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How to find a technical co-founder (for startup)

Ivana Vnučec Posted on January 31, 2024

How to find a technical co-founder who can transform your vision into a tangible, functional product?

Starting a tech-based business can be an exciting journey filled with limitless possibilities, but it often requires more than just a brilliant idea and a strong work ethic. Finding the right technical co-founder is a critical step in the early stages of your startup. In this blog post, we'll explore some strategies to help you identify and collaborate with the perfect partner who shares your passion and drive.

What is a technical co-founder?

First, let's be clear about what a technical co-founder is. A technical co-founder is an individual or an agency that plays a critical role in founding and launching a technology-based startup or company. They are typically responsible for the technical aspects of the business , including the development and management of the technology, software, and IT infrastructure.

The responsibilities of a technical co-founder typically include leading the development and maintenance of the company's core technology, making strategic decisions regarding technology choices and scalability, managing the technical team, and solving complex technical challenges. They play a pivotal role in transforming the startup's vision into a functional product or service, ensuring its quality, performance and, and overall business strategy.

When do you need a technical co-founder?

Technical expertise is vital for hiring a development team, planning the software's design, tracking progress, and more. If you have a start-up and you need technical knowledge, you might be considering hiring a technical co-founder. While part-time advisors can help, a technical co-founder is fully committed from the start and always available as your business grows.

If your start-up hinges on technology, you will need technical expertise for developing and maintaining these technical assets. Additionally, if your concept requires a prototype or a minimum viable product (MVP) to attract investors or customers, a technical co-founder can bring your idea to life, transforming it into a tangible offering.

As your business expands, technical challenges like scalability, security, and system optimization come to the forefront. A technical co-founder is vital in guiding and executing strategies to address these concerns effectively. They also play a central role in maintaining high product quality and driving innovation in a competitive market.

Moreover, if you struggle with making decisions about technology-related expenses and investments, hiring a technical co-founder might be a good solution to optimize the allocation of resources and ensure your business's success.

How to compensate tech co-founders?

Once when you decide to have a technical co-founder, the next question you want to ask is probably how to compensate them. Determining the ideal compensation structure for a technical co-founder is a pivotal decision. Your choice of compensation can depend on multiple factors, including the startup's stage, financial standing, the co-founder's role, and their experience.

Some options for compensation include:

Profit Sharing: Technical co-founders can receive a share of the company's profits in addition to or instead of a salary. This aligns their interests with the financial performance of the business.
Bonuses: Performance-based bonuses can be tied to achieving specific milestones or targets, encouraging co-founders to meet key objectives.
Deferred compensation: In cases where the startup has limited funds, deferred compensation allows co-founders to delay their salary until the company is more financially stable.
Sweat Equity: This refers to the co-founder's investment of time and effort into the startup, and in return, they receive equity without a financial investment.
Stock Options: Stock options provide the right to purchase shares at a specified price in the future. This is a common approach for early-stage startups, and co-founders often have vesting schedules that ensure they earn their options over time.
Intellectual Property Rights: In cases where the co-founder brings valuable intellectual property (IP) to the company, they may negotiate for licensing fees or IP ownership arrangements.
Regular salary: Some startups agree to hire co-founders as employees at a specified salary once the company achieves certain milestones or secures funding.

It's essential to customize the compensation package to the unique circumstances of the startup and the technical co-founder. The chosen method should reflect the co-founder's contribution, commitment, and the startup's financial position. Legal and financial professionals can provide valuable guidance when structuring non-traditional compensation arrangements.

How much equity for the technical co-founder?

If you are considering equity compensation for a technical co-founder, determining the appropriate percentage involves the evaluation of factors such as their contribution, experience, the startup's stage, and perceived risk, with the typical range falling between 5% and 20%.

Engaging in transparent discussions, possibly with the assistance of legal and business professionals, is recommended to establish a fair agreement that works well for both sides.

Equity stake vs salary for co-founders While there's no one-size-fits-all answer, many startups prioritize offering a substantial equity stake over an overly generous salary.

