USA
Looking to partner with someone else's idea
About Andrew:
Over 10 years experience as a marketing director, 7 of which were spent growing startups. I'm a focu...
Find a co-founder
Finding a co-founder is hard, we provide you with the platform to make that easier. Get started for free today and find the missing piece of your startup journey through a co-founder.
StartHawk's platform is here to make your co-founder search as easy and effective as possible.
We've built our platform and search algorithim to make finding a match as easy as possible. Our intuitive messaging system provides quick and easy communication amongst other co-founders and our filters allow you to easily narrow down the type of co-founder you're after.
UK
Has an idea for a startup
Charlotte's idea:
A new web application that will revolutionise how remote recruitment is done. It is currently in dev...
Why partner with a co-founder?
Here's just a few good reasons:
Mitigate risk for investors
Having a company and investment rely on a single founder flags numerous potential issues for investors. Since there is no co-founder to fall back on if something happens to the individual, it hightens the risk of their investment.
Strategic soundboarding
Making big decisions when starting and running a company can have a huge impact on the growth of a business. This impact can either help or hinder the business hence why having someone to bounce ideas off of can help give you confidence in your decisions or surface flaws you may not have thought of.
Division of responsibility
The day to day responsibility of running a business is often taken lightly until it comes to actually doing it. Having a cofounder focus on or help you with a particular part of the business will help alleviate that stress, especially when the company is still small and resources are stretched.
Complementary skillsets
Arguably one of the most important factors when looking for a co-founder is what skills they will bring to the table. Having someone come onboard and provide the missing piece of the puzzle for launching or running your business effectively will feel like wind in your sails.
Faster time to launch
Starting a business generally involves a lot of blood, sweat and tears from its' founders - particularly so if the business is bootstrapped. Having double the dedicated labour in the form of a co-founder will help you get to MVP quicker.
Split early out of pocket expenses
Starting a business can be expensive. The opportunity to work with a co-founder will allow you to split the initial costs of getting a working product or prototype going, which will in turn allow you to raise funds at a higher valuation.
See what our users have to say:
I knew I wanted to start something of my own but wasn't sure what. Met a tonne of great people on the platform with great ideas and have decided to embark on a new venture with one of them! Would highly recommend to anyone in the same position!
Pablo - Marketer
What I lacked the most in business was sales and business development skills. Through StartHawk I managed to find a co-founder with a wealth of experience in SAAS sales which meant I could focus on what I do best - product development
Eric - Developer
Was delighted to find my co-founder on StartHawk - its made the whole process of getting external investment a lot easier along with getting my product to MVP sooner than expected
Anita - Sales
FAQ
To find a co founder using your online profile, treat it like you would your resume. That means that you need to have:
A professional profile photo to help build trust.
A description that shows why you would make a good co-founder. This could be details of your experience, and your achievements in business.
Something that makes you stand out in a co founder search. Remember that someone looking to find a co founder will often be searching through multiple profiles while they’re looking for business partners. Make yours the one that they remember by including a memorable detail about something you’ve achieved that will make you a fantastic co-founder.
Include an elevator pitch that outlines your business idea. Be clear on:
- What your idea is.
- Who it’s for.
- Why you’re the right person to start a business in your niche.
To open a conversation when you’re looking to find business partners online, treat it as if you were on a dating site. Rather than sending a generic message, take the time to personalise to maximise the chances that you’ll find a founder.
Research each potential co-founder that you decide to approach during your business partner search, so that you can reference their profile and business idea when you message. Tell them why you decided to approach them and what it is about their profile that makes you think you’ll work well together.
Remember that most people in business are busy, so it can take a few days for someone to reply. They might have a set time in their diary each week to respond to messages, so be patient.
Our system will automatically send reminder emails for any unread messages: the first reminder will be sent after 3 days, and the second after 7 days. The profiles that are shown first in a search are the most active profiles – we make an automatic calculation based on how recently the member has accessed the site and when they last read their messages.
Once you’ve exchanged messages, it’s time to have a real-time conversation. We recommend using video calling software such as Zoom, Skype or Whatsapp when meeting cofounders.
If your potential co-founder is local to you, you could decide to meet in person. If you do this, we recommend you always choose a busy, public place such as a bar or cafe.
Paid membership includes all the benefits of free membership, plus:
- Unlimited messaging. You can start as many conversations as you like.
- Featured profile. Get seen at the top of more searches.
- Premium filters to help you narrow your search.
- Read receipts, so you can see when your message has been read.
- Activity status, so you can see how active someone is on the site before you message.
- Discounts with our partner apps to help you start and grow your business.
- Cancel anytime. Change or cancel your plan any time you choose.
- Premium badge. Stand out from the crowd as a serious prospect with our premium badge.
Most co-founders will want to meet you to discuss your idea in good faith. However, looking at looking for a business partner, it’s important to carry out online research before you meet, such as looking at their LinkedIn profile, so that you know they are who they say they are.
You can ask them to sign an NDA before you meet if you are concerned, but some co-founders may prefer to have an informal discussion first.
It’s also worth noting that your initial idea is not a business. If you’re wondering how to find a cofounder, you need to focus as much on execution as finding the right person. Whether your idea becomes a successful business or not depends on how you work together to start and scale it.