How to get a (good) technical co-founder

As a technical founder / CTO, it's common for friends, past or current colleagues, internet friends, or a next-door neighbor to ask if I want to be part of their start-up and build this new idea they have.

With this article, my goal is to help you kick-start the process of finding the right person for your start-up - from the perspective of someone who fills that role.

I'll be sharing my thoughts/experiences and my approach as to how I assess these kinds of offers. Hopefully, this will give you some strategies to find the right person for the job.

First and foremost, let’s take a look at where you’re at in the start-up journey.

Do you have just an idea, or do you have some validation/traction as well?

With the abundance of no-code and low-code tools out there, it’s pretty easy for a non-technical person to validate the basic principals of an idea. There are a ton of great articles out there that help you check if it’s a good idea before spending the time building it.

A very simple and effective approach is to make a landing page, get a bit of unbiased traffic (e.g. not your friends and family), and see if anyone clicks on that 'buy' / 'sign-up' button. If no one is clicking it, find out why. If you get clicks - let them know you are pre-launch, capture their email and give them a discount when you launch.

It goes without saying that the opportunity is much more attractive to a potential co-founder / CTO if there are x email addresses in the database from potential customers. That validation takes away some of the risks and it also shows that you're a hustler who gets stuff done. The exact kind of person I want to be working with.

What kind of hands-on technical co-founder do you need?

This might sound like a silly question ... you just need someone who can code, right? I promise you that it's not that simple. There are many different tech stacks and more importantly, not everyone has the same interests. For example, I have no interest in building the next TikTok.

When you approach a potential CTO, let them know you're looking for someone who can code. Also, tell them what the idea is (do you really need that NDA … probably not). Ask questions and see if they have an interest in building it and be sure to check if they have built anything similar in the past.

How quickly do you want to grow the business?

When you are having a chat with a potential co-founder, make sure you are on the same page as to how much time you will both commit. Not everyone has the same amount of time for a side hustle.

I personally like to go all in - getting traction or failing quickly. I don't want to spend 18 months launching a product only to find out we don't have a good idea in the first place.

How to handle remuneration?

A great Developer / Technical Founder / CTO is not usually short of job opportunities in the 6 figure + range. If you want to work with one of the good ones, please value their time and effort.

It's pretty common for me to be offered 5% of a company (with no traction, validation, or funding) in exchange for my near full-time effort over 1-2 years. It's not a very attractive offer, that 5% may not be worth anything and I've given up a 6 figure salary to give it a go.

Paying the CTO probably isn't an option for most people, so make them an offer that is appropriate to the situation. If you only have an idea - it's not usually much without the execution (which you will both be part of).

Closing notes

The most important thing is that you both get along and you share the same vision going forward. You should be aligned when it comes to the source of funding, time commitments, and the desired outcome/exit strategy.