

Ask HN: Awesome founder looking for awesome-er co-founder - bherms

I've been working on a prototype for an idea that I've had for a while.  I've been discussing the idea with investors, potential clients/beta testers, and have gotten almost unanimous positive feedback.  The prototype is about 75% complete and I have potential investments lined up already.  It's SaaS geared at restaurants and I know it has the potential to be big.  I'm looking for a co-founder for a couple of reasons.  First, having someone to bounce ideas off of and to get feedback from is great.  I unfortunately don't have anyone technical at the moment that can refine and develop new ideas with me.  I also want someone who can compliment my skills.  I'm a developer, but have a lot to learn, so having another developer would be very beneficial.  I'm also interested in getting into YC and having a co-founder will really help improve our chances.  The app is being built in Ruby on Rails, so strong experience in that area is a must.  I use jQuery for pretty much all javascript needs and that pretty much sums up the tech involved.  I'm not a great designer, so having design chops would be a definite plus as well.  Outside of technical requirements, you have to have a good sense of humor, like to have fun, and not take yourself or life too seriously.  I'm laid back and goofy and won't work well with anyone who can't joke around and act stupid every once in a while.<p>A little info about me:  I'm 24, live in Indianapolis (the closer you are to me, the better), and work full-time as a Rails developer.  I camp, play music, rock climb, and like to travel and have fun.<p>If you're interested in being considered, drop me a line at brad@howas.it to tell me a little about yourself and we'll talk.  Thanks!<p>any questions not specifically regarding what the app does will be answered in the comments<p>edit: forgot to mention... I've put in plenty of time and effort already, but split will be 50/50.  I want you as personally invested as I am.
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swombat
_edit: forgot to mention... I've put in plenty of time and effort already, but
split will be 50/50. I want you as personally invested as I am._

Admirable and, imho, smart. One word of warning, though: set up a vesting
schedule. Don't just give the 50% outright.

Since you've been at it longer you should start with more shares, but perhaps
have your cofounder accrue shares faster so that within a year or two you'll
be at 50/50 - but don't give 50% right off the bat with no protection for
yourself against the risk of your cofounder just walking away...

~~~
jeffepp
I strongly suggest 51/49. Decision making with a 50/50 split is not fun. Lock-
up agreements are generally pretty messy.

It's pretty clear you have already put in substantial work. I would assume a
co-founder would be quite pleased with 40% at this stage.

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sagacity
Sounds awesome! Congratulations on all achieved so far and all the best moving
forward.

Your mention of the restaurants sector reminded me of one of one of our sites
that we built (mainly for experimental purposes) a couple of years ago. You
can take a look at it at convenience and let me know if it (the site) and/or
the associated data could be of any use to your startup. I'll be glad to help
however I can, under a 0/100 split (0 - me, 100 - you ;-)):

<http://www.USRestaurantGuide.info>

~~~
bherms
Whoa, thanks for this resource! You just gave me a possible client list for
the entire country, haha.. My app is for restaurant owners and/or managers and
I'll need to contact plenty. Thanks again!

~~~
sagacity
I had kind of thought so ;-)

Happy to help, whichever way I can.

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curt
Talk to some people at Rose-Hulman in Terre Haute I'm sure you can find a
skilled undergrad there that would love to work with you also IU Bloomington
has a pretty good PhD program in CS. Otherwise it's really hard to find
skilled people in Indy most leave. Went to Rose-Hulman and then IU for grad
school so I'm familiar with the difficulty. You might have to look towards
Chicago, but most of the available good programmers got taken by Groupon.

Let me think about it, I might know some people (lived in B-town for quite a
few years)

~~~
bherms
I went to Rose. class of 2008

You?

~~~
curt
Shoot me an email. If you plan on staying in Indy I know quite a few of the
people you'll need to talk to: from investors to lawyers.

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codeslush
Before you go off and give ANY part of the company away, please do another
AskHN post or see a startup lawyer or SOMETHING! You could easily screw things
up at this stage that will affect you longer term (i.e. YC). Many startup
lawyers will work on delayed charges (i.e. you pay $400 up front, rest of
charges accrue and only become due on a funding event, etc...).

You sound like a great guy! I LOVE your attitude. Wish I was younger and
closer to OH cause I would be happy to help.

~~~
bherms
I'm definitely going to run things by a lawyer before signing anything. I just
want whoever I choose to know they're in it as much as I am and it's not like
a "hey, jump on this with me and do tons of work for 10% because I had the
idea" sort of thing. I want a committed partner, not an employee.

------
netmau5
Will be happy to bounce ideas with you and perhaps we can work together if it
fits. I'm just starting with Rails but have tons of web dev experience in
other languages. Expert in JS, decent by my own estimation at design. Email in
profile if you'd like to chat.

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bherms
Can't edit, but I liked the suggestions below. 51/49 with the 49 being accrued
on a vestment schedule that focuses on contribution and meeting deadlines.
Clearly I don't want someone to jump in, sign away 50% of my company, and then
have them do nothing without protection.

