[adii]

I've done both and I can definitely attest that outsourcing the technical bits of your new startup is beyond tricky. It is however not impossible. The point here is that taking a technical co-founder onboard isn't your only option; it's totally possible for you to get to V1 (by outsourcing technical tasks), generate initial revenue and hiring a developer (with some equity) instead (as an example).

[ccozan]

Of course. There is also the third solution. With the vast amount of internet resources (think stackoverflow, etc) it possible for a founder to get to a alpha version 100% on his own. It is cheaper and sometimes more effective, because of missing managing overhead and lack of communication errors.

But in the end, yes, you have to deal with the dillema: hire or take someone on board, share the responsability and the earnings.

[a8da6b0c91d]

Why is everybody so eager to give away equity?

The big reason to not have a cofounder is because 100% of a two million dollar business can be life changing. Half of that is more like a feather in your cap.

Paul Graham and VC firms are looking for billion dollar businesses. 5% of such a company shared here and there doesn't matter so much. But those sorts of businesses present shitty expected value to a founder. You want full ownership of a higher probability bet.