Filtering out "Idea Guys", even if they have done some research

[christianmusthaves]

What is a good way to do this? Do ya'll have a process, set of questions for these people when looking for a co-founder? Even if this person did some research and says they've interviewied N number of customers, etc, is there a way to differentiate them from serious potential co-founders?

 

[david7ra]

@christianmusthaves Since you have asked several questions, I would like to start by describing the "idea" guy as someone who comes up with endless lists of ideas, some good and some bad, but lacks the skills and motivation to implement them.

Personal co-founder selection strategy:

My potential co-founders and I collaborate on a project for at least a month to determine mutual compatibility, work ethics, mutual expectations, communication, and skill set. During a month, it is enough to get a good idea of a co-founder's personality and work ethic.

Talking and in-depth discussions can be useful too:

In one instance, I was saved from this "idea" person after talking at length with him. I met this person at a conference, and he expressed interest in our invention. At that time, he made a reasonable offer, and we went out for lunch together to discuss the collaboration further while waiting for late-night flights. Due to the stress and exhaustion of the conference, the dude dropped his guard by the evening, revealing his true intentions as he continued to talk. The time I spent with him discussing the details allowed me to get to know the real person behind the façade.

 

[christianmusthaves]

@david7ra Great strategy! Tier them out then ask the big questions. you’re on to something here

 

[kakumei]

@david7ra Thats the issue. A day, a week, a month or after a year, most wannabe entrepreneurs will drop down, in effort or just quits. This destroy the momentum you had build if not your entire startup. Lucky if we can find the ones who can persevere

 

[david7ra]

@kakumei Wouldn't a month working together on a project be enough to weed out "wannabe" entrepreneurs?

 

[christianmusthaves]

@david7ra doing a sprint together is a good idea for sure, I've been trying this out.

However, when someone is tired, their true colors shine brighter and it's more clear who they are as a person like OP mentioned above.

 

[kakumei]

@david7ra A month is too little a time. Issues only start when the initial enthusiasm fades as the work is tough. A good way to find out is if your possible Co founder chases you for the opportunity, after initial discussion, as it shows real interest. You can only asses after a few months. 6 at least. Making an arrangement to work together for a few months before issuing shares could help

 

[meki]

@christianmusthaves I am the "idea guy" and have about 60 different ideas for viable businesses.

That being said, my idea that I am running with is in my domain of experience. I ran database marketing operations for 17 $1 billion+ USD retail brands across channels.

I have more knowledge and insight on how experienced retailers work and how inexperienced retailers are missing a ton of things that could make their businesses 2x better.

So my idea, is to start with their most obvious and addressable pain point - abandoned shopping carts. And instead of guessing what discount a customer my take, give the customer the ability to make an offer for the cart.

Abandoned carts are a $4T global problem (e.g. product added to cart but no checkout), a $2T US problem with 65% of carts being abandoned. The dollar volume of abandoned carts is 2X the volume of what is actually purchased.

And with research, we found that 25% of abandoned carts were over... price.

So now our SOM is roughly $600billion. And we know that merchants with inventory have a real need now and it's not profits, it's CASH. Their inventory is sucking up their cash and their cost to borrow is now unobtainable.

THAT, IMHO, is how an idea guy shares with you how to define and address a market and not just give you an idea but be able to forecast customer volumes and make a realistic estimate of what the market might be.

And the idea guy then creates pricing that make the market accessible to them and useful to the customer and features and benefits that extend your reach into the merchant to help them learn HOW to run a retail business, not just load products to a cart, send them to Amazon, or spend a ton on Google Shopping Ads.

This is the difference between an idea guy, and an idea guy with a crystal clear vision of how to get it done. Hope this helps.

My co-founder is still trying to digest everything I know about retail marketing... LOL poor guy.

 

[%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B5%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9]

@christianmusthaves Imo-

1. a cofounder is someone you can give your debit card with the pin written on the back of it, and come back and have all of your money in the account
2. a cofounder is someone who has the same drive as you, if not more, and compliments your skill set
3. a cofounder is someone that challenges you when making a decision and visa versa to comb through the pros and cons
4. a cofounder is someone you worked with for a MINIMUM of several months prior hopefully years so you understand their habits, work style, strengths and best of all areas for development
5. a cofounder is someone who is there to lift you up on down days, and someone to bring you down to reality when you exhibit too much hubris.
6. A cofounder is cool with straight cut responsibilities but has the ability to think on their feet given a new task out of their bounds.

