

Ask HN: How many co-founders is too many? - crockstar

I would be very interested to hear from anyone who has founded a startup about whether there are occassions in which you would want any more than one other co-founder and whether there is a limit on how many you think are appropriate? I'm not particularly savvy on startup culture but could reasonably justify up to 2-3 other co-founders depending on skillset. I would greatly appreciate any thoughts based on experience!
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VicT11
In my experience (which isn't a ton), I really enjoyed having 3 person co-
founding team. As far as decision making it helps to have that number of
people to help settle debates. Strictly on that level it was a positive as
long as there is a level of cooperation and dedication with everyone.

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glimcat
It varies a lot. From what I've seen, two is most common and more than 5-6 is
a bit odd. More than about 8-10 is hard for sociological reasons.

How well the team integrates and works together and whether or not you have
adequate skill coverage is more important than the exact number.

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crockstar
So having 4 total (3 others) wouldn't be out of the question if all brought
different skills to the table? Thanks for your thoughts, would love to get
some other opinions too!

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glimcat
For reference:

<http://ycombinator.com/apply.html>

"The ideal company would have two or three founders. We'll consider those with
four or five. We're reluctant to accept one-person companies, though we have
funded a couple."

If there's a strong justification, there's no reason not to have four
cofounders. If it's just because that many people wanted to collaborate, you
might want to take a hard look about who is going to commit to contribute
what. To go with a common illustration, founding means "you're the pig"
([https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/The_Chicken_a...](https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/The_Chicken_and_the_Pig)).

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fezzl
I wouldn't go more than 2. 1 is optimum to start out with, IMO.

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jarrettcoggin
What is your basis? Why do you believe that 1 is optimum?

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glimcat
If you have an idea you're interested in working on for several years of your
life, it makes sense to start researching it and proofing the concept ASAP.

