Hi,
I'm debating doing a geographical based site for Manchester (UK) and the surrounding area, but keep thinking we've been here before, and their must be a really really good site for this already.<p>http://www.cofounderslab.com - Doesn't have any UK cities in!
http://www.founder2be.com/ - have to sign up to search. The web header takes up too much space, and most will get bored before doing anything.
http://www.techcofounder.com/ - bit too focused on just one aspect of cofounders...
http://www.weekendhacker.net - Original site I knew of but still doesn't have geographical search.
http://cofoundergoogledocs.com - not bad spreadsheet, but well it's just a spreadsheet and it's quite large now.<p>So, are there any better ones out there? Especially for the UK?
I'm not convinced the model of online cofounder matching works at all. Cofounding is like getting married, a website for finding cofounders is like a dating website for people who want to urgently get married.<p>You're much better off developing these sort of relationships organically. A good place to start is at events like Startup Weekend / Launch48.
I'd be more interested to look at successful startups (however you define that[0]) and see how those founders met.<p>[0] Personally, I'm more interested in recurring revenue, so successful for me is either profitable and stable to support the founders and employees or a large acquisition. A 4- or 5-figure acquisition is less appealing because truthfully, between my mortgage, student loans, and other bills, I could spend any 5-figure sum in a single day.
I agree with ig1. This is a pretty bad idea, unless it's a cofounder matching site for <i>side projects</i>. You do not want to be entering into a startup with a cofounder you don't know very well and haven't ever worked with. Ideally you should have known and worked with your cofounder for up to a year before starting a startup with him/her.
I haven't tried it, but have you looked at FounderDating? You do have to sign up and it is more of a matchmaking service than a search engine, I believe. London, UK is not yet unlocked (<a href="http://members.founderdating.com/unlock" rel="nofollow">http://members.founderdating.com/unlock</a>), but it is near the top of the list.
Whilst it won't solve your problem right now, we (<a href="http://hackerjobs.co.uk" rel="nofollow">http://hackerjobs.co.uk</a>) have something along those lines in development. I do find it odd that there isn't any site that's nailed it yet.
Hi Ian, I'm based in London and am looking for someone to work with me on my startup, either on a contract basis or potentially as a co-founder. Please email me (see profile) or tell me how I can get in touch.
TechBritain.com might eventually build in that facility. It ties in along the right lines of making the UK ecosystem more efficient at forming and supporting startups.