[l0gicpath]

Even better, get a designer as a co-founder. Specially for startups bootstrapping.

Really good designers are hard to find/likely already occupied or juggling multiple projects at a time. IMHO, design is a never ending process.

You'll hire a good designer if you get lucky at your early days but then retaining them becomes exceptionally hard. I've found that having them onboard as a co-founder seems to be the best way to work through this.

[moeedm]

What irks me about a lot of startups is that they put a lot, i f not all the importance on Engineering talent — which is great, but if your attitude towards Design is "Oh we'll hire a contractor" or download something like this, then you will watch your competitors race past you.

Companies like Square, Stripe value design, and it shows because they ultimately make better products that people want to use.

If you have a startup, find design talent. They are out there and itching to make the next big thing.

[rocco]

Any idea where to find a good designer co-founder? I have finished code of my startup idea few months ago and currently I am still stuck cause my crappy web design skills.

[dylanrw]

They're everywhere. Pay attention to the products/projects you admire. Look for Dribbbler's that also discuss goals instead of just aesthetics, and also try and find the design posts/comments that are made on HN. They exist but I feel the good ones are an elusive bunch that are often considered/confused with engineers (and maybe that's because good thinking is just good thinking and isn't confined to one profession, but I digress...)