Cofounder Mode: My tactical guide to finding a cofounder

> They want to work on this part-time > They want to quit their job but haven't set a date to do it > They're going to quit their job but only after the YC interview

I resonate with the OP because I am in this exact situation that I am building something but I cannot leave my current job now.

When some friends started to build companies in mid-2000/mid-2010 you could code/build something, try to get some traction and you could be received by VCs/angels and occasionally they could write a 25K check for you to work for 3-6 months to build it and perhaps you could get some traction and then scale or go burst.

Now the bar for new products it's absurdly high if you're out of the YC or San Francisco VC circles or if you do not have anyone in the industry; plus most of the VCs prefer to invest in "pedigree founders" than in unknown people, especially if those people are outside of the bay area.

In my first endeavor, I went with a finished product that undercut some big enterprise SaaS vendors, and we lost space for a bunch of non-technical guys with PPTs and one idea.

People playing their options on multiple fronts is even worse than finding a way to increase and maintain the increased levels of participation.

Honestly, in this situation, you want paying customers not VC-funding. YC at least has an objective application process (VC's don't, it just cold-email) and even then the acceptance rate makes it a non-viable dependable strategies. Especially if you're enterprise SaaS..the question you need to answer is, how do you get a customer to pay?

(Sometimes having a co-founder here helps to answer this question)

>> Now the bar for new products it's absurdly high if you're out of the YC or San Francisco VC circles or if you do not have anyone in the industry; plus most of the VCs prefer to invest in "pedigree founders" than in unknown people, especially if those people are outside of the bay area.

I suppose that's if you pursue the "SAAS AI Analytics Crypto Cloud" latest hype where all the low hanging fruit has been picked already.

I'm in EU (Romania) and don't feel the least bit concerned or connected about San Francisco VCs and yet I'm preparing not one but two businesses which could go to 100s of millions (first) or billions (second).

1) First is a plain brick-and-mortar physical product delivery thing. Zero competition from "YC San Francisco VC" crowd who almost exclusively targets computer-only stuff as it's much easier and cleaner to deal with. But if you have the brains for computers (and I've been working as a well paid eastern European software dev for 20+ years), you can most definitely compete in the "physical" world should you identify an opportunity there as I did. This is the businesses that I estimate in the half billion before it reaches saturation or someone steals it from me.

2) Second is online services hence much easier to deliver and to grow hence with the properly polished product (which sells as hot cake in a brick and mortar setting) and target market should have no problem reaching billions. Provided that #1 works well enough to kickstart me into #2.

So ... cofounders. Anyone interested?

If so send me a mail or go on my forum and enter "sunshine" when you register yourself (so I know you're not a spambot, they are this dumb):

https://www.aquarianz.com/contact.html

What is your track record of building businesses? With just the information from this post, you sound beyond delusional and super arrogant.

It has never been easier to create your own company if you have the proper grid.

Reduce your workhours to half day or 80%, spend your evenings and weekends building.

Show your demo around to get more money if your progress is slow.

But technology has never been as accessable as it is today. You have a lptop, a server costs you 50$, a big machine perhaps 100 or 200 / month.

The problem are people who think just having an idea is the main part of creating a product/company.

I have more ideas per day than non technical people and i could make 50% work. Not unicorn work but making enough money for a company money.

Its just a lot nicer to work from mo-fr earning good money and having time for living.

So the first business has no competition... but also no defensibility?

The second business should be able to be much bigger AND easier, but you aren't focussing all your efforts on it because you're splitting your time with the first, non-defensible business?

It's good to be optimistic, but balance that with realism. It's easy to build a billion dollar business on paper, much harder in reality.

Trying my best to put this politely, but this reads like a list of excuses.

If you have dependents and a stable income is important then by all means, wait for the perfect conditons to arise (they likely won't - or when they do, everyone else will also be taking advantage of such conditons).

Otherwise, take the plunge. Reduce your expenses e.g live in crappy apartment to save money and go all in on your dreams

Wow, beyond delusional? What does that even mean? Illusional? Or maybe ... illusionist :))