Hi,<p>I recently joined HN. This is my first post. Sorry if I haven't followed any HN etiqoettes. I have a question for your guys.<p>Let's say you have a great idea and you are novice to startup world(like me). And you need very good hacker(has startup experience) who can partner and make this idea into a reality and mutually share the benefits. Now my question is how do you find a trustworthy hacker.Do you guys have any approach?<p>How to tackle this hypothetical situation.
1. You announce that you are looking for a cofounder. Many show interest. You contact some one and share your Idea. After that he doesn't show interest and walks out. He implements the idea by himself (or through his friend) with out your knowledge. You will be in deep trouble.<p>One approach I am thinking is announcing on HN ("Looking for cofounder"). Then Hackers who are available and would like to venture will get back. As I need proven hackers, I will ask for their earlier creations, their email IDs, photo. Once I am interested, I will ask them to commit on HN with their actual IDs or their creations(which would be proof that they are joining me). Then I will share my idea with them. If they are interested, I will close the post on HN that I am partnering with this person. Else,will look for some other by posting "not partnering with previous person, looking for other".<p>Please share your thoughts.
There have been a few previous submissions and threads on this question - you might want to look up some of the previous discussions. Here are some of them:<p><a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2073239" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2073239</a> Guide to Finding a Technical Co-Founder<p><a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2056630" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2056630</a> Can't Find a Technical Co-Founder? Do It Yourself<p><a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2018618" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2018618</a> Non-programmer founders: learn code first, find tech co-founder(s) after?<p><a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1983569" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1983569</a> Finding co-founders, where and how<p><a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1882090" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1882090</a> How to Find a Technical Co-Founder<p><a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1872960" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1872960</a> Finding a Technical Co-Founder<p><a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1866516" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1866516</a> Dont look for a co-founder. Find a Right Hand Man<p><a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1823724" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1823724</a> Find Co-Founders, Don't Get Screwed<p><a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1820875" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1820875</a> Not in the Valley? How do you find co-founders?<p><a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1779750" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1779750</a> How To REALLY Find A Technical Co-Founder<p><a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1779092" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1779092</a> How find co-founder online?<p><a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1778191" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1778191</a> Ask HN: Finding a Co-Founder at a Hackerspace<p><a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1689751" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1689751</a> Can't Find a Technical Co-Founder? Do It Yourself<p><a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1677066" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1677066</a> Network Launches to Help Entrepreneurs Find Co-founders<p><a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1576186" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1576186</a> Last Call: Pitch to find a Co-Founder at The Founder Conference<p><a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1575105" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1575105</a> Does "finding co-founders" ever work?<p><a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1567469" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1567469</a> Ask HN: Where is the best place to find a co-founder?<p><a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1512715" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1512715</a> How to find a co-founder<p><a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1511965" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1511965</a> Ask HN: How do you find/meet tech co-founders outside of the hotspots?<p><a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1509775" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1509775</a> Finding the Right Co-Founder for Your Startup<p><a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1373858" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1373858</a> Strategies for Finding the Co-Founder of Your Dreams<p><a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1367637" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1367637</a> FoodSpotting founder on finding co-founder, marketing & female entrepreneurs<p><a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1347723" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1347723</a> Ask HN: How do I find the right co-founder?<p><a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1307167" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1307167</a> Help a Startup Out - Get feedback, find co-founders, find advisors, etc.<p><a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1297382" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1297382</a> Ask HN: Where To Find Design Founders<p><a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1294713" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1294713</a> Vokle founder: how to find great programmers & making the most from events<p><a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1238947" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1238947</a> Ask HN: I'd like to find Co-Founder(s) / Developers<p><a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1086852" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1086852</a> How to Find the Ideal Co-founder: A Seattle Startup Experiment<p><a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=912667" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=912667</a> Find a co-founder with this new MeetUp<p><a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=876010" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=876010</a> Finding Your Co-Founders<p><a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=849737" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=849737</a> Ask HN: Finding Developer/Engineer Co-Founder?
Being that I am just on the other side of your situation:<p>1. Your concern is not finding a very good hacker who will implement your idea. Your concern is getting your idea nailed down and showing hackers that YOU drive value. (Hackers have great ideas too, can build it, and don't have to share, so why is yours better?)
--I solved this problem by getting a major corp. and name-brand school interested.<p>2. Great quote: "People rarely have time for their own great ideas, they sure don't care about yours"
--Aka don't worry about them stealing your idea, 99% is execution and getting them to sign something == you signing your own death warrant.<p>Hope that helps.
Idea theft is something many people freak about, but in actuality it happens more infrequently than you think.<p>I have visited several inventor's guilds where complete strangers meet up and share ideas. At my first meeting I expected to sign some sort of non-disclosure or confidentiality document to protect others' ideas, but I never did! Several of the inventors explained why:<p>1.) If your idea is truly good, then only you know how to immediately implement it. You will be hard-pressed to find someone that thinks exactly like you and will be able to discover the nuances of your idea. Still exercise a little caution when explaining an idea and don't give away the punchline too early!<p>2.) Execution is always the key to success and frankly, you would be surprised by how few people there are who have the time and resources to effectively implement your idea. Chances are, those who try, will only scratch the surface of your idea's potential.<p>3.) If by some freakish chance someone does end up implementing your idea in the exact manner as you had dreamed, then you just found yourself a partner!
Since I'm actually in the process of building a site that helps you find co-founders, I've just set up a Facebook page that you can "like" to get an announcement when the site is up:<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Find-a-co-founder/155551604502198" rel="nofollow">http://www.facebook.com/pages/Find-a-co-founder/155551604502...</a><p>(I'm using a Facebook page for this because I haven't decided on a domain name yet, and if I were to ask people to sign up for an announcement email list, some people would be hesitant to provide their email address, I guess).
If you are seriously looking for a cofounder, it would help if you posted your idea. You don't just want someone with experience, you want someone who has as much of a passion for your idea as you do.<p>It is also important to realize that an idea is worth next to nothing (and that many people have probably thought of the idea before you). What matters is the implementation and your ability to deliver what users want.
You have to give the very good hackers with previous startup experience some sort of indication of why they would want to give up whatever they're doing to partner with you. Otherwise they're not going to get as far as sending you their photos and lists of earlier creations.
Start learning how to code and try and flesh out your idea/app on your own. This will give you a better perspective from which to interact with potential founders and go a long way towards helping you flesh out your idea.
[Edit] Adding something about me: I am not aware of web technologies, its implementation and how to market it. I come from a different programming world of C/C++. Thats why I am looking for hackers as partners who can partner and implement my ideas.