What I Need in a Co-Founder
I believe that I need a co-founder whose strengths are my weaknesses and vice versa. This would create an optimal pairing as we’d even each other out regarding any of our shortcomings. Based on this principle, I would want a co-founder who is very personable and is a good salesman. While I’m good with technology and financial figures, I struggle with picking up on subtle social signals and believe that someone with these skills would make up for my deficit. Also, this would help during investor pitches since they’d be able to pitch better while I can focus on the product.
Where I could find a Co-Founder
I believe that I can find a co-founder anywhere. As long as I have chemistry and complimenting skills with this person, it can be a successful partnership. Of course, it would be preferable to find someone with more experience, but it wouldn’t be a deal-breaker if they were inexperienced. If I were actively seeking a partner, I’d go to entrepreneurial Meetups (the app) as well as Mensa meetings to try and find like-minded people who share my passion for entrepreneurship.
Splitting Ownership
I would most likely split the company 50-50 with my co-founder unless I already started working on it and they were hopping into the venture late. In that case, it would most likely be between 60-40 and 75-25, depending on many variables.
Thoughts After Listening to Gimlet 3-5
After listening to Episodes 3-5, my opinion has not changed. If anything, Alex’s story confirmed my prior beliefs. He did this when stating that there is no right answer to equity. When discussing equity splits with various people, the widely varying answers made it clear that there is no correct answer, and it purely depends on the situation you’re in. He also confirmed my claim of finding someone whose strengths are your weaknesses by partnering with someone whose strengths were his weakness.