Ask HN: Advice for a rising Junior in College

2 points by HoyaSaxa ↗ HN
This is my first post to HN, and honestly I'm not sure why it has taken so long. I've been following Y-combinator, techcrunch, and internet startups in general for a couple years now and I would consider this my "passion." However, with my major (Finance and Operations and Information Management) I find myself pressured towards the investment banking world. I know that might sound stupid. Yes I'm in college; I have my whole life ahead of me, but simply put I'm torn. It seems that Georgetown is an incubator for investment bankers, not budding entrepreneurs. I have started my own company and have been an executive of another $16 million dollar (asset) company so I definitely have some experience, but the former I would not label as successful. In fact, I would label it as a failure for all the hours I put into it, and the meager output of cash flows. But I am very glad I did it because it has been the greatest learning experience of my life and I now know exactly what not to do (like bank on ads for a revenue stream). I have lots of really good ideas, and I have even narrowed down what my next venture would be, but I don't think I could do it on my own. I am definitely more of the business side and think my strengths include my networking ability, problem solving skills, and finance know how. I know a decent amount of php, html, css, javascript, sql, but I would think my time would be better well served on the business side. Sorry for all of the "stream of consciousness" but I felt it would be helpful in answering my question.

Here is (finally) my question:

How do I find a partner? I think this might be one of the most important decisions of any entrepreneur, especially with my prior experience with a half-ass dedicated co-founder. More specifically, where should I look for a partner that is a developer? Unfortunately, not many (if any) of my friends fall under this category. Thanks for your advice and suggestions, Chris

1 comment

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I don't know of a specific site to find a partner, but just become active on sites like this and make new connections. Should be plenty of talent in DC as well with companies like livingsocial and blackboard. Trust me do what you enjoy and things will work out. Looks like you have a very bright future ahead.