Hello Entrepreneurs,
Continuing from the last post ( if you missed it in the mail, please check my substack page ), where I shared why co-founders are the most important link of any startup. Today we will see
Where To 🔍 Look for Co-Founders?
So without waiting much let’s dive into the process of finding the Co-Founder.
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Where To Look for Co-Founders?
By now you should have a good understanding of why you should look for a co-founder and how to find a co-founder that complements you and your company, but you’re probably wondering where to find this person.
As we touched on earlier, the best place to start looking for a co-founder is within your personal network. People you’ve worked with, gone to school with, or are friends with make good co-founders because you already have an idea of their personalities and skills and understand how they could fit with you and your company.
However, if you can’t find a co-founder within your personal network, there are other channels to meet one through. These include social networks, co-founder matchmaking sites, startup-oriented online communities, events and conferences, and special programs like startup incubators and startup accelerators.
As you consider how to find a co-founder for your startup, keep in mind that the best time to start looking for a co-founder is before you find yourself in the position of absolutely having to find a co-founder. This allows you to meet the perfect founding partner organically, rather than rushing into a partnership that could be less than ideal and end up hurting your business.
Personal Network
1) Friends
One of the most natural places to start identifying potential co-founders is within your circle of friends. Think about your close friends and make notes of who you think it would be cool to work on a startup project with and why.
Make sure any of your friends who you think you could work on a business idea with have the characteristics you should look for in a co-founder mentioned in the last Newsletter edition. Just because someone is your friend and you get along with them doesn’t mean they would make a good co-founder, and going into business with the wrong friend could ruin your friendship.
2) Friends of Friends
Once you’ve evaluated your own circle of friends and identified potential co-founders, you can start looking beyond your close friends. Friends of friends who you might not know as well, but still have a personal connection to, are another potential source of business partners.
For example, perhaps your best friend knows someone who is always working on some type of entrepreneurial project or who is studying coding. You could ask your friend to introduce you to the person and get to know them to see if they might be a good fit to work on a startup with.
3) University
If you’re in university, it’s a perfect time to start looking for a co-founder for a future startup, especially if you already know you want to start your own company either during or after you finish studying.
Try to get to know people in your classes and social circles who have certain skills and traits that you would look for in a co-founder. Ask them if they would ever be interested in starting a company down the road to get a feel for who might be open to being your future company’s co-founder.
4) Previous Jobs
Colleagues from jobs you’ve had are another great type of personal contact to consider for finding a co-founder.
Think back to people you worked with (or are currently working with) and come up with a list of people you consider intelligent, capable, and skilled enough to be your business partner. Reach out to them and ask them to go for a coffee. Tell them you’re thinking of launching a startup and are looking for people who would be interested in getting onboard as your co-founder.
Social Networks
5) Twitter
Social media platforms, like Twitter, provide opportunities to connect with like-minded people outside your own personal circles.
To find a co-founder on Twitter, try searching using certain hashtags related to startups or the industry you want to found a company in. This will pull up threads of Tweets, which you can browse through to identify interesting individuals. Then, message them directly to introduce yourself and start a conversation.
However, the best way to get to know people on Twitter is organically, which you can do by Tweeting often, interacting with people who follow you and Retweet or reply to your Tweets, and replying to others’ Tweets. When you do these types of activities regularly, you might end up connecting with your future co-founder completely by accident.
6) Reddit
Reddit has a subreddit dedicated to finding co-founders: r/cofounder. Try posting on this subreddit to get in contact with other entrepreneurs who are also looking for co-founders. Clearly state who/what you are looking for to help narrow down the search.
There are also tons of other subreddits dedicated to startups, business, and certain industries/sectors, so it’s worth checking out some of these other areas of Reddit as well.
7) LinkedIn
Since LinkedIn is a social networking site strictly for professionals, it’s another great place to look for your co-founder.
Try joining different LinkedIn groups related to your industry or startups in general to connect with people who might be interested in working on a project together. If you’re looking for a co-founder with a specific set of skills, you can also join groups related to that particular area of expertise.