There are many reasons why. Some of them can be:

Alignment of Interests: Offering a significant equity stake aligns the interests of the technical co-founder with the long-term success of the startup. They have a vested interest in seeing the company grow and thrive.
Preservation of Cash: In the early stages, startups typically have limited financial resources. Prioritizing equity allows the startup to preserve cash, which can be reinvested into the business.
Commitment to Growth: Technical co-founders who prioritize equity demonstrate their commitment to the startup's long-term vision and mission.

Even though offering company stocks to co-founders might be a good practice, it's also important to provide a reasonable salary that addresses the co-founder's immediate financial needs and reflects their market value, especially if they bring substantial experience to the table. A balance can be struck by offering equity alongside a modest salary, which demonstrates the startup's commitment to the co-founder and their contributions.

How to find a technical co-founder?

Define Your Vision and Goals

Before you start searching for a technical co-founder, it's crucial to have a clear vision for your startup. You should be able to articulate your business idea, its purpose, and the problem it aims to solve. Additionally, define your long-term goals, such as the market you want to penetrate, the revenue model, and your exit strategy. When you're clear about your vision and goals, you can attract like-minded individuals who share your enthusiasm.

Leverage Your Network

Your existing network is a valuable resource for finding a technical co-founder. Talk to friends, colleagues, mentors, and acquaintances who might know someone with the skills you need. Attend networking events, meetups, and industry conferences to expand your reach. Participating in hackathons, coding competitions, and tech events is a great way to meet developers and engineers who are enthusiastic about building innovative solutions. These events often attract individuals who enjoy problem-solving and building new products. Additionally, they provide an excellent platform for you to gauge a potential co-founder's technical abilities. Sometimes, the right person is just a few connections away.

Online Platforms and Communities

Online platforms and forums are excellent resources for finding potential co-founders. Websites like CoFoundersLab, FoundersNetwork, and AngelList are dedicated to connecting entrepreneurs with co-founders and have extensive databases of tech-savvy individuals. Engaging with communities on platforms like GitHub, Stack Overflow, and Reddit can also help you identify individuals who are passionate about technology and startups.

What should you look for in a technical co-founder?

Finding the perfect technical co-founder can be a challenging and time-consuming process. After all, you're not just seeking someone with the right coding skills; you need a partner who shares your vision and commitment to the startup journey. Here are some key qualities to consider:

Technical Proficiency

Your co-founder should possess strong technical skills and expertise relevant to your startup's needs, such as software development, mobile app development, or web development.

Compatibility

A shared passion for your startup's mission, similar work ethics, and complementary skills can make your partnership more productive and enjoyable.

Commitment

A co-founder who is fully dedicated to the project and shares your long-term vision is crucial for your startup's success.

Problem-Solving Ability

Startups often face unforeseen challenges. A co-founder who excels in creative problem-solving can help navigate these obstacles effectively.

Experience

Previous startup or industry-specific experience can be a valuable asset for your co-founder.

Who can be a technical co-founder?

Technical co-founders can take different forms, each with its advantages. Traditionally, a technical co-founder is a physical person who joins a company, contributing their expertise in building the technical infrastructure. This person usually has a strong background in coding, software development, or the technical aspects of the business.

However, there's also a rising trend in the concept of a technical co-founder as a service. This approach involves contracting a team or agency with technical expertise, often through a consultancy or service provider, to fulfill the role of a technical co-founder without becoming a permanent member of the founding team. This can be beneficial for startups that might not immediately require a full-time technical co-founder or need specialized skills for a certain phase of development.

The choice of which option to pursue often depends on the specific needs of the company, the stage of development, available resources, and the expertise required. Each approach has its own set of advantages and challenges.

Physical person as a technical co-founder

Certainly, having a technical co-founder as a person or as an agency both offers unique advantages and drawbacks.

A person fully invested in the startup brings a high level of dedicated commitment, often being deeply involved in the company's vision and growth. They share the risks and rewards of the venture, aligning their success with the company's success. A person involved in the business from the ground up tends to have a holistic understanding of the company's intricacies and can make decisions with a broader perspective.

