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Ask HN: Awesome founder looking for awesome-er co-founder

14 points by bherms ↗ HN
I've been working on a prototype for an idea that I've had for a while. I've been discussing the idea with investors, potential clients/beta testers, and have gotten almost unanimous positive feedback. The prototype is about 75% complete and I have potential investments lined up already. It's SaaS geared at restaurants and I know it has the potential to be big. I'm looking for a co-founder for a couple of reasons. First, having someone to bounce ideas off of and to get feedback from is great. I unfortunately don't have anyone technical at the moment that can refine and develop new ideas with me. I also want someone who can compliment my skills. I'm a developer, but have a lot to learn, so having another developer would be very beneficial. I'm also interested in getting into YC and having a co-founder will really help improve our chances. The app is being built in Ruby on Rails, so strong experience in that area is a must. I use jQuery for pretty much all javascript needs and that pretty much sums up the tech involved. I'm not a great designer, so having design chops would be a definite plus as well. Outside of technical requirements, you have to have a good sense of humor, like to have fun, and not take yourself or life too seriously. I'm laid back and goofy and won't work well with anyone who can't joke around and act stupid every once in a while.

A little info about me: I'm 24, live in Indianapolis (the closer you are to me, the better), and work full-time as a Rails developer. I camp, play music, rock climb, and like to travel and have fun.

If you're interested in being considered, drop me a line at brad@howas.it to tell me a little about yourself and we'll talk. Thanks!

any questions not specifically regarding what the app does will be answered in the comments

edit: forgot to mention... I've put in plenty of time and effort already, but split will be 50/50. I want you as personally invested as I am.

13 comments

[ 2.8 ms ] story [ 47.4 ms ] thread
swombat
edit: forgot to mention... I've put in plenty of time and effort already, but split will be 50/50. I want you as personally invested as I am.

Admirable and, imho, smart. One word of warning, though: set up a vesting schedule. Don't just give the 50% outright.

Since you've been at it longer you should start with more shares, but perhaps have your cofounder accrue shares faster so that within a year or two you'll be at 50/50 - but don't give 50% right off the bat with no protection for yourself against the risk of your cofounder just walking away...

jeffepp
I strongly suggest 51/49. Decision making with a 50/50 split is not fun. Lock-up agreements are generally pretty messy.

It's pretty clear you have already put in substantial work. I would assume a co-founder would be quite pleased with 40% at this stage.

bherms
Thanks for the advice guys... I hadn't thought about that stuff... Will edit taking that into account.
bherms
Can't edit, but I liked the suggestions below. 51/49 with the 49 being accrued on a vestment schedule that focuses on contribution and meeting deadlines. Clearly I don't want someone to jump in, sign away 50% of my company, and then have them do nothing without protection.
curt
Talk to some people at Rose-Hulman in Terre Haute I'm sure you can find a skilled undergrad there that would love to work with you also IU Bloomington has a pretty good PhD program in CS. Otherwise it's really hard to find skilled people in Indy most leave. Went to Rose-Hulman and then IU for grad school so I'm familiar with the difficulty. You might have to look towards Chicago, but most of the available good programmers got taken by Groupon.

Let me think about it, I might know some people (lived in B-town for quite a few years)

bherms
I went to Rose. class of 2008

You?

curt
Shoot me an email. If you plan on staying in Indy I know quite a few of the people you'll need to talk to: from investors to lawyers.
netmau5
Will be happy to bounce ideas with you and perhaps we can work together if it fits. I'm just starting with Rails but have tons of web dev experience in other languages. Expert in JS, decent by my own estimation at design. Email in profile if you'd like to chat.
sagacity
Sounds awesome! Congratulations on all achieved so far and all the best moving forward.

Your mention of the restaurants sector reminded me of one of one of our sites that we built (mainly for experimental purposes) a couple of years ago. You can take a look at it at convenience and let me know if it (the site) and/or the associated data could be of any use to your startup. I'll be glad to help however I can, under a 0/100 split (0 - me, 100 - you ;-)):

http://www.USRestaurantGuide.info

bherms
Whoa, thanks for this resource! You just gave me a possible client list for the entire country, haha.. My app is for restaurant owners and/or managers and I'll need to contact plenty. Thanks again!
sagacity
I had kind of thought so ;-)

Happy to help, whichever way I can.

codeslush
Before you go off and give ANY part of the company away, please do another AskHN post or see a startup lawyer or SOMETHING! You could easily screw things up at this stage that will affect you longer term (i.e. YC). Many startup lawyers will work on delayed charges (i.e. you pay $400 up front, rest of charges accrue and only become due on a funding event, etc...).

You sound like a great guy! I LOVE your attitude. Wish I was younger and closer to OH cause I would be happy to help.

bherms
I'm definitely going to run things by a lawyer before signing anything. I just want whoever I choose to know they're in it as much as I am and it's not like a "hey, jump on this with me and do tons of work for 10% because I had the idea" sort of thing. I want a committed partner, not an employee.