You’ve got this awesome idea for an app, something that you believe could totally blow up. But, you realize it’s a lot of work to build and market your app. It’s going to take months since you also have your day job.
So you decide to look for a cofounder.
Most people start by hitting up all the places you’d expect: going to events, posting online, and messaging people like crazy.
And here’s where it gets tricky.
This approach? It flops for a lot of SaaS founders out there. You end up meeting people, sure, but it’s like they’re speaking a different language, or they’re just not as into it as you hoped.
It’s frustrating when you’re looking for that perfect teammate, but just keep finding players who don’t really match your game.
Today, I’m going to discuss how to find the right cofounder for your SaaS in 4 simple steps.
Step 1: Identify Complimentary Abilities
Most people start the search without having a clear idea of what they’re looking for. Sure, your psychology needs to match. But, what’s even more important is finding a person that has the skills that you lack.
Why? Because a well-rounded team is the engine behind innovation and growth.
You need someone whose skills complete the puzzle of your startup’s needs.
If your superpower is being able to build the backend of your SaaS platform in your sleep, you need a partner that excels in customer acquisition and growth hacking.
Consider the story of Dropbox. Drew Houston, the tech-savvy founder, realized he needed a cofounder who could complement his engineering skills with business acumen.
Enter Arash Ferdowsi, who brought just that to the table.
Together, they turned Dropbox into a billion-dollar enterprise.
Step 2: Ask Around
I always tell my clients that they need to 10x their networking game from the very start of their SaaS journey.
There’s a solid reason behind it.
If you network with people that are successful, posses strong determination and great skills, they’ll always leave a positive impact on you.
Also, whenever you’re in need of something, they’re most likely to refer you to the best solution.
So when you have one such network of friends and peers, don’t be shy to ask them if they can recommend someone that you can talk to and see if it’s a match.
In my experience, the best recommendations come from people that you already know and are successful in their own industry.
Step 3: Have Long Talks
Once you’ve shortlisted 3–5 names, it’s time for the long talks.
Get to know that person, where they’re coming from and what’s their ambition in life.
When you’re confident that they possess most of the complimentary skills you desired, look into their humane side.
In my opinion, your potential cofounder should demonstrate the following human feats:
- Honesty and Transparency
- Mutual Respect
- Ambition
- Proactiveness
If you’re unsure what questions to ask the potential candidate, you can take help from this list.
Step 4: Do a Workshop Together
Further, test out the potential person with some workgroup exercises. It’s important that you align and compliment each other’s thinking.
As an example, work together to create a 1-year plan and divide up who owns which pieces. Do you naturally take on different pieces, or argue over the same pieces?
At some point, one of you is going to have to be the CEO, and the other take direction. Are you comfortable being the person to hire and fire, talk to investors, sign financial agreements?
If you’re not, then is the other person? Do you trust them that much that you will follow their lead?
One last tip: Whoever you end up with, remember, there won’t be a 100% agreement all the time. You should be mentally prepared for such scenarios. Never hold such disagreements to your heart and make an issue out of it later. Letting go is the way to go. 😉
Wrapping Up
Finding the right person may seem overwhelming, but if you follow the steps, it shouldn’t take long.
Spend lots of time meeting people, and don’t hesitate to ask your friends and professional buddies for suggestions on who might be a good match.
Once you have a few names, have deep chats to figure out if they’ve got the skills you need and if they share your dreams and goals.
And remember, it’s okay to not agree on everything all the time. What’s important is how you deal with those differences and keep pushing ahead as a team.
That’s it for today.
See you next week.
P.S: If you are a technical founder and don’t want to share equity with someone else, hire someone to take care of the marketing for you. If budget is an issue, grow organically till you reach 100 customers. You’ll need a content+ engagement system that’ll automatically bring you 10 warm leads/week.