Having a compatible co-founder is essential for a successful startup journey, so it is important to take the time to find the right person and make it official with a legal corporation and vesting agreement.

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  00:00

  Having a co-founder can be beneficial when starting a company, but it is possible to start a company alone.

  • Having a co-founder can increase productivity, provide moral support, and help brainstorm better ideas.
  • The best co-founder relationships balance each other out to help manage the highs and lows of the startup journey.
  • Having a co-founder provides emotional support, honesty, and pattern matching to success that you don't get from employees.
  • Successful startups typically have one person driving them over a period of decades.
  • It's important to remember that having a co-founder is beneficial when starting a company, but if one is not immediately available, it is possible to start a company alone.
  • Single founders with high conviction and technical ability can make progress on their idea without a co-founder and can bring on a great co-founder if the opportunity arises.
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  05:51

  Drew Houston's success with Dropbox was only possible after he found a co-founder, so if you have an idea, consider waiting until you have a co-founder before applying.

  • Drew Houston applied to Y Combinator with a solid idea for Dropbox, but was rejected until he found a co-founder, which led to the success of the company.
  • If you have absolute conviction in your idea and can make progress without a co-founder, go ahead and give it a shot, otherwise wait until you have one.
  • Look for close friends or people you've worked with before who can handle stress and have similar goals and values when considering co-founders.
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  08:56

  Have a conversation about goals and values to find a compatible co-founder for a successful startup journey.

  • Understand motivations and goals when talking to someone about starting a business to avoid conflicting goals.
  • It is acceptable to have different motivations for starting a company, whether it be to take it public or to build great software for a small group of people.
  • Having a conversation about goals and values can help find a compatible co-founder for a successful startup journey.
  • It's more important to find a co-founder you trust and like working with than one with the perfect set of skills.
  • Bring on a co-founder with complimentary skills, even if they don't have the perfect set of skills, as long as they are willing to learn.
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  13:22

  Look for potential co-founders among your friends, colleagues, and school/community projects to find great startup ideas.

  • Look for co-founders among your friends and colleagues, even when you're not actively looking for one.
  • Look for people to do interesting projects with in your school or community.
  • Working on projects in your spare time can help you find great startup ideas and build successful companies.
  • Look for people to work on projects with to get a sense of who you work well with and who could be a potential co-founder.
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  16:40

  Make a list of potential co-founders, ask each one to grab coffee, and if they say no, ask them who they would start a company with and repeat the process.

  • To find a great co-founder, make a conscious effort to connect with potential co-founders before starting a company.
  • People can be reluctant to ask people they know to start a company with them due to potential risks.
  • Make a list of potential co-founders, ask each one to go grab coffee, and if they say no, ask them who they would start a company with and repeat the process.
  • Go out and meet people with similar interests to find potential co-founders.
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  20:25

  Sacrifice some time to work together and decide if you want to become co-founders with a 50/50 equity split for long-term success.

  • Agree to allocate a chunk of time to work together, build a prototype, and pitch customers, then have an honest conversation to decide if you both enjoy working together and make the leap.
  • Sacrifice some time to work together on an idea to determine if you want to start a company and become co-founders.
  • Default equity split should be 50/50 to ensure both founders are equally motivated to work on the company.
  • Don't optimize the short term and make the best decision in the long term by making a great potential co-founder a 50-50 equity partner to keep them motivated and get the most out of them.
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  24:40

  Don't start a company together if both of you want to be the CEO; instead, find someone who doesn't care about the title and have conversations around equity split and CEO.

  • Early on in a startup, the CEO title doesn't matter much, but it can be important for sales.
  • Having a CEO when pitching investors is beneficial, but can lead to co-founder friction.
  • Be honest with yourselves and don't start a company together if both of you want to be the CEO, instead find someone who doesn't care about that role and have conversations around equity split and CEO.
• 📝
  27:28

  Once you and your co-founder have committed to building a company together, it's time to make it real by setting up a legal corporation and vesting agreement.