Finding the right partner is critical to getting your company off the ground
You have a big idea, and you think that it’s the next big thing since Google. Congratulations on your ideation! However, you’re still by yourself and you’ve no idea where to find the person to build it.
“Where do I find a tech co-founder?”
…you might ask. It is a very common question I encounter whenever people approach me for advice. However, before you think about getting a tech co-founder, you should validate your ideas with potential customers and obtained email signups and/or money with an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) that demonstrates the need for such a product or service. Being able to do so puts you a cut above the rest already, and makes you infinitely attractive as a non-tech co-founder.
If you haven’t done all that, stop reading here and come back once your idea is validated.
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You have? And people are willing and able to pay for the MVP you’ve made/mocked up? Awesome! In this post, I will list the places where you can find your tech co-founder to take the next step forward.
1. Your network
Underrated, but very powerful. In fact, it’s the first method you should go for to find a co-founder.
Chances are that you might have been schoolmates with, or worked with technical people in the past. Fire up your Facebook Messenger or LinkedIn and shoot a message for coffee. Take this as a chance to reconnect with them and see if they buy in your idea as a by-the-way-I-have-been-working-on-something. At best, you found a tech co-founder. At worst, you have a renewed friendship and that’s a win in itself. Just don’t come across as one of those who ask friends out for coffee only to reveal that he or she is an insurance agent. It’d be quite awkward.
In addition, referrals can be quite powerful as well. After all, the network of your network is very huge. Forget NDAs (Non-Disclosure Agreements), just pitch your idea to whoever you meet and ask for referrals for people who might be able to assist. Execution matters way more important than the idea itself anyways.
2. Hackathons
Hackathons are events where people spend a short amount of time, typically 24 hours, to come up with a solution defined by organizers. I personally like the atmosphere and crowds found in hackathons — they’re problem solvers, doers, and there’s a keen sense to make things.
However, your mileage may vary, depending on how the hackathon is run and the kind of participants who take part. It’s also good to take note of the kind of hackathons you go to, since it’s better to be in one that is aligned with your business idea. You shouldn’t be going to an IoT hardware hackathon if your idea is a SaaS.
3. Co-founder dating website
No no, not the kind of dating that ends with “Wanna come up to my place for coffee?” kind of dating. Although there is a distinct possibility that that might happen as well. Social networking websites for professionals like CoFoundersLab and BEAM let you connect with other people who are looking for co-founders. From what I have gleaned, there are glowing reviews and there are success stories that emerge from connections made on these sites.
How about offline events found on Meetup? I wouldn’t go for the nearest Meetup event if I were you —it’s highly likely that the attendees in the Meetup groups are also the same as you. It’s the startup equivalent of a sausage party.
4. Pay for one
Technically, this way doesn’t count since it’s a purely transactional relationship, where you outsource your technical work. It is justified when you don’t need a tech co-founder badly if you are not working in deep tech, i.e. tech that is unique, protected via patents, and hard to reproduce.
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It is also acceptable if what you need is a relatively simple app/website that you can maintain by yourself after the project is over. The transactional nature of the arrangement means that your idea goes as far as you are able to pay. I have seen many startups crumble because of complications during outsourced technical work.
Tread with caution though. No amount of money can replace passion and ambition, and you will need that in spades for your startup.
5. Structured Entrepreneurship Programmes
As opposed to traditional programs in incubators and accelerators which require a founding team, we are seeing more and more programs where individual founders are teamed up to work on an idea that is decided later.
For example, Entrepreneur First (ef.) is one of the rare programs that focus on founders first. Personally, I quite like it since it gathers the most technical minds and then let these individuals team up organically to work on problems using deep tech. Caveat? You’d have to be technical yourself, or someone with deep domain knowledge. There was a recent entry by Antler, promising a similar value proposition, that is a pool of experienced co-founders.
Currently, I am mentoring a 4-membered team of young adults from different countries in South East Asia under the YSI SEA program, where the end goal is a cross-border startup that addresses major sustainable development goals. The latest run in Europe last year produced 5 startups, 4 of which are still up and running. That’s an impressive first-year survival rate of 80 per cent.
Parting words
That’s all folks, these are the places where you can find your tech co-founders. However, with a sea of wantrepreneurs out there wanting tech help to build their ideas, it will be important to prove to your tech co-founders to be that you walk the talk and have validated your ideas.
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Finding them is the first step. Earning their respect and buy-in, on the other hand, is another whole ball game altogether. These tech co-founders are also living, breathing, human beings who want to solve problems. It’d be a folly to treat them as mere product builders.
Good luck, and don’t hesitate to drop me a line here if you need advice.
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