How to Find the Right Co-founder

Summary

In this video, Han Stagger, a partner at Y Combinator, discusses the importance of finding the right co-founder when starting a company. He outlines three key reasons: increased productivity through complementary skills, moral support during the intense startup journey, and the pattern matching to success observed in history's most successful companies. He advises on waiting for the right co-founder due to their benefits but acknowledges exceptions for single founders with high conviction and progress-making ability. Stagger also provides guidance on identifying and approaching potential co-founders, aligning on equity splits and CEO roles, and formalizing the partnership through legal agreements.

Takeaways

• 🤝 The importance of having a co-founder is emphasized for productivity, moral support, and pattern matching to success.
• 🔑 Productivity is increased with a co-founder due to division of work and complementary skills, leading to better and more work.
• 🌟 Moral support is vital as startups are intense, and having a co-founder to lean on during tough times can balance emotional highs and lows.
• 💡 The co-founder relationship often involves idea discussion and brainstorming, which can improve the quality of decision-making.
• 🚀 Successful startups like Apple, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft all had co-founders, highlighting the pattern of co-founders in successful ventures.
• 🤔 If a co-founder is not immediately available, it might be better to wait, but there are exceptions for single founders with high conviction and the ability to make progress.
• 🔍 Single founders who are successful often have deep domain expertise or a personal connection to the problem they are solving.
• 🛠️ The most important trait to know about a potential co-founder is how they handle stress, as startups are a stressful endeavor.
• 🎯 Understanding the goals and values of a potential co-founder is crucial to prevent future conflicts and ensure alignment.
• 🛑 Skills are important, but they are secondary to working with someone you like, trust, and who can handle the stress of a startup.
• 🔄 Finding co-founders often starts with people you already know, and working on projects together can help identify good co-founder material.

Q & A

Why is finding the right co-founder considered an important part of starting a company?

Finding the right co-founder is crucial because it can lead to increased productivity through shared workload and complementary skills, provide moral support during the intense journey of starting a company, and enhance the chances of success as many of the most successful startups have had co-founders from the beginning.

What are the three main reasons to have a co-founder when starting a company?

The three main reasons to have a co-founder are: 1) Productivity, as dividing work and having complementary skills can lead to better and more work done. 2) Moral support, as having someone to lean on during tough times can make a significant difference. 3) Pattern matching to success, as statistically, many of the most successful startups have had co-founders.

What does the speaker suggest regarding the emotional support a co-founder provides compared to hiring employees?

The speaker suggests that while productivity can be increased by hiring people or bringing on contractors, the emotional support provided by a co-founder is unique and irreplaceable because they are as invested in the startup's success as the founder is, and one can be more open and honest with a peer.

What is the speaker's advice on whether to wait for a co-founder before starting a company?

The speaker advises that one should generally wait for a co-founder due to the benefits they bring. However, there are exceptions for single founders who have a high conviction in their idea and are capable of making progress without a co-founder in the short term, especially if they are technical or can build the first version of the product.

What is the pattern that successful single founders tend to follow according to the speaker?

Successful single founders typically have two things in common: they have an idea they are highly convicted about, often because they are solving a personal problem or are domain experts, and they are able to make progress on that idea without a co-founder in the short term, usually because they have the technical skills to build the first version of the product.

What is the importance of understanding a potential co-founder's ability to handle stress?

Understanding a potential co-founder's ability to handle stress is crucial because startups are incredibly stressful and intense. A great co-founder should be able to support you through these times and help maintain motivation and commitment, especially when facing tough situations.

Why is it suggested to have a conversation about goals and values with a potential co-founder?

Having a conversation about goals and values is important to ensure alignment and avoid conflicting motivations. Misaligned goals can lead to inevitable conflict down the line, so understanding why someone wants to do a startup and what they hope to achieve is crucial for a successful co-founder relationship.

What is the speaker's view on the importance of complementary skills in a co-founder?

The speaker believes that while it's important to have a co-founder with complementary skills, it's more important to work with someone you like and trust. If the person you trust doesn't have the perfect set of skills, you can still bring them on as a co-founder and hire others to fill in the skills gaps.

What advice does the speaker give on where to look for co-founders?

The speaker advises to start with people you already know, such as friends and colleagues. Engaging in projects with others can help identify potential co-founders. Additionally, attending meetups, hackathons, and joining online groups related to your interests can increase the chances of finding a co-founder with similar goals and values.

How does the speaker suggest testing the compatibility with a potential co-founder before making a final commitment?

The speaker suggests allocating a chunk of time to work together on a project or an MVP with a set deadline. After this period, have an honest conversation to evaluate if both parties enjoy working together and decide whether to proceed with the partnership.

What are the two important points to agree on once you've identified a potential co-founder and decided to start a company together?

The two important points to agree on are the equity split, ensuring both co-founders are happy and motivated, and deciding who will be the CEO, which is important for external representation, particularly to investors, and for having a clear leader and decision-maker.