keep us posted.

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tim2
[nevermind] ---Untrue. Unless your product has already shown considerable
traction or you're a startup legend, it is 100% percent certain that they will
not accept you as a single founder.

Not making a judgement on this policy, it just seems fair for people to know
before they take the time to apply as a single founder.

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pg
_it is 100% percent certain that they will not accept you as a single founder_

Two of the startups in the current batch were run by single founders when we
accepted them. Neither was a startup legend or had any traction.

The odds of being accepted are much greater (roughly 4x) with a cofounder, but
it's not impossible to get funded as a single founder.

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daniel-cussen
Did they got co-founders? How does this work out?

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mixmax
This is an interesting question that I would love to see some answers to.
Locating a co-founder at a later time doesn't seem to be a bad idea.

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pchristensen
I also be it would be much easier to find a cofounder if you've already
secured YC-status.

