Do you really need a technical co-founder?

You have an idea and you want to make it a reality. Like everyone else, you might be thinking — do I really need someone to start a business, someone like a technical co-founder? You have researched and done everything to know whether you need a technical co-founder or not.

But, think carefully again — do you really need a technical co-founder?

This might be a tough decision to make whether to look for a technical co-founder. Let’s make this easier to make your own decision. This article has outlined the different reasons why you need a technical co-founder and why you don’t need one? Find your own answer and make a decision whether you need a technical co-founder or not.

Reasons You Need a Technical Co-Founder

It’s never an easy decision to start a business. And you have to make such tough decisions again and again once you start your own business. And one of them could be to look for a technical co-founder. Having a technical co-founder helps you make important decisions for your startup.

Here are some of the reasons you need a technical co-founder.

• Rise of the Tech Industry

  Looking at the current trend, the IT industry is growing at an alarming rate and in 2020, the growth is estimated to be at the rate of 3.7% as projected by The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA). And no one can argue that the technology sector is the future of the world.

  Seeing this trend, it is obvious that the technical co-founder will play an important role in your startup. And if you are a non-technical person, then you really need a technical co-founder to help you survive in a competitive market.

• Decision-making

  You always need to be on toe-to-toe with the market trends. You are in such a field where market trends could change at any time. And a technical co-founder saves you in this situation and helps in adapting to the changes.

  Not only adapting changes, but also you need a technical co-founder to help you in adopting the latest technologies, help you grow your business, customer engagement and satisfaction, and so on.

• Need Skills

  You need skills of technical co-founder for your startup. His/her skills come in handy when making any decisions for your startup. You need the skills of a technical co-founder to solve problems related to the technical field.

  A technical co-founder helps you choose the best technology stack for your business. You need to use the skills of the technical co-founder to improve the overall technological infrastructure of your business.

• Need Knowledge

  The knowledge of a technical co-founder will guide your business to success. He/she will be able to pinpoint where your business’s strengths and weaknesses lie. He/she will help you in devising plans and strategies to help you focus on your business’s strengths and eliminate weaknesses.

  The technical co-founder helps in creating a strong and stable foundation for your business. Using his/her knowledge and skills, your technical co-founder will dedicate him/herself to the growth and success of the business.

• Team Management

  As your business grows, your team will also grow. Bigger the size of the team, the more the number of responsibilities. A technical co-founder will aid you in managing your team. He/she will aid in delegating roles and responsibilities to team members.

  A technical co-founder will help you look after every problem that the team gets and helps in solving those problems.

Reasons You Don’t Need a Technical Co-Founder

There is not any hard and fast rule that says you should hire a technical co-founder at any cost. It’s alright if you decide not to hire a technical co-founder. Many think that having a technical co-founder will help in having a competitive edge. In one sense, it is true, but you don’t really need a technical co-founder to have a competitive edge.

Just try this method — hire a remote team and see them delivering high-quality products. You can try other methods too, but let’s see some reasons stating you don’t need a technical co-founder.

• Takes Time to Find the Right One

  Hiring an employee takes a lot of time and on a note, you are hiring a technical co-founder. Guess the time it takes to hire one. What’s more time consuming is that you are looking for the right one that fits your organization.

  You need to look for skills, experience, and a good reputation while hiring a technical co-founder. Hiring a wrong one could be a disastrous decision for your business. The minimum damage could be hundreds or thousands of dollars loss. Also, leading to the shutdown of the business.

• Expensive

  You are thinking of hiring a technical co-founder. But you yourself are at an early stage of your business. You already incur many expenses at an early stage of your business like utility expenses, employee’s salary, rent, and so on. In such a situation, can you handle another risk of hiring a technical co-founder whose pay could be more than your utility expenses, rent, etc?

  The payment to a technical co-founder could be too much for you to handle. You might not be able to manage your expenses. At one stage, you might have to take bank loans to cover your expenses. If you are unable to cover your expenses, then your business might go bankrupt.

• Support Your Vision

  You have your own vision and goals. But, will technical co-founder be ready to support your vision and goals? There isn’t any guarantee that the technical co-founder will support your vision and be on the same page as you.

  You need to hire someone who is ready to support your vision and commit to the growth of the business. You need to communicate properly about the business vision and goals so that your visions become his/her’s as well.

How to Find a Technical Co-Founder?

You decided to hire a technical co-founder. But, you still don’t know where you can find one. So, here are some solutions to find a technical co-founder for your business.

• Social Media Platforms

  The technical co-founder that you are looking for could be at the tip of your finger. You are familiar with social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc., you just need to exploit these platforms. You will get amazing results.

