“So how did you guys meet?”

Oliver Mitchell
Aug 31, 2018 · 5 min read

It’s a question that Matt and I get asked a lot.

At first it’s quite funny, but underlying the question is often a deeper anxiety. How can I find someone to build a business with?

I’m writing this article to lay out how I did it. All advice is autobiographical so I encourage you to exercise skepticism. Rather than repeating my actions step-by-step, it’s far more useful to extract the principles behind them to carry out your own search.

How we met

Matt and I met on Escape the City’s Startup Accelerator, a 10 week part-time course on lean entrepreneurship. I was a student and Matt was one of the coaches. We spoke briefly during the course but didn’t connect properly until the course-end celebrations.

I had a positive impression of Matt from the start. When I mentioned I needed some advice on running a Facebook ad campaign he actively sought me out later in the evening to help, which spoke volumes to his character. That being said, I didn’t consider him as a potential collaborator on Moneycado at the time. I didn’t consider co-foundership properly until mid-March, and even then had a fixed notion of needing a technical co-founder.

The final night of Escape the City

As I was serving my notice period at HSBC I began to see how isolating solo entrepreneurship would be, and I resolved to find a co-founder. I asked two people: Ed, a brilliant and audacious friend from New Zealand; and Matt.

Matt and I met once to speak about Moneycado. I talked about my product vision and Matt spoke about his professional experience. He came to the meeting prepared with pages of notes, which I valued far more highly than anything he said. Actions speak louder than words.

Next, we went out to conduct customer interviews together. It is easy to get along when you speak about business in the abstract, it is far harder conducting real work. We met at Campus London and cold-approached people to speak about their travel and savings habits. I began to see qualities in Matt that I value highly.

Campus London

We next resolved to spend a week working on Moneycado together. We participated in The Trampery’s Pathways Programme and worked side by side. In doing so we began to reveal more of ourselves and get a true sense of our interaction. I am impatient, direct, and often uncompromising, how would Matt feel about this? It is far better to find out early on.

At the end of the week we knew enough to make a larger commitment. We were aligned on the vision and shared similar values. Even when we disagreed, we were able to do so respectfully and constructively. We shook hands on Matt joining Moneycado as a co-founder.

And the equity split? Even now we’re yet to decide. We resolved that we would spend two months (July and August 2018) working as co-founders, so we had a clear view of our relative contributions, before splitting. Far better to grow the pie than quibble about how to slice it.

Three principles for your own search

Writing in narrative format obscures the real lessons. It’s easy to read the above and assume that my search was a linear path. It was not. Here are three principles anyone who is looking to find a co-founder should adopt.

Be rigorous about networking

During my period of solo entrepreneurship I went to networking events 2–3 times per week. I spoke about what I was doing and tried to actively contribute to what others were doing, whether or not it helped me. Doing so created a lot of “Oh, you should meet X” moments, all of which I followed up.

You must put yourself in the position to meet others in your field. Each event, connection and conversation is another ticket in the lottery.

Look for collaborators, not co-founders

Speaking about co-foundership is a lot of pressure. It’s a stressful, multi-year financial and professional commitment in which there will be conflict and disappointment, and so immediately broaching the subject is scary.

It is far better to focus your search on collaborators. Find people who share your mission and ask them to contribute. If they do so then you have a great indication of their commitment, and evidence of your shared working style. If they do not then you’ve saved a lot of time wondering. As I said earlier, actions speak louder than words!

Make active approaches

It is easy to post on social media about wanting a co-founder. It is low risk and makes you feel like you’re taking an active approach. It is also ineffective.

Identify people in your network who you admire and actively approach them. They will be flattered and you will be working from a much higher quality pool of potential co-founders. Speak in terms of collaboration (“Hey, I’d love to get your help on X with my business”) and gradually increase the level commitment.


Good luck on your own search! I’d love to hear if any of this advice is useful, so please reach out if you’d like to speak further.

Moneycado is your new bank account for your bucket list. To find out how much your trip might cost or get some trip inspiration based on your travel profile head to our website.

Oliver Mitchell

Written by

Co-founder @ Moneycado, the world's first savings account for travel 🌍✈️ Subscribe @ https://lnkd.in/eC5U7nc

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