How to find co-founders?
I have approached friends and family about my idea, but none of my friends are really into business like I am. Also, I come from a family of zero business owners. I'm starting college at a university, and I hope I can come across motivated people that have a passion for building successful companies.
I've read a lot of answers on this site from business owners/founders themselves. What advice can you give me in terms of finding a co-founder?
5 Answers
Join college clubs: When you start at university you will find lots of clubs--many of them will include people who share your interest in creating businesses. Who knows maybe even an entrpereneurs club where everyone because membersof onStartups and asks/answers and dusccesses the activity of this board. What -- none? Then start it! :)
Join business associations: The town that hosts your university may have a SCORE, or a Rotary, or a Toastmasters, or a BI -- or some other business group. I bet they would be overjoyed to see a fresh young face in their midst. Earn your way in (see the next point), and you will have a great group of friends, advocates and supporters within 4 years.
Volunteer: The next four years you have a great asset-- your enthusiasm and time. Even if you are working while you are attending University-- find the time to volunteer. By giving you create the opportunity to receive.
Intern: I bet that you can earn academic credit toward your degree doing Internships at local startups. Find out. Go to the career center. Find a cool adviser. Get involved and try out a couple. Figure out what you like, and what you don't like. Intern with a startup associated with a Univeristy allumni.
And through all of this don't forget your number one job for the next four years -- getting a great education. Which of course includes networking with the right people, getting practical experience, and making great lifelong friends. Just don't forget there is actually some pretty good stuff happening in the classrooms and labs as well.
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+1 for volunteering and interning – Tim J 13 years ago
College sounds like the perfect place to find future co-founders. Just hang out, meet as many people as you can, interact, and see who delivers over time, not just speaks the loudest.
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And try to work with possible co-founders in teams on group assignments. You will get a good idea of how they perform under pressure, whether they do their fair share of the work, how smart they are... etc. – Susan Jones 13 years ago
Check out sites like techcofounder.com and programmermeetsdesigner.com
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This sounds like bad advice to me - you don't generally want to find a startup partner from the internet - because you don't know the person. – Jrg 13 years ago
It's not always tough to find co-founders, but to find competent ones. Like everyone suggested, you'll have plenty of groups in college to meet new people interested in the same venture as you. You can also join groups outside of schools on websites like meetup.com. There are plenty of groups that are interested in networking and startups. You just have to pick the right people in those groups.
Network with as many people as possible in college. I joined a fraternity, and it was a Brother of mine from a different university who approached me with the idea after we had gotten to know one another. Today, we are both co-founders of a potentially successful healthcare startup. Also, don't listen to rumors or gossip about people: I was close to one guy from a different university who I ended up hearing really bad things about and ended up slowly losing touch. He and I never had any problems, I just didn't want to associate myself with him after hearing the rumors. Today, he just sold his business to Chegg and is doing very well for himself. You never know who will become successful in this day and age.
