Ever since I moved back here, I have received a string of propositions to become either a cofounder or employee #n for some startup or other.
The pitch invariably goes along the lines of this: I have contacts with Sequoia and Andreessen and Kleiner and they all think this is gonna be huge and if you sign on before we get our seed funding your shares will be worth a bajillion dollars and you could have your own yacht by this time next year!
I, too, was looking for a cofounder: There’s a lot of stuff to do, I’m aware of my weaknesses, I’m sure I have unrealized additional weaknesses, and incubators and investors want to see a team.
But it’s not easy to search for a better half. Why would anyone abandon their own ship to join mine? All I can say about my company is This could very well fail and I’m okay with that. It wouldn’t be fun if there wasn’t a risk of failure.
Billy Mays wouldn’t be able to sell a car with that line.
But that’s an honest assessment. Apparently everyone else is in bed with all the big VCs. Do I need to spend more time hanging out at the Rosewood?
Even if they were, what prospective cofounder wants to board a rocket ship that’s supposedly 2 seconds from liftoff? The only type of person attracted to this is the type that joins startups for the sake of getting rich. That is, the stupid type*.
I can’t pitch an unlikely grandiose vision, and having nothing else to offer just seems desperate. So I’m not going to look for a cofounder anymore. I’ll be fine. Reeking of desperation is not a good way to attract a team. That only works for finding a spouse.
*Full disclosure: I joined a startup last year that promised to be weeks away from a multimillion series A. I left after 4 months and haven’t missed out on anything yet.
Elaine's Idle Mind 