So he's smart and gets stuff done? Good start. Do you like him? Any foreseeable possibility of drama working with him?
I wouldn't worry about someone outside the HN/SV/Startup bubble/profession never having shown interest in startups/business ownership. It's possible he somehow recently came across PG's or Joel's Spolsky's essays or something similar and realized 'Hey, I can do this'.
I would have the whole-hog conversation about it with him though, don't hold back. Some questions:
1. I know you're smart and have a strong worth ethic, but aren't a coder, so what do you envision as your role and responsibilities? Mine?
2. It seems this is the first time you've really been interested in startups/business ownership. Is that true, and if so why now?
3. This won't be easy, the default outcome for startups is failure, are you prepared for that kind of slog and possible outcome? It may sound like a good idea with a ready market, but odds are it will turn out more difficult than it seemed at conception.
4. If I say 'no', what will you do? (if he says, find someone else, good answer = determined)
5. ... had a few others, drawing blanks, will add later if I remember. Reread some of pg's and Joel's essays on people for some more inspiration [1][2].
Try to gauge how realistic and informed he is about startups and business ownership, and how committed he is to this endeavor.
I wouldn't worry about someone outside the HN/SV/Startup bubble/profession never having shown interest in startups/business ownership. It's possible he somehow recently came across PG's or Joel's Spolsky's essays or something similar and realized 'Hey, I can do this'.
I would have the whole-hog conversation about it with him though, don't hold back. Some questions:
1. I know you're smart and have a strong worth ethic, but aren't a coder, so what do you envision as your role and responsibilities? Mine?
2. It seems this is the first time you've really been interested in startups/business ownership. Is that true, and if so why now?
3. This won't be easy, the default outcome for startups is failure, are you prepared for that kind of slog and possible outcome? It may sound like a good idea with a ready market, but odds are it will turn out more difficult than it seemed at conception.
4. If I say 'no', what will you do? (if he says, find someone else, good answer = determined)
5. ... had a few others, drawing blanks, will add later if I remember. Reread some of pg's and Joel's essays on people for some more inspiration [1][2].
Try to gauge how realistic and informed he is about startups and business ownership, and how committed he is to this endeavor.
[1]: http://www.paulgraham.com/start.html
[2]: http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/GuerrillaInterviewing...