I did not want to bring this up but i feel HN offers the best advice. I am a 19 year old student in university and i build apps as a hobby. I built a survey tool to help you survey website visitors and still looking for ways to make it kick off. I got a co-founder on HN, who was supposed to help with the business and marketing side because i have had no luck in that area with my previous projects. He helped out for a while to organize the website properly, worked on the site's copy and bailed after 3 weeks without doing the main job i wanted a co-founder to help out with. So now i am stuck. I don't have an idea on how to market the site without spending loads of money or contacting bloggers (which i have had no luck before). What do i do HN?
I can relate. Only a couple of weeks ago, days after submitting our YC application, my co-founder (technical half) bailed on me. Fortunately, I had a few other friends that were interested in my idea and they jumped on the opportunity. You can't dwell on it. Shit happens! As an entrepreneur this probably won't be the first or last time that something comes out of left field. I would try to find out why this dude bailed and then use this opportunity to find another co-founder, ideally one you know in person. As an active student, you have access to so many people on campus. Find someone that is passionate about your idea and compliments your skill set. If there is an entrepreneurship club or program at your school, that might be a good place to start...
You can build stuff. In this economic climate, that gives you an advantage in cofounder negotations, as there's a huge supply of unattached business people floating around.<p>I've been in a vaguely similar position. Don't freak out, and don't think of yourself as desperate. Don't settle. Don't rush things either. University is a great place to meet people who could become cofounders, so meet people.
The easy answer: find another co-founder-- one who is as passionate about your idea as you are. Of course, this may not really be all that easy.<p>Which leads to the difficult question: what's there to love about your idea? I'm sure there are many of us reading this who are saying to themselves, "Another survey widget? Ho hum." To which you reply: "Yes, but this one is different. This one does X."<p>This "X", of course, is your secret sauce. Your "unique value proposition."<p>Now, if you don't know what X is, then figuring that out is what you need to be working on. It's going to be hard to attract co-founders or customers without it.<p>If you do know what X is, then pitch it around to other potential co-founders. Locally-- you want someone in the same city. Sure, it's possible to collaborate remotely, but I wouldn't recommend it, especially under your circumstances.<p>To summarize: define your "unique value proposition." Find a local co-founder who is passionate about it. And then, apply to YC.
Make sure that the break with your ex-co-founder is a clean one, i.e. ensure that company ownership, IP rights etc is resolved in a way that leaves no room for doubt at some later point.<p>You should try to avoid a situation where he can return at some later point with a potentially legitimate claim to a part of any business that your company may have evolved into.
Try to conduct an "exit interview" with the person who bailed. That way, you can find out why they bailed; if the reason is something that you can address, you'll do better next time. As others suggested, find another co-founder. Having equal levels of co-founder enthusiasm is the exception, rather than the rule, so don't be discouraged.
you're not alone. it takes a certain type of person to start a business, let alone run one. Most get wrapped up in some romantic fantasy about what they see on TV about owning a business. Contrary to the dream, it is work.<p>Partners are very over rated, but YC seems to like them. I've had several, all worthless. it's tough, you got to find someone with the same passion, or there will be significant differences down the road, especially with work load and responsibility.<p>watch out for going into business with family members - i've never seen that work out well either.<p>also, verbal agreements are just as enforceable as written ones, which is why you always get a written agreement. Contracts are a tool to prevent/protect future problems/litigation. Again, this is experience talking. I made over $1M in my first business, and then spent $250K defending it from a partner with a cocaine habit. I won, but it was tough and extremely expensive. You make money with this, he will comeback to haunt you.<p>If you do NEED a partner/founder, be very cautious. It can be good, but more often than not i've seen partnerships wreck friendships, marriages and families...