

Find Co-Founders, Don't Get Screwed - chris100
http://venturebeat.com/2010/10/22/foundrs-com-find-co-founders-dont-get-screwed/

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dannyr
I have seen so many sites related to finding a cofounder. In my opinion,
there's an oversupply of them.

I know a lot of people looking for a cofounder but most of them are non-
engineers.

My guess is a lot of these sites may have a lot of seekers but very few
actually find one. It's a like a dating site where it's mostly men.

~~~
dabent
It seems to me that they're also trying to manufacture something that seems to
occur naturally. From the founder's stories I've seen, many of them were
friends before they got the idea to do a startup. That's why they seem to be
able to weather the ups and downs of starting a company - their friendship
isn't tied directly to the company.

Things like meetups, including Startup School could be a good place to get the
right people together and just let them get to know each other and discuss
ideas.

~~~
bravura
_It seems to me that they're also trying to manufacture something that seems
to occur naturally._

I was going to make a comment that finding a co-founder is a lot like dating,
and that dating web sites have improved (but not completely fixed) the dating
process.

Right? Like on a co-founder site you can list you turn-ons and turn-offs, to
determine compatability. "Bootstrapping is a turn on.". "Windows is a big turn
off."

Then I realized that most couples who met on the internet, much like all other
couples: They end up fighting about money, trust, shared responsibility, etc.
And, in all likelihood, they separate. And I realized that, in company
founding, the co-founder "dating phase" is something that happens WELL before
you start a company together. You build trust and a relationship over time.

So perhaps starting a company with someone is more like marriage, but with
alimony vesting. It seems like accelerating that process would need a very
different approach than fixing the "dating" process.

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pg
I would want to hear what a lawyer said about these agreements before using
them. Misincorporating yourself can be disastrously hard to fix, and this
could have the same problems. It's better to sign nothing than to sign the
wrong thing.

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sp4rki
I think that people just climb in the bandwagon of finding someone to make
their product with without first asking themselves if it is really necessary
to do so at this time and if the other person really is needed.

If you have an idea, please develop as far as you can alone while you're able
to do so within your means. Hell anyone can make a prototype in Omnigraffle or
Keynote to later pitch the idea. There are lot's of things a non tech founder
can do before requiring a cofounder and vice versa. Hopefully while doing so
you'll find a person that's a good fit and whom you can trust and respect. And
of course, even then create vesting agreements for either a viable but "not
too soon" time or based on goals and acomplishments.

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starkness
Hmm given all the discussion about friendship being of utmost importance for
cofounders (particularly in the case of YC), do people think this would work?

~~~
rmah
While friendship is nice, I don't think it's necessary. More important, IMO,
is respect.

~~~
mostafaa
IMHO, for success, the cofounders have to work as a team, which can only be
achieved if there is friendship. You can either have this friendship
relationship before you start (you start a venture with a friend who becomes a
cofounder), or you can try to develop it later on (you find a cofounder who
later on becomes a friend). The problem with the friendship-later model is
that with these matching websites, there is no guarantee that you will get
along with the co-founder to the extent that you develop a friendship
relationship.

Besides respect, friendship gives you trust and commitment. Ideas of venture
do change along the way. A friend is committed to you before the idea of a
venture came along, hence, he will be flexible with the change in the idea,
the company, the profits, etc. On the other hand, a co-founder (who was not
your friend) joined you based on the idea (or the money), hence, he will be
less flexible when things change (if no friendship develops along the way).

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enki
that article makes it sound like immediately distributing equity is super
important. having a rough idea of the pie sizes is probably a good idea, but 1
month vesting like the site says? no way! honestly, at this point i wouldn't
start anything without a one year cliff for all cofounders (including me)
anymore.

if there's a net positive return on kicking you within the first year, you're
either not pulling your weight or your cofounders are acting irrational and
will kill the company anyway.

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PHPAdam
As a developer id rather give up 3 percent of equity, of something worth
nothing at the time, than pay $9.99 per month. Key to any start-up without
investors is to keep regular costs down.

foundrs.com is not the end all of incorporation, it seems to have nothing for
"assets". Who owns the code? Author or Company. Who owns the domain? Registrar
or Company?

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vaksel
i think at this point we need someone to build a site that aggregates all
these cofounder finding sites.

