Finding a technical co-founder as a young entrepreneur?
I am looking for a technical co-founder to join myself and the other founder in the development of some software for a start-up with with a great market. The problem is I'm 16.
We both have some programming skills both nowhere near enough to do what we want to and the market we're going for is moving fast. We need to find someone but we don't think anyone will take us seriously because of our age. We don't want some guy to screw us over saying the source code is his because we never signed a contract(which we can't do because we're 16). Is it possible to be taken seriously or should we try to find a prodigy who's our age, or just slug it out and miss the window?
Software Co-Founder Development
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If you're able to come up with good ideas then that's great; can't learn that. But you can learn to code. If you start now, by the time you're 18-19, you'll be the technical person for whatever idea you come up with then if you start learning now. So you can use your current idea as a learning experience and may be by doing so you'll not only learn how to code but you'll also bump into programmers. You're only 16, your main resource is time: I recommend you can use it to learn to code. – Frenchie 11 years ago
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I'm always interested in new ideas. Check my profile for contact info. – Jgauffin 11 years ago
2 Answers
First off: I don't see that as a problem that you are 16. (Most) People will take you serious if you are serious about what you are doing regardless of your age.
To your main question. You don't need a technical co-founder right now. You need to learn how to code this thing your self, at least to get things off the ground. When it does come around to needing a technical co-founder you will have more experience and knowledge in how to hire someone passionate about your idea solid in there software experience.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1761530 A couple of side notes:
- I understand that speed is always an issue in online startups as things move very quickly, but trying bring on a co-founder that you may or may not like simply for technical skills can backfire. Passion is most important in an early startup as that's whats going to keep things burning long into the late nights.
- You already have 2 people (you and your friend) in this and thats a solid number to have right now. The more people you have early on in your startup the more people you are going to have to worry about. Also the more complicated it becomes to make quick and efficient decisions.
- I've heard good things about treehouse (http://teamtreehouse.com/ ) if your interested in more of a guided learning experience into the world of software development
I ask this question a lot and the answer that has made the most sense so far is ... you don't look for a co-founder, they look for you. Others will find you when you are demonstrating something interesting; whether it be some cool features, making money, etc.
That puts you in the driver's seat, and can decide whether the skills they bring to you are what you need.
As the other poster said, it's definately not about age. I worked for a unversity as a programmer when I was 15. It's more about being passionate about what you are doing, completing everything you say you will (just be careful to never over commit) and never giving up when it gets hard; and being in a start-up is hard because you must do everything yourself. It's great fun if you like great amounts of work.