  You can engage on different Facebook pages and groups to search for a technical co-founder or you can also look for one on LinkedIn. These platforms provide great opportunities that you are searching for.

• Online Portals

  You can surf the Internet to look for a technical co-founder. There are different online portals that will help you find the right fit for your business. You can find the perfect partner for your business. Some of the online portals are:

  • CoFoundersLab
  • FounderDating
  • Startbee
  • Startup Weekend
  • Founder2be

• Hackathons

  Hackathons are one of the best places to look for a technical co-founder. Hackathons encourage people to show their skills and experience. You can attend such events and watch out for potential candidates and approach him/her.

  Hackathons are becoming immensely popular and might also be held in your city or region. Start going to such events and you might find the right technical co-founder for your business.

• Tech Seminars

  You can also attend different tech seminars. Just search for one in newspapers or the Internet. You should be fully prepared before going on such events. You are there to find a technical co-founder. So, you need to propose such an idea that will sell quickly.

  You need to be prepared with your presentation so that people will be looking forward to working with you.

• Friends and Family

  The technical co-founder that you are looking for might be near you. You never know. You can ask your friends if they know anyone who could be a perfect fit for your business.

  You can also ask your family or relatives if they know anyone. You might not be aware that someone you know might be looking for an opportunity and could be the right fit for your business. Reach out to every people you know and ask them.

Qualities to Look for in a Technical Co-Founder

You need the right technical co-founder for your business. To find the right technical co-founder, you need to watch out for his/her qualities and skills. Some of the qualities you need to look for in a technical co-founder are:

• Communication Skills

  A technical co-founder is one of the important assets for your business growth. But, if he/she cannot communicate well, then it is good to hire a new one. He/she makes important decisions for the business, manages team, devises plans and strategies, and so on. But, without any proper communication skills, how can he/she share information and convince others to work alongside him/her?

  Communication is one of the most important skills that any technical co-founder should have.

• Long-term Thinking

  Whatever plans and strategies a technical co-founder develop or takes any important decisions, he/she should think about the future. He/she should think about the positive effects of such plans and decisions.

  The plans and decisions are executed now and should have a positive effect on the long-term. The organization should not only benefit now but also in the future.

• Expert in Solving Problems

  No one is sure when a problem will arise. It may arise at any time so a technical co-founder you are hiring should be able to identify the problems. He/she should be able to solve the problem.

  A technical co-founder should be knowledgeable about the problem. He/she should be able to identify the source of the problem and find ways to solve the problem as soon as possible.

• Ability to Meet Deadlines

  Delivering the products to the clients is the main aim of any organization. Delivering the products only isn’t sufficient, you should deliver within the scheduled time. And it’s the duty of technical co-founder to make sure that the product is delivered within the estimated time.

  He/she should be able to develop realistic deadlines before starting any projects. He/she along with the team should be able to meet the deadlines.

• Ability to Prioritize

  Every task has priorities — high priority and low priority. High priority tasks have to be taken care of first. So, a technical co-founder should be able to identify the high priority and low priority task.

  The technical co-founder should make sure that the high priority task is completed first. He/she should be able to communicate about the priority of the task to the team and make them do high priority tasks first.

  Based on priorities, he/she should estimate the time and resources necessary for the tasks.

Alternatives if You Can’t Find a Technical Co-Founder

If you can’t find a technical co-founder now, then this doesn’t mean you won’t find anyone in the future. There are other options available to you if you can’t find a technical co-founder. What can you do if you can’t find a technical co-founder?

• You Can Learn to Code Yourself

  

  One of the alternatives is that you can learn to code yourself and be the technical co-founder of your organization. There are many sites that provide online courses to learn how to code such as Code Academy, Udemy, and so on.

  Just spend a few hours a day learning to code and take online courses. Such online learning platforms will make your learning easier and faster. So you can give it a try.

• Outsource

  There are many companies providing help to different organizations to grow and optimize their business. You can find these companies on the Internet but go for trusted ones. These companies will help you set up your startup.

  You can hire skilled and experienced manpower for your startup.

• Hire Remotely

  If you are unable to find a technical co-founder, then you can hire one as a part-timer. He/she may not be available every time but it is better than not having one. He/she will share her knowledge and experience when making decisions for your organization.

In Conclusion

You now know the reasons why you need a technical co-founder and why you don’t need one. So, the final decision is yours to make. It’s your choice to either hire one or not. Whatever decision you make must benefit you and your organization.

If you have any suggestions regarding the article or want to work with us, please comment below or feel free to contact us.

References: WebileApps, JasonLBaptiste, BuildFire