Looking for a Technical CoFounder
recommended by 3 users | 2011 | 111 points by adennis4 | founder life | original thread |

I have a website that needs help getting to the next level. The site has been producing revenue since July 2010, although it is not yet profitable. I need a Technical Co-Founder to help with this push.

We are an online marketplace for spas and salons to list their slower appointment times, typically at a discount. We partner with spas, and when a client books through our site, we take a cut of the transaction. Currently, we work with spas in Chicago, San Francisco, Denver, and Seattle.

The site is built in Django. Once an appointment is booked an email is automatically sent and we utilize Twilio for automated phone calls to the spas. There are between 5 - 10 transactions per week, but this needs to be pushed to the next level.

One of the biggest challenges is just getting eyeballs to the site. Currently we get 50 - 100 daily visitors, 1/3 of which is from paid traffic. We are looking to increase organic traffic. Ideas on this front will likely be the biggest driver of site success.

Why I'm a good cofounder for you: I'm a business guy. I need a tech guy. But I'm not just a bum business guy. I've gone through Zed Shaw's Learn Python the Hard Way and Python Osmosis. I'm still not any good, but I really want to get to the point where I can contribute code as well. I will work hard to deliver as a business cofounder, while also learning the tech side.

I hustle. Hard. I went out and talked to hundreds of spas to get partnerships with them, I know the industry problems inside and out, and I have good connections with the businesses we work with. Further, I have managed contractors to build the site, to do some PR and marketing work, and to reach the spas. I raised money to finance the building of the site. I have a letter of intent for further investment once we hit higher revenue targets...access to more money.

What I'm looking for:

- Django and Python fluent

- SEO background

- Execute online marketing and email campaigns

- Grow our consumer side

- Location: Chicago preferred, but we can work it out with other locations

I'm not looking for a code monkey. I'm looking for a partner. I have a strong bias towards a local Chicago developer. Location, ultimately, isn't important because I will move to your city for the first couple of months to really get this thing going in the right direction. Working in the same room is very important to me.

Also, to be clear: I am NOT looking for someone who has a full-time job / freelance gigs, and wants to spend 10 hours a week on this with me as a cofounder. I'm fully committed to this and I want someone who is able to fully commit to it as well.

Why is this a great opportunity?: - I am offering 1/3 equity in the company (terms to be discussed) - The site is built, operational, and producing revenue - A chance to take a project and help mold it into a success - Proven to obtain funding and if necessary will secure more funding

Interested in talking more?? Contact me at andrew.dennis@spaciety.com and let's get the dialogue started.

3 users recommended this thread. What they said:
andrewlchen Dec 13, 2011 | on: A Hacker's Journey To Find A Co-Founder | context

Great post, and I definitely empathize with your struggle. Finding a good co-founder is damn hard, whether he's technical or business. As someone who has been in those shoes before (but wearing the business hat looking for a technical co-founder), I have found it at least as hard, if not harder, to find good technical co-founders.

I think a business person who is unwilling to learn any amount of coding, especially on the front-end, or who is uninterested in product development like UX, customer development, etc, has no business doing a startup -- and you shouldn't waste your time on them either.

From the business founder's perspective, I have always found a couple posts I've read from other business founders pretty inspiring, and I think they ring true for what any good business co-founder should bring to the table. The next time a business founder reaches out to you looking for a technical co-founder, maybe you can point him to these articles and say, "do this first" and then we'll talk.

Best of luck to you, and keep pushing at it!

http://www.humbledmba.com/please-please-please-stop-asking-h...

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2332349

ezl Apr 3, 2012 | on: 334 Hours of Ruby on Rails | context

adennis is an awesome startup guy. I couldn't be more proud to know him.

To those who don't know him, you guys might remember him from: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2332349

That was him about a year ago, and a lot of people called it the best "looking for a tech cofounder" post they had ever seen.

A year ago, he was an awesome hustler/non-tech founder looking for a tech founder. Now he can deploy his own apps too. Just another data point for how far he's willing to go to get success.

Congrats adennis, looking forward to great things from you.

jaysonelliot Nov 9, 2011 | on: (untitled) | context

Do you have a technical founder? If not, I'd recommend looking at this post: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2332349