How To Find A Co-Founder | Startup School

Building a startup and trying to break into an established market is very difficult, especially if you’re trying to do it alone! That’s why it’s critical to find the right co-founder for the journey. In this episode of Startup School, YC Group Partner Harj Taggar explains why you need a co-founder, when to bring them on, where you can find one and how to maintain the relationship.

00:00 - Intro
02:55 - Should you start a company without a co-founder?
04:40 - What should you look for in a potential co-founder?
08:30 - Where can you find co-founders?
13:15 - How do you get started working together?
15:10 - Common reasons for co-founder breakups
17:59 - How do you avoid getting into a co-founder breakup?
19:57 - Summary

[chapterme]

Chapters (Powered by ChapterMe) -
00:00 - Intro
00:24 - Why should you have a co-founder?
00:29 - Productivity
01:24 - Morale
02:03 - Pattern Matching
02:51 - Should you start a company without a co-founder?
03:10 - Exceptions
04:08 - Example: Successful startup with a single founder
04:37 - What should you look for in a potential co-founder?
04:43 - How do they handle stress?
06:11 - Do they have the same high-level goals?
07:28 - Don't overly focus on specific skills they have today
08:02 - Meta skill you should care about
08:23 - Where can you find co-founders?
11:21 - YC co-founder matching platform
12:06 - Examples
13:07 - How do you get started working together?
14:03 - Equity split
15:04 - Common reasons for co-founder breakups
15:08 - 1. They don't respect each other
16:01 - 2. Both want to be the CEO
16:54 - 3. Different work ethic expectations
17:55 - How do you avoid getting into a co-founder breakup?
19:10 - Tactical advice: Regular 1:1's
19:50 - Summary

[fixtwin]

"Spend some time working on small projects with your new co-founder" is the great advice nobody will ever follow

[tarabooartarmy]

I've been trying for ages to find just the right cofounder, but most people have their own ideas or just don't seem to have the drive and ambition. Filtered through hundreds of people already.

[sivaramaraju]

I still think its better to hire the 10 best employees first than just searching for a co-founder, because the company will bring the right people and cofounders when its going good

[CollinRutherford]

Having different visions for success can lead to conflicts down the road so you should take the time to discuss what each of you hopes to achieve with the startup.

[City_Secret]

The right video at the right time❤ thank you Y combinator

[pempheromkuka]

I stopped looking for co-founder till I have a working MVP it will be easy to convince someone

[qet-lab]

I'm actively looking for a co-founder.Applied for W25 .Didnt know hard and lonely it is to be a single founder with a pre product market fit.

[aberbaCodes]

After building an MVP of my CRM and I agree doing it alone is hard. Not easy to find a complimentary co-founder in my current circle so I'll keep on building and marketing.

[Lnaks]

Thank you for this. Just broke up because of work ethic expectations as mentioned in the video. I learned a lot from this experience and wish everyone good luck on their journey 🙏

[akaisasori]

Im in a weird spot. The people who would seem like a good early fit as a co-founder, just didnt have the passion for their own lives. Perfect stats in business, but their life is in shambles. Ill just keep on trucking for the right one. The bigger the vision, the longer these processes take.

[SGriffithResearch]

Why is YC cofounder match more like Tinder than Linkedin?

[britannio]

Comment section has a selection bias for people that haven't found a co-founder.

[elizeebz]

I found my technical co-founder via the YC cofounding matching so thanks so much!

[george_davituri]

Finding good fit co founder is possible but it is not easy. It's all about mutual interest, communication, building relationship, responsibility. But also it should be ok being a solo founder and batch dude, geting fundraising, joining Bookface, hanging out in SF events in a free time and asking for advice on the way up. Hope in near future it wouldn't be an obstacle to shine like a star.

[iskandarsulaili]

TLDR; I would rather solo than "need" a co-founder, it waste more time, morale and resources getting the wrong one.

Long version: lots of them either want 100k salary or 50% equity but only want to spent 12 hours max per week during pre revenue.

End of the day, advice is just an "advice". Nowadays, it's easier to start as solo indie hacker founder with AI tools everywhere. Hired some SE would be sufficient and focus more on customers.

[OmnipotentCEO]

I need a co-founder and for him to be the president and handle the business side. Let me cook like Steve Jobs and be the creative force behind what we do. Let's work together and start building. I realize I cannot do it all alone.

[MatsVisser-ht]

Hi there, I'm currently working on a tech startup idea related to machine learning and AI. As I lack the technical skills to build this product myself, I'm looking for a highly driven and ambitious technical co-founder who can help me realise this idea. Let me know if this sounds like something for you. I'm based in Amsterdam; the closer the better, but no must ofc :)

[galleon]

I wonder if those cofounders from startup school started working on a concept or one party already started something. I think the latter will be how most of the confounding teams are formed because trying to start from scratch with a stranger might will be hard.

[chemchampa]

My problem is that the product I am building is in industry where coding skills are just useless. Having built a career over years in this industry, I do not get a chance to meet people who have strong technical skills. Whereas I consider myself a beginner/intermediate level programmer. But at this point, I managed to build a working prototype myself and have done the market research to see if there’s a need for such tools I'm building. For our business, these tools have become a necessity, and I want to continue building because I've been talking to potential users, and they all want to try. But I reached the point where I cannot build fast enough.

So, I guess my question is how do I find a technical cofounder when I don't meet people in my cricles who I could trust would be a good business partner? I wouldn't consider myself a technical co-founder either, even though I am building it right now myself.