There are many factors that can go into making a startup prosperous—for instance, market prerequisites, availability of the necessary funds, or an appropriate business model. Nevertheless, finding a trustworthy and well-qualified co-founder (or co-founders) is an essential first step, especially when you feel like you have a great idea, but some of skills are missing.
As Startup Genome reports, having a co-founder (at least one) contributes to startup success. Startups with co-founders receive 30% more funding, grow their client base 3 times faster, and tend not to grow too quickly.
However, it can be hard to find an ideal co-founder. Luckily, many online and offline platforms are there to help you reach those who can complement your skill set. We chose the top 6 to highlight for you here.
CoFoundersLab
Price: free; premium - starting at $14.99/month
This AI-based “ecosystem,” as CoFoundersLab call themselves, helps entrepreneurs build their teams by offering a large spectrum of opportunities for education, mentorships, and partnerships. To get started, follow three easy steps: register (also possible with Google, LinkedIn, or Facebook), set up your account (provide some information about the startup you founded or about to found, your skills and the skills you are looking for, your objectives, etc.), and start searching by location, experience, or qualifications.
After registering, you get a 14-day free trial of the premium subscription. It gives you no-limit access to the platform’s community, advanced search filters, and information about who visited your profile. Additionally, you get the chance to to obtain greater exposure by being featured on CoFoundersLab. After the trial period, you can subscribe for the price of $14.99/month (for one year), $16.99/month (for six months), or $19.99/month (for three months).
Startup Weekend
Price: around $25-$99, depending on accreditation and location
Sometimes meeting your future co-founder offline first can be more efficient and reliable. To do so, you can attend the Techstars Startup Weekend. They offer 54-hour networking and education events all around the world, each devoted to different themes and industries—for example, agrotech, smart cities, social innovations, tourism tech, and so on.
All of the events follow the same outline:
First day: Meet, pitch, and team up.
Second day: Learn and work together.
Third day: Present the outcome in front of a panel of judges, network with experts, and celebrate all the accomplishments.
Tickets prices vary depending on location and the role you choose. For example, for the Techstars Startup Weekend on Health, which will take place on May 15, 2022 in Bremen, is 10€ for a visitor ticket or 50€ for developer, designer, and business or industry expert tickets. For the Techstars Startup Weekend on Sustainability, which will take place on December 6 in San Francisco, the ticket prices start at $25 for visitors and $99 for developers, designers, and business or industry experts.
Equity Director
Price: $9/month after a free 2-week trial
This invite-only network of entrepreneurs and startup talent creates a feeling of exclusivity when registering, which helps to provide the very special offers of candidates or positions.
To sign up for it, you need to answer several questions to provide links to your LinkedIn and website, choose your skills, and show your expertise. Then, you have to select your monthly contribution to the platform, but you can also stick to the standard one, which is $9/month.
After that, you will get access not only to the platform’s depository, but also to weekly selections of the candidates that best match your prerequisites.
FounderDating
Price: free; premium - starting at $14.99/month
FounderDating is another platform that helps entrepreneurs search for cofounders, advisors, and business partners. Now that it has merged with CoFoundersLab, the FounderDating community has become even bigger. The process of joining FounderDating is rather strict, as the network requires every applicant to fit their specific standards and verifies each applicant’s information. However, if you are registered at CoFoundersLab, you can login automatically. Those who want to join the network and get access to learning materials and discussions must submit their LinkedIn account.
Check out a related article:
5 Ways to Market Your Startup Before You Launch It
Founder2be
Price: free; Pro - starting at $12/month
Another service that follows the scheme of a dating site, Founder2Be connects startups with a tech community of more than 95,000 experts, from entrepreneurs and designers to software engineers and marketing professionals.
The onboarding process is very smooth and doesn’t require any verification. It is now operating in more than 100 countries and has good coverage in media like TechCrunch, Forbes, and Inc.
Founder2be offers free Starter access, as well as a Pro option that costs from $12 to $20/month, depending on the duration of your subscription.
YouNoodle
Price: lite – free; premium - $3999/program; enterprise – available on request
YouNoodle decided to do it differently and scout cofounders, mentors, and business partners via so-called contests and competitions. Users can participate by competing for investments from those who establish or follow the contests. Accelerators also use the website to evaluate and review applicants for funding opportunities.
The basic usage of YouNoodle is free. However, if you want to embed an application form on your website, customize styling and email templates, get the applicant recommenders module, and obtain extensive assistance with the setup, you probably need to get the premium account.
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No matter which platform you choose to use to find a startup partner, it is crucial to remember that somebody can only contribute to the startup’s success if he or she balances the skills of the initial founder. Many people mistakenly think that someone similar to them is best suited to be a partner, but, in fact, those with complementary skills are the best choice. Ideally, startups should be built with mixed professional skill sets and personal features. And, for sure, founders must find a partner they can trust.
If having a cofounder can be so helpful, then why settle for just one person when you can have the whole software development company? With many years of experience in tech, we would be happy to share our knowledge with you.
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