Seeking a Tech Co-Founder for a Potentially a Industry Changing Platform

[maarten97]

I'm the founder of an emerging startup that's set to transform a specific industry. With a background steeped in sales and extensive experience in the industry I which intend on changing, I've identified a niche that is ripe with potential.

While I bring to the table my industry insights and sales prowess, I'm on the lookout for a co-founder who is deeply entrenched in technology. Someone who shares the vision of simplifying and revolutionizing the idea. This venture requires a tech co-founder who is not only adept at software development but is also enthusiastic about building a solution that addresses a critical gap in that industry.

If you're passionate about leveraging technology to solve real-world problems, and the idea of transforming an industry excites you, I'd love to connect. Together, we can build something groundbreaking.

Apologies about not specifying the industry I do not want my idea to go public.

 

[christiandll]

@maarten97 Is there pay or just the magical experience of your prowess? Honest question I’ve always been impressed with some good prowess.

 

[maarten97]

@christiandll Equity (25%), I should've included the part where the software is on its first revision. I currently am looking for a trusted partner.

 

[sashieng]

@maarten97 Why 25%? If you are looking for your first cofounder then we expect a 50-50 equity split.

 

[mendicant]

@sashieng Honestly in these scenarios I now expect 66%/33% in favor of the tech founder. The other guys can just never bring enough to the table as the product is almost 99% technical every time.

If they want to offset that, they offset it with cash upfront.

 

[sashieng]

@mendicant Lol, I still think a business cofounder with sales experience and industry insight is just as valuable as a tech cofounder. But I get what you are saying.

 

[user17]

@sashieng Agree Super easy to build the wrong thing. Product Market fit takes as much time as building an MVP

 

[maarten97]

@sashieng I already have another co founder with me that is in my Industry.

 

[forgivenandloved]

@maarten97 If you haven’t yet discovered this, “I have a great idea, I’m looking for someone to build it for me” isn’t a great method for generating viable leads on this front.

Respectfully, that makes me question your sales prowess.

I think it’s great you’ve identified an opportunity in your space that has potential. This is what I recommend to founders. That said, there are a number of steps you can take to validate this opportunity before approaching a technical co-founder. The more of the boxes you can check off, the more likely you’ll be successful at attracting talent.

• 1-3 early adopters agree that this is a problem they will pay money to solve
• you have a rough idea what they’re willing to pay (bonus points for letters of intents with upfront payment once initial threshold for development is met)
• you’ve narrowed down The Big Vision™ to the one (maaaaybe two) key thing(s) the product has to do first
• you’ve built out a low fidelity prototype that you can run manually or let someone play with (Zapier + GSheets can take you pretty far)

These are the things you need to do to prove your value as “the business guy” in a startup. If you can’t muster that, again I question your sales prowess. (Note: if you’ve only sold products from well-known brands with established markets, and sales enablement tools at your disposal, your experience counts less than you think.)

The reason why you should do the above is because you don’t really know what you need to build until you go through a few iterations with actual users. As a result, it’ll be hard to talk intelligently about your idea to the kind of partner you’re looking for and establish the credibility you’ll need to convince them to work with you.

You also can’t sidestep these steps by going the agency or contractor route without wasting a bunch of money. Every founder I’ve advised over 15 years who has tried expressed regret after the fact.

Last but not least, no one cares about your idea enough to steal it from you. Read that again.

And even if they did, no one has your combination of domain expertise, insight, and contacts, so it’s unlikely they could execute the way you would/will.

By letting go of that notion, you can do a much better job of communicating the market, what you’ve seen in your experience, and why tackling this now makes sense. You can do all of that without divulging your secret sauce if you truly must keep some things close to the vest.

These are the kinds of things potential partners will be interested in. And presenting that info — along with your progress in the steps above — will showcase your level of seriousness and capabilities.

 

[maarten97]

@forgivenandloved I must’ve phrased it wrong. I have one through 4 done. I had someone develop a prototype for me already that is almost on its last revision. Me and my current partner are both in the industry and we would like someone to join us that has a better technical side of things such as coding. If you wouldn’t be opposed, you could reach out to me in my DM!

 

[forgivenandloved]

@maarten97 Indeed, knowing you have a prototype, early customers, and another industry partner is helpful and info you should include up top.