Another way to find a co-founder on LinkedIn is to post about your search for a partner. Someone already in your network might be interested or can connect you with someone in their network who is.
Matchmaking Sites
8) YC Co-founder Matching Platform
YCombinator, the world’s largest startup accelerator, offers a free Co-Founder Matching Program.
Sign up for this service and create a profile to get matched with potential co-founders based on your preferences, including interests, skills, location, and more.
YCombinator pre-screens thousands of founders to help ensure quality matches. You can browse through all the profiles that match your preferences and send messages to connect with anyone whose profile interests you.
9) CoFoundersLab
CoFoundersLab is another network for entrepreneurs seeking co-founders, as well as mentors and advisors.
The network of over 35,000 individuals offers a free plan that lets you connect with up to five potential co-founders each month. There are also paid plans that allow you to connect with more people and place your profile higher in search results for other founders.
10) StartHawk
StartHawk’s online platform is dedicated to helping startup founders meet their co-founders. To get started, create a free profile on the site and enter details about yourself and your business idea.
After your profile is complete, StartHawk’s algorithm shows you potential matches, who you can then message or add to your contacts. There are also filtering options to help you refine your co-founder match results even further.
StartHawk also offers a paid pro plan that gives you unlimited messaging and makes your profile more visible in search results.
Online Communities
11) Indie Hackers
Indie Hackers is an online community for entrepreneurs. The community has a special group called Looking to Partner Up, which is dedicated to helping entrepreneurs find business partners.
Indie Hackers groups function a bit like subreddits or other social media threads, with users being able to create and comment on posts to connect with other members.
So, you could create a post describing a bit about your company/idea and the type of co-founder you’re looking for to try and meet a match among Indie Hacker’s 16,000-strong community.
12) FoundersList
FoundersList is another online community for entrepreneurs. If you’re in the market for a co-founder, try creating a profile on FoundersList and go to the platform’s dedicated co-founders page. There you can filter through a list of people looking for co-founders by location, business stage, and co-founder type.
FoundersList also has plenty of other startup groups where you can take part in discussions and connect with other entrepreneurs, so there are a lot of potential ways to meet a co-founder on the site. The platform also maintains a list of in-person events, so you may be able to find an event near you to network with people face to face.
13) The Founder Institute
The Founder Institute was founded in 2009 by serial entrepreneur Adeo Ressi and his colleague Jonathan Greechan. The company has played an important role in assisting entrepreneurs in making their ideas a reality.
The institute has aided the launch of over 6,500 businesses in over 200 cities across six continents by providing the structure, feedback, and support network required at the early stages of starting a business. The programme arose from the founders' experience running TheFunded.com, where they identified a resource gap for entrepreneurs in the idea and launch stages.
14) Events & Conferences
Startup-focused events and conferences are another great forum to meet a potential co-founder. There are even founder “speed dating” events that aim to connect co-founders in person.
If you live in or near a local city, chances are there are regular monthly events that you can attend. Just do a quick Google search for startup events and conferences near you and put them on your calendar!
15) Incubators & Accelerators
Startup accelerators and startup incubators are great places to meet business partners because you’ll be working side-by-side with other founders, as well as mentors and advisors who may be able to connect you to co-founders outside of the program.
When you’re working in the shared office space of an incubator or accelerator, make the effort to get to know others who are there and ask them about what they’re working on.
You might find someone who has a similar idea to yours and decide to combine forces, or you might meet someone who’s working on something that could complement your idea and form a business partnership to integrate your products.
Both startup accelerators and incubators are excellent options to help you get your startup off the ground, but there are some key differences that you should be aware of.
The biggest difference is that accelerators are usually highly competitive and require you to have an MVP to even be considered for acceptance. Incubators, on the other hand, are much more relaxed and are more suited to startups that are just in the idea stage.
So, the stage your startup is in when you’re looking for a co-founder can help guide your decision about whether a startup incubator or accelerator may be a good place to find your future partner.
There is more, but my substack account is prompting
So will continue on this topic in the next edition of the newsletter.