{"id":20291,"date":"2021-10-13T00:42:36","date_gmt":"2021-10-13T07:42:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/?p=20291"},"modified":"2022-01-22T03:44:44","modified_gmt":"2022-01-22T11:44:44","slug":"do-you-need-a-cofounder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/do-you-need-a-cofounder\/","title":{"rendered":"Knowing When You Need a Co-Founder (And How to Find a Good One)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If all goes well, <a href=\"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/blog\/2012\/12\/founding-a-startup-is-easy-said-no-one-ever\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">founding a startup<\/a> can be one of the highlights of your career. This means that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/article\/239945\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">going solo<\/a> might be a tempting proposition, giving you a bigger piece of the pie after a successful exit.<\/p>\n<p>However, this romantic image of starting a company from scratch, all by yourself, doesn\u2019t always work in reality. That\u2019s why many startup founders look for a <a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/brocoders-team\/do-you-really-need-a-co-founder-8f25c5418eca\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">co-founder<\/a> who can help fill in any gaps.<\/p>\n<p>But do you need a cofounder when starting a business, or can you <a href=\"https:\/\/betaboom.com\/blog\/do-i-need-a-co-founder\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">build a successful startup<\/a> as a solo founder? In this article, we\u2019ll discuss if your startup needs more hands on deck, and if so <a href=\"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/blog\/the-hard-dynamics-of-co-foundership-and-a-few-things-you-should-know-about-it\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">how and when to find a co-founder<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><b>Is a co-founder necessary?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>If you really want to forge your own path as a single founder, then you\u2019re certainly welcome to try. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.inc.com\/matt-given\/do-you-need-a-co-founder-this-surprising-new-study.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">According to a study based on Crunchbase data<\/a>, 46 percent of companies that raised over $10 million in funding had a solo founder. (The remaining 54 percent had two or more founders, indicating that either option is viable.)<\/p>\n<p>In many cases, however, finding a co-founder is a smart decision. Below are a few reasons why:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Amount of work:<\/b> A solo founder needs to wear many hats, including that of <a href=\"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/blog\/does-my-startup-need-a-cto%EF%BB%BF\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">startup CEO<\/a>. You\u2019ll be in charge of hiring employees, product development, fundraising, and more. Bringing a co-founder on board can help you distribute this massive workload and breathe more easily.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Different skill sets:<\/b> Running a business is a multifaceted affair, and not everyone is talented at every part of it. Co-founders can offer complementary skills, such as technical expertise or business problem-solving, that make up for places where you\u2019re lacking.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Greater credibility: <\/b>In the eyes of investors, having a founding team often makes you more credible than being a solo founder. For example, one study found that startups with a single founder took <a href=\"https:\/\/readwrite.com\/2011\/05\/28\/the-startup-genome-project-exa\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">3.6 times longer to scale the business<\/a> than did startups with two founders.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Do I need a co-founder for a startup?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>We\u2019ve discussed some objective factors about having a startup co-founder. But how do you know if you, in particular, should find a co-founder for your business?<\/p>\n<p>First, the issue of emotional fortitude is often overlooked when starting a business. Building a startup will challenge you and take you out of your comfort zone at times. Having one or more co-founders at your side can help you weather the storm, provide support, and overcome obstacles.<br \/>\nOf course, this presupposes that you\u2019ve chosen the right person to work with. If all goes well, you\u2019ll be establishing a long-term founder relationship that will last years. Make sure that your choice of co-founder is someone whom you can tolerate (or even enjoy) working with for long hours.<\/p>\n<p>Hiring a co-founder is one of your startup\u2019s most important team-building actions, so you should treat it with the appropriate weight. If you\u2019re looking to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hbsaccelerate.org\/people\/founding-team\/should-you-add-a-co-founder\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">add a co-founder<\/a>, there are multiple options available, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Sourcing candidates from your connections in the <a href=\"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">startup community<\/a>.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Using \u201cfounder dating\u201d websites that seek to match potential co-founders with each other.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Posting on general career websites such as LinkedIn, ZipRecruiter, and Indeed.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Posting on startup-focused websites such as AngelList and Y Combinator.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The traits you should look for when finding a co-founder include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">A shared passion and curiosity for the startup\u2019s mission and vision.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Solid interpersonal chemistry and compatibility, helping to establish a singular company culture.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">A knack for growing the business, whether through technical product development, hiring the right employees, or speaking with venture capital firms.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If all goes well, founding a startup can be one of the highlights of your career. This means that going solo might be a tempting proposition, giving you a bigger &#8230; <\/p>\n<div><a href=\"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/do-you-need-a-cofounder\/\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":20292,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7292],"tags":[10956],"table_tags":[],"class_list":["post-20291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-founders-community","tag-do-you-need-a-cofounder"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.8 (Yoast SEO v25.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Knowing When You Need A Co-Founder And How To Find A Good One- The Founders Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Do you need a cofounder to start a business? Or Will you gain a successful startup as a solo founder? Find out the answers here at Founder Network.