In the application process essay you discuss figuring out what the combination of founders are (e.g. two hackers, one business one hacker, two hackers one business...different stages of their careers) and you have seen about 20 or 30 different founder combinations.<p>Of the companies that have gone through the program or those HN'ers out there who are working on or have worked on ideas, what combinations have you had and how has it worked for your project?<p>Is there an ideal combination or does it depend too much on the type of startup?
Off the top of my head, it seems like most of the big successes match the Larry+Sergey (= Gates+Allen) pattern: 2 or 3 good hackers in their early to mid 20s, who are also resilient and worldly.
The optimal team is built around a vision that acts as gravity to keep everyone on one page.<p>The optimal founders: a Designer (able to create unique offering and sell it to the widest possible audience) and a Hacker (able to build more with fewer parts than the current way).<p>Add a variety of backgrounds and disciplines. Let everyone clash and collide until great work is produced....
There is a good post Hackers and Hustlers that you should read<p><a href="http://learntoduck.com/micah/hackers-hustlers" rel="nofollow">http://learntoduck.com/micah/hackers-hustlers</a>