Unpopular opinion- but this person should already be in your Rolodex from past work experiences

 

[christianmusthaves]

@%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B5%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9

Unpopular opinion- but this person should already be in your Rolodex from past work experiences

That's a tough one honestly. But that would be ideal. I agree with your points.

 

[mc25]

@christianmusthaves Hmmm I would be curious about the framework of the potential customer interviews - what did they ask, how did they ask it - did they utilize the lessons from “the mom test” or used a “Job to Be Done” framework (you should know these too) or something else - I’m looking for something systematic and fit for the task.
Then I would want to understand how “the idea“ has changed based on those conversations. (These questions around these customer interviews can show a lot : how they think about the problem, if and how they respond to feedback that they asked for from customers, how systematic they are in conducting interviews, their existing level of knowledge in conducting customer interviews, etc)

if it’s a non-technical person that wants to launch a tech startup, they better be a proven hustler, they would ideally have some sales experience, and must have a very enthusiastic attitude around selling - and in taking care of other financial, marketing, and paperwork tasks.

Since there are so many no-code platforms out there- I would be curious if they built some kind of prototype - and if not, why not. Also why they have not learned how to code - and if they have any interest in learning.

Then of course equal equity in the business.

 

[christianmusthaves]

@mc25

Then I would want to understand how “the idea“ has changed based on those conversations.

this is a really good insights, will defs use it. thanks!

 

[demarcus507]

@christianmusthaves I read through your previous post a bit as well, and man it's wild the type of advice people give, and how out of touch a lot of it is considering this is the YC subreddit, where hopefully these people have actually watched some of the videos...

I'm a non-technical co-founder. Yes non-technical people are important for your business.

If you lay out your specific needs, I think the questions you should ask and qualifications required become clear:

- Someone to either market or sell the product

- Talk to customers

- Raise money

- Work together on problems to come up with potential solutions and prioritize work

- Possibly someone to help design things

Ideas are obviously not top importance here, but user interviews are only part of the entire space of work.

I came to YC SUS and co-founder match with this in hand:

- Finished figma designs with some code done. I learned to code while looking for a co-founder to try to build an initial super simple prototype.

- Go to market strategy: insight on the problem, user segment, size of market, and very clear plan to get initial users. (it worked)

- Proven track-record in marketing: I ran growth at another startup I co-founded to 25M users

- I had proven expertise / understanding in our specific market as well. I was also already part of our target community on reddit and discord. Direct proven access to our customers on a daily basis. I had talked to a lot of users already, and had access to some community made documentation and tools.

1: You want a hustler, someone that has put in some real leg-work already

Have they designed something? Got something built? Tested a landing page? Posted for feedback on social media? Video recorded customer interviews? Do they have a clear GTM? Competitor research deep dives?

No one is waiting around for a technical founder. They're putting in work today.

2: You want someone with expertise in the market

This isn't just interviewed a couple people and researched online. They may have been involved in this particular space for a long time already, just adjacently somehow. The mind maze / idea space behind a problem can take a long time to solve, so its best if you start when it's already partially solved.

3: Track record in sales and marketing

Just like how they expect you to have built product before, you probably want them to show you that they've sold something.

I met a college freshman the other day that built a social media brand himself to millions of followers. I learned SEO in college and built a popular blog.

Remember, if you're building a potentially VC backable startup you're looking for someone that can take you to that $1B mark. You aren't looking for just anyone to join your startup. You're looking for someone that is AMAZING.

Amazing people show it often. They lean toward action. They ask engaging questions and answer insightfully.

4: Get along well and great communication

You are building a company TOGETHER. You are ideating solutions TOGETHER.

In the end you should do a 2 week sprint to be sure on how you work (could be 4 depending). You prove you can build something. They prove they can get some eyeballs on it and get feedback.