The one that got away

I came really close to finding a unicorn in December. We met at a networking event for the UC Berkeley BPlan competition that I would later apply to (and not get). At our first meeting, I was impressed with how prepared he came—with resume, technical credentials, and research on sharing economy in hand! By our second “date” I felt like we were both feeling good about the arrangement.

The ingredients were there—he had the technical skills, a strong interest in the product and business side, a passion for social impact, a respect for my organizational vision. And I enjoyed how we interacted with each other.

We gave ourselves one month to work on non-technical side project to better evaluate fit. At the end of the month, the fit was solidified, but his passion for the idea dwindled and he realized it wasn’t something he could co-found. (Lesson number 1 is that starting with a small project first is critical.)

From this experience and other talks with developers, I realized two key things that many developers want:

• Opportunities to innovate — you’re not the only one who wants to change the world! Part of the reason he did not want to work on the project was that it was very similar to an existing start-up (Peerby, though since then the product has evolved further)
• Challenge to their domain expertise & opportunity to extend it — the harder the technical problem or code that has to be written, the more motivated they can be. This also explains people who take on projects solely to learn/ practice novel coding languages

Developers may prioritize the above two more than a preferred industry or topical focus area (unlike, I suspect, many business people). Hopefully these tips help as you pitch your idea to potential co-founders!

This blarticle was written in the context of building a product that helps people borrow occasional-use items (e.g., sleeping bags, electric drills) from their friends & neighbors. Check out the prototype here.