What to look for in a non-technical cofounder (AKA what to do before finding a developer)
I’ve been working on my startup for the past three years as a non-technical cofounder (the person who doesn’t build the product but does other parts of the business). Before I first started, I had been working in healthcare policy for about four years and had developed what I thought to be pretty deep domain expertise in the patient engagement space. Like many people I saw major opportunities for improvement and decided that the next step was to partner with a developer to build out my initial ideas.
I’ve been talking to more and more people interested in starting companies who were in the same spot I was in three years ago: 1) Have an idea, 2) Try to find a partner who can help code it. Three years later, I now know that there are many steps in between which really define whether the company will be successful. Hopefully, this post can help those who are looking for developers to strengthen your idea and, on the flip side, can help some developers weed out the good projects from the bad.
1. Products that don’t exist can be sold. Do it.
When I first started formulating my idea, I thought that I needed a product to present to customers before I could start doing sales. It’s a rookie mistake that I heavily caution against now that I’ve lived through the troubles around it. You don’t need a product to sell to actually make sales. Sure, it‘s near impossible to get someone to pay for something that doesn’t exist yet BUT that doesn’t mean you can’t have the first conversations. If you don’t believe me, watch this:
Before you even start making the product, think deeply about your end target customer and talk to them to get their impressions before moving forward. You can get information on what the correct pricing should be, what the correct problem focus is, what other competitors are in the space, and how big of an issue it is for them without having any product at all. Whether it’s through cold calling, sending emails, or walking into offices, if you are touching a pain point you can get lists of signups before even having anything built. Be honest with what you are doing and it’s stage of development and you’ll see most people are open to having a conversation.
You don’t even need to reveal anything about how you are going to solve their problem, just ask “hey, I’m trying to do something to make it easier for you to market to 18–24 year olds, is that something you would pay for?” If you’re hitting a strong enough pain point, people will respond strongly and won’t even care how your product looks. Then move on to the next step.
tl:dr: Before finding a technical cofounder ask yourself, have I built a list of people who I know will buy/use it even if it looks ugly?
2. You don’t need an app for everything
This may be the most important step of all. Too much of entrepreneurship nowadays is focused on building the next great app/website/etc. As a nontechnical cofounder, think about the easiest and cheapest way to solve the pain point for your customer.
The cheapest way oftentimes is not using any technology at all. Sometimes you can solve the pain point by hand, and if you can, do it as much as possible until you actually need to use technology to scale. Then you’ll know exactly what you need to build and what are the most necessary features for it to be functional. Believe me, this will save you a lot of headache and position your company to be successful.
tl:dr Don’t build an app if you don’t need to. If you’re getting paid to do something manually, then build technology to make it more efficient.
3. A great background doesn’t necessarily mean a great CEO.
Most non-technical cofounders end up playing the role of CEO/Biz Dev Guy. Before starting Vitamin C, I was a pretty darn good student and employee. I had worked for years in healthcare, was quick at solving problems, and was pretty good at giving pitches and presentations. By the time I began looking for a technical cofounder, I felt as though I was ready to make the jump from #2 guy to #1 guy.
However, being a great CEO is about a completely different set of values and qualities. Many years later, I’ve realized that the skills the make a CEO great revolve around focus, empathy, and patience. These aren’t qualities that necessarily translate well when you are in a #2 onward position but are absolutely critical when someone is the leader and figurehead for the team.
Additionally, I see many people with unrealistic goals for their companies. Try to figure out how you are going to get your first 100 users or $100 dollars before making a game plan for a billion. If you’re someone with strong values, realistic goals, and evidence behind what you are proposing, very few people will say no.
tl:dr: Before finding a technical cofounder ask yourself, will this person trust me to be realistic and to look out for their best interests?
What else do you guys think are important qualities for a non-technical cofounder? Do you have any horror stories from a non-technical cofounder that didn’t work out? Let me know your thoughts.
