[edw519]

I am in the exact same boat, so I don't have many answers, just more questions.

I think I'm 60% complete, but who's to say?

I have coded everything just the way I want, what if the next person has better ideas?

What about equity? I've put too much into this to keep less than 50%.

I would love some help, but I don't want to compromise anything.

Actually, you're ahead of me. You have someone in mind. Every potential co-founder I consider doesn't even come close.

Just thought you'd like to know you're not alone. I'm interested in others' opinions as well.

[mattmaroon]

It would be pretty strange for you to give a cofounder more than 50% equity.

[ph0rque]

I'm in the same boat as you and as lanceusa, although I am probably 90% done with the alpha. Maybe at this stage, it's better to finish the prototype by yourself, and at that point try to get funding? Once you have funding (or can afford to self-fund, which I can't), just hire the person with the tech skills that you need, instead of giving equity? Just my two cents.

[edw519]

Pretty good two cents. I have a feeling that's what will happen.

I often remember the words of Felix Dennis who says he'll do just about anything to succeed---except give up equity. That advice runs counter to much of the thinking here. Then again, Dennis is a billionaire. His book, How to Get Rich, is one of my favorites. (How could you not love, "Money did not make me happy. But it definitely improved my sex life."?)

[webwright]

I think that's LOUSY 2 cents. Take the top 200 sites (by traffic) and show many how many have a single founder.

The number to optimize is your chance of getting ANY payday- not your percentage of ownership. Would you trade 50% of your company to increase your chance of success from 2.1% to 4.2%? I have no idea what those numbers are (but I suspect that a co-founder more than doubles your shot at success)... But if you're more concerned with personal wealth than having a successful company, you're already a step behind.

If you think you'll just run out and get some funding so you can "hire" a partner, you should consider that savvy investors are thinking one of two things:

1) This guy either isn't persuasive enough or doesn't have a good enough idea to get a co-founder, OR

2) This guy is jealously guarding his equity, when he could add 50 hours a week of free and passionate labor from someone with a (hopefully) complementary skillset OR

3) This guy isn't smart enough to know that he doesn't have all of the skills and answers to pull off v1 of this thing.

[edw519]

You can add:

4) The guy is cautious because he has been burnt before. Every cofounder he has had has in previous ventures has either: failed to fully commit, failed to perform, reneged on their agreement, suffered personal tragedy, or died.

Just because someone doesn't have a co-founder doesn't mean that it must be 1, 2, or 3. Personally, I'm tired of hearing #1 - I've always thought it was without logic.

And don't forget - it's a lot easier to find co-founders when you're still in school with like minded people with time on their hands. Things get a lot tougher when your peers (if you can find any) have families and mortgages. Not being able to miss a paycheck is a tough hurdle to overcome.

Finding a co-founder is more like getting married than dating. I'd much rather be alone than be with the wrong person. I'll either find the right person or launch alone. In the meantime, I keep working.

If you have a good team, consider yourself very fortunate! You've already completed a hurdle that others struggle with through no fault of their own. So they keep on working and reaching out to groups like this. OP is looking for suggestions, not a diagnosis of what's wrong with him from a stranger.

[webwright]

Heh-- I'm not saying that people who don't find co-founders are wrong/stupid/bad.

I am saying that people who don't WANT to find co-founders are generally (IMO) misguided and should reconsider.

FWIW, me and my 38 year old co-founder found our 30 year old co-founder 6 months back. I know how hard it is and how scary it is (we all set aside really lucrative jobs). I agree with you about the marriage analogy.

But, sticking with that analogy-- having bad spouses in your past is a pretty lousy reason to swear off of dating. ;-)

[ph0rque]

You said it much more elegantly than I could. To add to reasons why it's hard to find a co-founder, it's harder to find a hacker co-founder when you've just started on the path to hackerdom, as is my case.

[edw519]

Yes, I didn't even get that far. This may be the biggest hurdle. Of all the hackers I've ever met, I wouldn't even approach 99%. I've seen their work.

I know 2 rock stars who are local and I've worked with before that I would love to be with now. One is laid up after a horrible motorcycle accident and the other is going through a nasty divorce. Lunch and phone calls, yes. Co-founders, no.

Interestingly enough, I'm corresponding off-line with several people from this board. Who knows, maybe that will lead somewhere.

Willie Sutton robbed banks because "that's where the money is". Do you think if he was a lonely hacker, he'd be here now?

[eusman]

he sais he doesnt have someone in mind, so taking the risk to do it on his own is an indication at least of passion.

[lanceusa]

Points well taken