Co-Founder Questions

What are the pros and cons of starting a business alone versus with cofounders? How many founders are too many?

3 Votes
9 Answers
2.89K Views
Startup Offer. Critical details

I have been approached by someone, who I'll call "Big Executive", who is recruiting a small number of people for a Startup. My particular role would be 1 of a few to develop a software system. I've...

asked Nov 11 '09 at 21:29
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Dan Mc Grath
118 points

3 Votes
8 Answers
3.75K Views
Why Do co-founders fight?

Its said that the one of the top reason startups fail is because of fight between co-founders. What are the reasons co-founders fight? 1: clash of ideas 2: not doing their part what else can you...

asked Nov 18 '09 at 04:00
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Syed
445 points

0 Votes
2 Answers
1.97K Views
Request for Feedback: scaling up to a larger founder team

(Disclaimer: x-posted from my blog) I think a Silicon Valley founder team could scale up to 4-6 founders if it followed these guidelines: Adopt an authoritarian style, so you can make decisions...

asked Nov 18 '09 at 16:30
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The Rational Entrepreneur
43 points

4 Votes
9 Answers
3.28K Views
Do friends make good co-founders?

When starting a new company, it is curial to get the right team in place, or the business will never go anywhere. While it is possible to go at it alone, co-founders can be a great asset, if they...

asked Oct 25 '09 at 04:14
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Ron Ga
2,181 points

13 Votes
6 Answers
3.96K Views
How does a technical person evaluate an MBA-type business partner?

I've read a lot of questions asking about how an MBA can find a technical person to implement their idea, but I haven't seen the other direction. As a technical person, I know that I can get my...

asked Oct 27 '09 at 05:37
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Paul Mc Millan
601 points

3 Votes
11 Answers
4.27K Views
Does a small startup really *need* someone with an MBA?

Inspired by this question, I want to know if people think a small startup (3-5 people) actually needs someone with an MBA. Especially if the group has reasonably diverse skills and isn't going the...

asked Oct 27 '09 at 08:30
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Gabriel Hurley
785 points

2 Votes
9 Answers
3.27K Views
Non-technical person considering learning programming or should I not?

I have a bunch of ideas and before the fire department comes to doubt the potential fire from this statement I realize I have to narrow the bunch down to one and take it past an idea. Ideas aren't...

asked Oct 27 '09 at 16:15
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Jaret Manuel
76 points

31 Votes
7 Answers
28.9K Views
How to split up revenue between partners who contribute different amounts of work

My co-founder and I will soon launch a micro ISV. Our current agreement states that we split ownership 50-50. However, since we reached the ownership agreement the amount of work we have put into...

asked Oct 29 '09 at 21:29
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Steve French
621 points

2 Votes
8 Answers
2.99K Views
Approaching Programming/Project Managemenet from a non-technical perspective?

I recently asked a question of should I start dabbling into programming or should I stick to what I am good at: Sales, Marketing, Planning, Presentations, etc. The feedback was overwhelmingly...

asked Oct 30 '09 at 22:35
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Jaret Manuel
76 points

4 Votes
6 Answers
2.58K Views
Where do you the draw the line making compromises with your business partner?

I started working on a SaaS application with a friend of 30 years 9 months ago. The original idea came from me and my friend/partner/CTO helped with the development of the application. Throughout...

asked Oct 18 '09 at 04:50
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Arman Arami
399 points

4 Votes
8 Answers
3K Views
Have you met your co-founder?

How many of you have a co-founder in another country that you've never met in person? Is this plausible for a startup? An example of this is DHH from 37signals but I don't know any other so I...

asked Oct 13 '09 at 00:42
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Tiago
333 points

2 Votes
6 Answers
6.22K Views
Should a founder be a C-level executive of his startup?

Considering the fact that a startup usually happens because of a founder's initial vision. Is it a good idea to have a founder as one of the C-level executives of a startup company?. What...

asked Oct 13 '09 at 04:42
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Anup
547 points

2 Votes
3 Answers
2.79K Views
Several web projects with different co-founders under one company

I've been working on several web applications of my own. For each web app I have different co-founders and I own more than 70% of each app. I decided to incorporate a company (in BC, Canada) for...

asked Oct 14 '09 at 05:15
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Boolean
388 points

5 Votes
10 Answers
3.32K Views
How to compensate people that contributed code

Two classmates and I worked on a class project together a few months ago. The outcome was very good. I continued to work on it over the past few months, while the other two partners haven't done...

asked Oct 10 '09 at 14:20
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Stapler Scissor
96 points

17 Votes
8 Answers
3.9K Views
If my founder is losing interest

A few months into the startup and I have a feeling my founder is losing interest/passion/ability to put large amounts of time into the business. The reason this is tough, is because he's the...

asked Oct 14 '09 at 00:33
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Ryan Graves
86 points

22 Votes
20 Answers
12.9K Views
How do I find a technical co-founder?

One of my friends is starting a company and he's looking for a technical co-founder to work with him to build a web app. Where should he look for technical co-founder? Some more details: He is a...

asked Oct 10 '09 at 09:09
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Nivi
157 points