[HenryTheHorse]

Before you seek idea validation and ask business plan questions, may I suggest you spend time understanding the co-founders?

It's not that ideas don't matter, but from my own personal experience, ALL startups over-estimate the uniqueness of the idea and under-estimate the effort and capital required to go to market.

So ask yourself these questions:

#1: Can I work with these 2 idea guys for the next 2-3 years? Are they the kind of co-workers I'd enjoy working with? What do they bring to the table that I don't?

#2: what do I know about their perseverance, fortitude and willingness to work? This is hard to prove or establish objectively, so answer this question honestly.

#3: Do you trust and respect the co-founders? Do they understand marketing and finance? Do you guys "jam well" with each other?

#4: How are they painting the picture of the future? Is it all yachts, expensive cars and visions of cashing out? Pay attention to that language carefully and then see if you believe in it.

#5: Are your co-founders former entrepreneurs? If not, I'd suggest you wait it out. You want partners who have experienced the pains of managing tight cash-flows, living without paychecks for 6 months or more.

[gregthompsonjr]

So, I think they actually do suit what you're painting as ideal partners. I used to go to one's parties back in college. He's working his way up in his field and doing well -- he's a hustler, which is something I can appreciate. We all come from the same place (let's just say we're definitely not rich and we definitely always had to worry about getting robbed and/or killed going home from work/school growing up). The tenacity is there.

But they're talking 5 years of commitment. Tech experience isn't something they have, but I know that at least one has entrepreneurial experience (just hasn't exited or anything). Again, he hustles.

Definitely talk about yachts and painting the picture of there being far less in our lives than there "will" be after building this app.

[HenryTheHorse]

> Tech experience isn't something they have

Do you mean they haven't worked in communications or technology industry? That's a big red flag. Your team will have a STEEP learning curve.

It's exceedingly rare - if not impossible - to see a startup team move into a new industry without industry experience AND capital.

My suggestion to you would be to let this opportunity pass.

[gregthompsonjr]

One works in film, the other is an electrical engineer who doesn't know how to write code.

[HenryTheHorse]

Entrepreneurship isn't "We're going to defy ALL odds". You only pick the odds you can take on with your capital, time, effort and talent. If you win, you get to pick the next set of odds and so on.

Right now, it sounds like your team will have to learn entrepreneurship, product management (which is not the same as software development), software marketing, finance, sales, raising capital, alliances etc etc.

That's a LOT OF odds.

[gregthompsonjr]

Just thinking about all I have to learn alone causes an anxiety attack.