[mamitas]

On the flip side (to most of the comments here) I've done 2 failed startups as a cofounder and feel that things might have gone better if I just did it solo.

Both of these were with people I knew for a while and initially had good chemistry with - but it ended up going sour over ultimately product/idea differences (both over 3 year stretches). I feel I did most of the work anyway (development work in a deep tech startup) and the sales/business partner basically just walked away with the biggest clients (since they were the face of the company as far as the client was concerned).

The next startup I do, I'll just pay for sales/consulting with cash, rather than cofounder equity.

[ryanwaggoner]

The other person might feel the same way: “in the end I did most of the work of getting actual paying customers, the other cofounder just wrote some code...next time I’ll just hire someone to do the coding”

Not saying you should do things any differently than planned next time, but we coders have an outsized view of our value sometimes. You can pretty easily hire someone to write code if you have the cash. But being able to bring in actual cash for a brand new product (especially one that doesn’t exist yet) is actually pretty rare.

I’m a coder myself, but if I could wave a magic wand and make myself an awesome sales person instead, I’m not sure what I’d do. I’d sit and contemplate that wand for a long time.

[mamitas]

Moot point - well obviously the other person would feel differently - who wouldn't?

Although that argument only works if you stereotype things completely. On one side we have a savvy outspoken salesman and on the other a shy introvert coder. And each thinks the other is completely replaceable. Kind of black/white don't you think?

Thats sort of the VC mental model i.e. the mantra that more people in the team makes it more likely that the startup has the entire skillset needed to create a successful business. On the other hand - one of the top reasons for startups failing is cofounder disputes. So difficult to say - are more founders less or more risky? :)

Most serial founders I know are actually pretty good at multiple things - experience and endless pitches will often do that to you.

[ryanwaggoner]

I think that was my point, though poorly made. Hiring someone to just do that negligible bit of sales and marketing seems a little dismissive, and much harder in practice than someone might think. Better to stick with a cofounder or develop those skills yourself.

[sk5t]

> You can pretty easily hire someone to write code if you have the cash

Perhaps if you have quite a gigantic pile of cash. In most cases, trying to outsource your company's core product development is a recipe for very severe disappointment. The technical cofounder's role is to understand absolutely as much about the business as possible, and constantly integrate that evolving knowledge into the product. It's not really a job that stops and there is almost no way to compensate someone by the hour to do it... without a dragon's hoard to start.

[ryanwaggoner]

Yes, but all that is just as true for the role of actually getting someone to fork over money. Witness the huge graveyard of interesting ideas built by talented engineers who can’t sell or market to save their lives.