If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys

[puente]

Hi there!

Where do I find “good” programmers in the Valley? Is there a newspaper, a forum, blog, cafeteria, event, etc get in contact with good programmers?

I will hopefully move soon to the Valley to found a company. I’m a programmer myself, but I will need some help. 1 or 2 good programmers that I can trust will do. They will obviously get a portion of the company! Motivation is everything, and unfortunately salary won’t be high at the beginning.

The problem is that I live abroad and I don’t know too much people there. I know a lot of “good” programmers but they all live abroad. I guess they won’t be able to come to the US due to the green card!

So how do I get in touch with “good” programmers in the Valley?

Thanks in advanced!

[us]

1. Skills are subjective to whomever is interviewing and just because they got the coding chops does not mean they're a good fit for you or your company. This is something you must do in person. Online chats can only take you so far. People here have a hard enough time finding solid coders in person, if you think you'll luck out by finding someone you can work well after a few online chats, you're walking a thin line.

2. The best source for recruiting people are face to face interactions and personal recommendations from people you actually know. Outside of this, you're taking a wild stab in the dark.

3. I don't see any solid value proposition that you're providing that any other given person seeking a cofounder hasn't already provided aka low wage + equity. What's new?! Worse, you're not even a US Citizen and the Startup VISA movement hasn't actually happened so in order for you to get your green card status, you may need to come here to work on a sponsorship first. That leaves a lot of iffy rooms for anyone wanting to jump on board.

I'm sure I left out a bunch of other stuff I could be ranting about but if you want to find talented people, get your butt overhere and do it in person.