However, there might be some disadvantages of a technical co-founder as a person.

Since we are talking about a single individual as a technical co-found, they might offer lower availability. If they leave or face personal issues, it can significantly impact the company.
The skills and expertise of a single person might be limited to their strengths, which might not cover the full spectrum of technical needs.
Differences in vision or approach might arise, leading to potential conflicts that can impact the business and its growth.

Agency as a technical co-founder

An agency, as a technical co-founder, mitigates the risks associated with a single point of failure. Certainly, having an agency as a technical co-founder offers many advantages:

Service-based technical co-founders often come with a team of specialists offering diverse skills . This breadth of expertise can cover a wide range of technical needs.

With more specialists and various expertise, they can provide better scalability and flexibility . This flexibility is crucial during the initial phases when the company's direction might evolve rapidly.

An agency as a technical co-founder mitigates the risks associated with a single point of failure. The service's continuity isn't as affected by individual circumstances, ensuring a more stable technical foundation.

Potential disadvantages to keep in mind while considering an agency as a technical co-founder are:

Communication challenges might be one of the disadvantages of hiring an agency as a technical co-founder. Managing communication and ensuring alignment between the startup's vision and the agency's work might pose challenges.
Another disadvantage to keep in mind is cost . Depending on the level of service required, the cost might be higher compared to having a full-time co-founder, especially in the long term.

Upheave Technologies as your venture partner

If you have been thinking more about the agency as a technical co-founder, we have some good news for you!

Our company, Upheave Technologies is a digital agency with various expertise, providing service of technical co-founding.

If you need a co-founder who can share knowledge of building and maintaining your software, apps, and digital platforms we could be the best solution for you. With a focus on simplifying project management and fostering seamless cross-functional collaboration, we stand out as an ideal option for a technical co-founder.

As we created a project management software that addresses a critical need in the market by offering a comprehensive solution, it could significantly benefit a startup, providing a solid foundation and innovative solutions for technical infrastructure and development processes.

If you are from the healthcare industry, Upheave Technologies can be a good fit due to our pivotal role in revolutionizing Alertive Healthcare's remote patient monitoring system. By stepping in to address the substantial challenges faced by Alertive, we demonstrated its expertise in software development and DevOps, leading to a monumental shift in scalability and customer satisfaction.

Moreover, their extensive achievements in aiding growth through website development, business development, SEO, and digital advertising with eco-conscious brands like Lightfork .

Our multifaceted expertise across tech development, healthcare innovation, and sustainable brand growth can be an all-encompassing partner, capable of steering startups towards success in various industries.

Why should a tech co-founder join you?

One more thing to have in mind when choosing a tech co-founder is “Why should they join you?” . To convince them, you need to showcase your strengths and what you bring to the table. Just as you evaluate their suitability, they'll assess your value.

Showcasing Your Value

To arrange a partnership with a technical co-founder, you must also make a strong business case. Nobody wants to join a doomed venture. You should demonstrate why your business is destined for success and what you've done to set it on that path. Leverage your industry knowledge to outline the problem customers face and how your business solves it. Beyond just having an idea; show how the product will work and the full vision for its growth . Provide validation that people want your idea through MVP feedback, pre-sales, financial support, or experiments that test interest. The more groundwork you've laid for your business's success, the more enticing it becomes to a potential co-founder.

The right fit

Lastly, find the fit. A technical co-founder doesn't want to be treated merely as a coder with a fancy title. Illustrate why they are the ideal match for your startup's success, aligning their skills and interests with the software you're developing. Emphasize passion, as shared enthusiasm for solving the problem your business addresses is crucial for a successful partnership.

Conclusion

Finding the right technical co-founder is a crucial step in your startup journey. Upheave Technologies, with its technical proficiency, full-stack services, problem-solving abilities, and startup experience, can be your ideal partner in building a successful tech-based startup. As your technical co-founder, Upheave Technologies offers the expertise, commitment, and creativity necessary to transform your startup dreams into reality. If you're ready to embark on your startup journey, consider Upheave Technologies as your trusted partner in the world of tech entrepreneurship.