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/do-you-need-a-cofounder\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Knowing When You Need a Co-Founder (And How to Find a Good One)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Do you need a cofounder to start a business? Or Will you gain a successful startup as a solo founder? Find out the answers here at Founder Network.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/do-you-need-a-cofounder\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Founders Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/foundersnetwork\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/foundersnetwork\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-10-13T07:42:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-01-22T11:44:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/peer_roundtable1_function_directory_image.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1440\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"805\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Founders Network\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@foundersnetwork\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@foundersnetwork\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Founders Network\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Knowing When You Need A Co-Founder And How To Find A Good One- The Founders Network","description":"Do you need a cofounder to start a business? Or Will you gain a successful startup as a solo founder? Find out the answers here at Founder Network.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/do-you-need-a-cofounder\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Knowing When You Need a Co-Founder (And How to Find a Good One)","og_description":"Do you need a cofounder to start a business? Or Will you gain a successful startup as a solo founder? Find out the answers here at Founder Network.","og_url":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/do-you-need-a-cofounder\/","og_site_name":"Founders Network","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/foundersnetwork","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/foundersnetwork","article_published_time":"2021-10-13T07:42:36+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-01-22T11:44:44+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1440,"height":805,"url":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/peer_roundtable1_function_directory_image.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Founders Network","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@foundersnetwork","twitter_site":"@foundersnetwork","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Founders Network","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/do-you-need-a-cofounder\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/do-you-need-a-cofounder\/"},"author":{"name":"Founders Network","@id":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/#\/schema\/person\/43dcaba32d337824ec0ae8ee93c809fe"},"headline":"Knowing When You Need a Co-Founder (And How to Find a Good One)","datePublished":"2021-10-13T07:42:36+00:00","dateModified":"2022-01-22T11:44:44+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/do-you-need-a-cofounder\/"},"wordCount":608,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/do-you-need-a-cofounder\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/peer_roundtable1_function_directory_image.png","keywords":["do you need a cofounder"],"articleSection":["Founders Community"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/do-you-need-a-cofounder\/","url":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/do-you-need-a-cofounder\/","name":"Knowing When You Need A Co-Founder And How To Find A Good One- The Founders Network","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/do-you-need-a-cofounder\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/do-you-need-a-cofounder\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/peer_roundtable1_function_directory_image.png","datePublished":"2021-10-13T07:42:36+00:00","dateModified":"2022-01-22T11:44:44+00:00","description":"Do you need a cofounder to start a business? Or Will you gain a successful startup as a solo founder? Find out the answers here at Founder Network.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/do-you-need-a-cofounder\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/do-you-need-a-cofounder\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/do-you-need-a-cofounder\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/peer_roundtable1_function_directory_image.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/peer_roundtable1_function_directory_image.png","width":1440,"height":805,"caption":"do you need a cofounder founder network"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/do-you-need-a-cofounder\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Knowing When You Need a Co-Founder (And How to Find a Good One)"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/","name":"Founders Network","description":"founders helping founders","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/#organization","name":"Founders Network","url":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/FN-Logo-FB.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/FN-Logo-FB.jpg","width":400,"height":400,"caption":"Founders Network"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/foundersnetwork","https:\/\/x.com\/foundersnetwork","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/foundersnetwork\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/founders-network\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/foundersnetwork"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/#\/schema\/person\/43dcaba32d337824ec0ae8ee93c809fe","name":"Founders Network","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7d60e0b907919d57be7ab32e485cc1b650479f3a80de7182b160fa0cf87e6ab?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7d60e0b907919d57be7ab32e485cc1b650479f3a80de7182b160fa0cf87e6ab?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Founders Network"},"description":"Founded in 2011, Founders Network offers lifelong peer mentorship to over 600 tech startup founders globally. Our platform, programs and high-touch service facilitate authentic experience sharing, warm introductions and long-term professional relationships. Additional benefits include over $1M in startup discounts and mentorship from 50+ Institutional Investors. Members are located in San Francisco, New York City, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Toronto, London and other tech hubs. Each month our Membership Committee admits a new cohort of full-time tech founders who are nominated by an existing member.","sameAs":["http:\/\/foundersnetwork.com","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/foundersnetwork","https:\/\/x.com\/foundersnetwork"],"url":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/author\/foundersnetwork\/"}]}},"featured_image_data":{"src":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/peer_roundtable1_function_directory_image.png","alt":"do you need a cofounder founder network","caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20291"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20291\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20291"},{"taxonomy":"table_tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/table_tags?post=20291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}