

Ask HN: Am I too late to get a cofounder? - cofoundless

I've been a developer for a over a decade.  From many side projects I have product lines that are starting to earn revenue, but I am a solo developer.<p>Now I'm concentrating on these projects fulltime and they are taking off (getting popular, gaining press, etc.).<p>Within my personal network there are some people that I could use (and who have offered to help).  I want to bring people in, but given that I've written hundreds of thousands of lines of code, and nobody else has done anything yet, there is an obvious inequity there.  So I have no idea what sort of arrangements are good ones.<p>But I do want to bring other people in (I have two in mind, and am open to other developers as well).  And I want to be fair/generous to them without being "bent over" myself.<p>Anybody have experience with this sort of stuff?<p>(posted anonymously)
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pg
If you've done a lot of work already, someone you brought on now would, if
they were reasonable, not expect to get the same amount of equity as you.

Beware, though, because empirically founders tend to overestimate the
percentage of the value of the company represented by the work they've already
done. Founders tend to overestimate past work and underestimate future work,
and they also underestimate the distance between a good product and a
successful company.

~~~
cofoundless
Good, both-sides-of-the-coin answer. I do see the value both potential
partners bring to the table, because they fill in gaps of mine (business and
design), while they have some development knowledge themselves.

But the fact is that the existing product(s) is the reason for them wanting to
join in the first place.

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HelgeSeetzen
The early equity distribution is really a measure of future contribution.
Vesting (or decreasing reverse vesting) is about the only concept that should
the past into account at this stage.

Just watch for tax considerations when you award equity to new people (if you
have already created non-zero fair market value for your equity).

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nikeywilson
I was in a similar situation, but I received some angel funding as a solo
entrepreneur. This let me hire rather then bring in equity partners.

I'd talk with a startup lawyer to research some equity arrangements, and
definitely incorporate in a "good" state like Delaware where you have some
flexibility wrt corporate structuring.

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gs8
First you should ask yourself why you need a cofounder? What will they do?

If what they will do is perform a job than you don't need a cofounder but an
employee.

If you already have a stable service I don't see the point of brining in a
cofounder because they wont have your vision.

One thing that could be beneficial is if you have a competitor who is at the
same level as you, you could merge with them and become cofounders which would
help you increase your presence, provide reasonable equity, and offer similar
visions.

If you just need a cofounder to reduce your workload you could always hire
programmers to do the development work and manage your business yourself.

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eengstrom
I think the general consensus is that getting significant funding requires a
broader team. You have an advantage in that you're fairly far along on the
development aspects. You have plenty of equity valued at whatever amount it
is. Depending on your project and your terms, you really should consider
having a co-founder or even two with supportive skill sets and backgrounds,
good networks and contacts.

This will greatly increase your survivability in the near and long term.
Unless you're a purely technical "develop and release then 'look ma' no
hands'" product.

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DanielRibeiro
Equity Equation essay can give some insights:
<http://www.paulgraham.com/equity.html>

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petervandijck
Are they asking for equity? Why not just hire them? You can always offer them
to become partners later on.

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worldtize
Email me, I have what you need.

gstacks00@aol.com

