In filling out several apps for incubator type startup programs, I’ve noticed that single founders are at a significant disadvantage. This disadvantage is, in my eyes, 100% justified. I agree that for MOST startups, having only 1 founder is a disaster waiting to happen because 1. It’s too much work 2. You can’t bounce ideas etc.<p>That being said, if a single founder startup already has its product developed, it has users who are excited about the new platform, and the main issue now is scaling, would finding a cofounder be valuable? Or would time be better spent finding and hiring a management team?<p>This is the crossroads I’m currently at. Find a cofounder (who would essentially do what a management person does) or find a strong management type person / team.<p>Note: We are talking about a non-technical founder. In my personal case the startup has minimal to no coding needed.
The term "founder" has really no significance in an ongoing operation, other than the fact that it might make a few geeks happy and a few employees unhappy.<p>Scaling your business usually requires that you bring in more people and inevitably more experienced people in leadership roles. Those hires will need to be motivated through a combination of opportunity (equity, bonus, career advancement), compensation (base salary, benefits, perks) and environment (responsibility, prestige, office culture). You will end up giving some equity to them for that reasons (and only that reason - the fact that they were there on "founding day" is truly irrelevant). How much you give depends on the person, role and state of your company. If the role is important enough and your current status early enough then they might very well end up with half of the equity. Or more. Or less.<p>So go and hire the right person. The rest will shake itself out when you negotiate compensation...