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03/23/11 | Uncategorized

Why You Can(‘t) Recruit A Technical Cofounder

By Jennifer Chin (Co-Founder, LaunchBit)
As a co-founder of LaunchBit, I’ve met plenty of non-technical people who want to launch web companies. Almost without a doubt, these people are all looking for technical co-founders to help them bring the dream to life. Unfortunately, finding a technical co-founder is not easy.

So, we at LaunchBit decided to poll potential technical co-founders to find out what was going through their heads when a non-technical person pitches them an idea. What would it take to convince a technical person to join your team? What should you say and what should you not say?

We compiled the responses in our blog post entitled Why you can(‘t) recruit a technical cofounder and some important factors and huge pet peeves became evident. For example, if you don’t have a prior connection with a potential technical co-founder or if you aren’t in the same location, not a big deal. However, if your idea is just all talk right now, you better watch out!

An overwhelmingly large portion of potential technical co-founders considered a validated idea a top priority.

  • Do you have customers already?
  • Do you have an eager audience ready to pay for your product or service?
  • Do you have a realistic business model?
  • Do you really understand why your product or service is different from companies that are already out there?

Without answers to these questions, you’re likely to get no more than a polite nod and blank smile.

Fortunately, these are all questions that a non-technical person can answer without a technical co-founder.

LaunchBit is hosting a second 10 week online course on how to start a web business where we will show you actionable steps that you can take immediately to start finding and understanding your customers, building landing pages, driving traffic, and validating your idea. There will be plenty of case studies to help you get going.

Women 2.0 members save 10% on LaunchBit Classroom with discount code “WOMEN2” here.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me at hello@launchbit.com and I hope to see you in class!

About the guest blogger: Jennifer Chin has previously built profitable micro web businesses, including Shiny Orb and DressMob. She has designed graphics and websites for startups, athletes, universities, and orchestras. Jennifer holds a B.A. in Chemistry and Physics from Harvard University and a PhD in Materials Science & Engineering from MIT.

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