

Ask HN: How to find a Co-founder for your startup? - sushumna

Hi,<p>I recently joined HN. This is my first post. Sorry if I haven't followed any HN etiqoettes. I have a question for your guys.<p>Let's say you have a great idea and you are novice to startup world(like me). And you need very good hacker(has startup experience) who can partner and make this idea into a reality and mutually share the benefits. Now my question is how do you find a trustworthy hacker.Do you guys have any approach?<p>How to tackle this hypothetical situation.
1. You announce that you are looking for a cofounder. Many show interest. You contact some one and share your Idea. After that he doesn't show interest and walks out. He implements the idea by himself (or through his friend) with out your knowledge. You will be in deep trouble.<p>One approach I am thinking is announcing on HN ("Looking for cofounder"). Then Hackers who are available and would like to venture will get back. As I need proven hackers, I will ask for their earlier creations, their email IDs, photo. Once I am interested, I will ask them to commit on HN with their actual IDs or their creations(which would be proof that they are joining me). Then I will share my idea with them. If they are interested, I will close the post on HN that I am partnering with this person. Else,will look for some other by posting "not partnering with previous person, looking for other".<p>Please share your thoughts.
======
RiderOfGiraffes
There have been a few previous submissions and threads on this question - you
might want to look up some of the previous discussions. Here are some of them:

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2073239> Guide to Finding a Technical Co-
Founder

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2056630> Can't Find a Technical Co-
Founder? Do It Yourself

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2018618> Non-programmer founders: learn
code first, find tech co-founder(s) after?

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1983569> Finding co-founders, where and
how

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1882090> How to Find a Technical Co-
Founder

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1872960> Finding a Technical Co-Founder

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1866516> Dont look for a co-founder. Find
a Right Hand Man

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1823724> Find Co-Founders, Don't Get
Screwed

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1820875> Not in the Valley? How do you
find co-founders?

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1779750> How To REALLY Find A Technical
Co-Founder

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1779092> How find co-founder online?

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1778191> Ask HN: Finding a Co-Founder at
a Hackerspace

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1689751> Can't Find a Technical Co-
Founder? Do It Yourself

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1677066> Network Launches to Help
Entrepreneurs Find Co-founders

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1576186> Last Call: Pitch to find a Co-
Founder at The Founder Conference

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1575105> Does "finding co-founders" ever
work?

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1567469> Ask HN: Where is the best place
to find a co-founder?

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1512715> How to find a co-founder

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1511965> Ask HN: How do you find/meet
tech co-founders outside of the hotspots?

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1509775> Finding the Right Co-Founder for
Your Startup

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1373858> Strategies for Finding the Co-
Founder of Your Dreams

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1367637> FoodSpotting founder on finding
co-founder, marketing & female entrepreneurs

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1347723> Ask HN: How do I find the right
co-founder?

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1307167> Help a Startup Out - Get
feedback, find co-founders, find advisors, etc.

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1297382> Ask HN: Where To Find Design
Founders

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1294713> Vokle founder: how to find great
programmers & making the most from events

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1238947> Ask HN: I'd like to find Co-
Founder(s) / Developers

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1086852> How to Find the Ideal Co-
founder: A Seattle Startup Experiment

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=912667> Find a co-founder with this new
MeetUp

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=876010> Finding Your Co-Founders

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=849737> Ask HN: Finding
Developer/Engineer Co-Founder?

~~~
sandipagr
woah the item id of the links are sorted! can't be a coincidence, right?

~~~
RiderOfGiraffes
Extracted programmatically, then roughly checked by hand. A few removed that
were genuinely irrelevant, but I can't guarantee that they're all good.

But to some extent, that's not my job. The OP should now check the info there
and see if it's of any use. _Ideally_ they could provide a summary of the
information they feel is relevant, and then we'd have a potentially useful
resource.

~~~
sandipagr
I was not saying anything about the relevance of the links. All I pointed was
that the id# are sorted (order). You extracted it programmatically makes it
clear :)

------
MrDunham
Being that I am just on the other side of your situation:

1\. Your concern is not finding a very good hacker who will implement your
idea. Your concern is getting your idea nailed down and showing hackers that
YOU drive value. (Hackers have great ideas too, can build it, and don't have
to share, so why is yours better?) \--I solved this problem by getting a major
corp. and name-brand school interested.

2\. Great quote: "People rarely have time for their own great ideas, they sure
don't care about yours" \--Aka don't worry about them stealing your idea, 99%
is execution and getting them to sign something == you signing your own death
warrant.

Hope that helps.

------
hansy
Idea theft is something many people freak about, but in actuality it happens
more infrequently than you think.

I have visited several inventor's guilds where complete strangers meet up and
share ideas. At my first meeting I expected to sign some sort of non-
disclosure or confidentiality document to protect others' ideas, but I never
did! Several of the inventors explained why:

1.) If your idea is truly good, then only you know how to immediately
implement it. You will be hard-pressed to find someone that thinks exactly
like you and will be able to discover the nuances of your idea. Still exercise
a little caution when explaining an idea and don't give away the punchline too
early!

2.) Execution is always the key to success and frankly, you would be surprised
by how few people there are who have the time and resources to effectively
implement your idea. Chances are, those who try, will only scratch the surface
of your idea's potential.

3.) If by some freakish chance someone does end up implementing your idea in
the exact manner as you had dreamed, then you just found yourself a partner!

~~~
sushumna
Hansy, very well said and all points well taken.

You said "only you know how to immediately implement it", but my problem is I
am not aware of web technologies and how to market it. I come from a different
programming world of C/C++. Thats why I am looking for hackers as partners who
can implement my ideas.

will be cautious and wont give away the punchline too early.

------
duhmain
Since I'm actually in the process of building a site that helps you find co-
founders, I've just set up a Facebook page that you can "like" to get an
announcement when the site is up:

[http://www.facebook.com/pages/Find-a-co-
founder/155551604502...](http://www.facebook.com/pages/Find-a-co-
founder/155551604502198)

(I'm using a Facebook page for this because I haven't decided on a domain name
yet, and if I were to ask people to sign up for an announcement email list,
some people would be hesitant to provide their email address, I guess).

------
loki411
If you are seriously looking for a cofounder, it would help if you posted your
idea. You don't just want someone with experience, you want someone who has as
much of a passion for your idea as you do.

It is also important to realize that an idea is worth next to nothing (and
that many people have probably thought of the idea before you). What matters
is the implementation and your ability to deliver what users want.

~~~
sushumna
Posting my Idea is no problem. I can provide the abstract of my idea. But I
would like to hear from other hackers about their approach. I second your
point on Idea execution.

I am true believer of “Ideas are just a multiplier of execution”. - Derek
Sivers

------
notahacker
You have to give the very good hackers with previous startup experience some
sort of indication of why they would want to give up whatever they're doing to
partner with you. Otherwise they're not going to get as far as sending you
their photos and lists of earlier creations.

------
stc
Start learning how to code and try and flesh out your idea/app on your own.
This will give you a better perspective from which to interact with potential
founders and go a long way towards helping you flesh out your idea.

------
sushumna
[Edit] Adding something about me: I am not aware of web technologies, its
implementation and how to market it. I come from a different programming world
of C/C++. Thats why I am looking for hackers as partners who can partner and
implement my ideas.

