How much more difficult is it to build a startup with a single founder?

My biggest problem with Quora is that the answers tend to be from people that aren't relevant. If you are asking about single-founder startups, why are the top answers from 2-founder startups? There is lots of information out there on 2-founder startups, written by co-founders. I went to that thread looking for first-hand accounts from a single-founder, someone who the question was actually intended for.<p>This problem also came up the other day in the 'what skills do self-taught programmers lack'. I am a self-taught programmer and I don't care how many engineers you have managed, you can never actually understand what skills I lack. That thread should have been a bunch of auto-didacts explaining what they've had problems with over the years. Instead it read as a bunch of cs majors listing out the cs curricula from their schools.

I wonder if age and experience might be a component here. A lot of the internet startups quoted as examples of two founders being ideal were founded by really young people. In that context having support might be an absolute necessity. How does that compare with more experienced individuals in their 30's?<p>Having been a solo founder all my life I know just how hard it can be. I would not wish some of the lows I have had to navigate on my worst enemy.<p>If you are unfortunate enough to be in really difficult situations you really need the intestinal fortitude and mental stability to deal with life-changing problems. Few people in their early 20's have had enough life experience to have developed these qualities.<p>The problem with the co-founder model is that when life is peachy everyone is working hard and having a good time. However, when things turn ugly if all founders are not equipped to manage the situation it can easily turn in to a nightmare. Things like not being able to make payroll, facing lawsuits, facing bankruptcy, catastrophic supply chain problems (manufacturing), etc. can easily create a set of conditions that can break apart a partnership that was great during good times.<p>While I will not dispute that having like-minded co-founders can be an advantage, I am of the opinion that --for a certain type of businesses-- I'd rather go solo than run the risk of partnering with someone who might become my worst enemy when things become difficult. The right partner, however, can be an incredible asset, no question about it.<p>I don't think there's an easy universal answer to this question.

So, when people submit these Quora links, do we answer the Quora question here on HN, or answer on Quora and have a meta-discussion about Quora here on HN? (LOL)

Am I the only one that really doesn't like Quora's answer summary? Especially for a question like this, because some (somewhat contrary) valuable opinions are essentially ignored in favor of a catchy one liner.

It appears that the strong bias against single founders (at least from the investment community) may be softening a bit. In a recent talk at DogPatch Labs, Mark Suster advised starting a company on your own and then hiring a cofounder: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/mark-suster-entrepreneur-advice-2011-4" rel="nofollow">http://www.businessinsider.com/mark-suster-entrepreneur-advi...</a>

Its not. Start on your own, keep the equity, and in 6 months you can hire the same person for just a salary and only 1 or 2%

If a single person builds the 1st version of the application and gets the first 20 or so paying customers, is the 2nd person to work with the 1st person considered a founder?<p>I guess I'm just not sure where the line is drawn between a founder and the 1st employee

Being the technical co-founder I found it really helpful to get the manager / sales person onside.<p>He does all of the "help me understand" when things need clarity. He also keep me on track and not mucking around on the internet ( except the occasional hacker-news comment ;] )<p>Another bonus I have found is that having a non-technical mind allows him to put a unique perspective. One example is he wanted a list of all of the new pages on the internet every day ... I initially laughed at this, but after talking to him and going backwards and forwards his query turned back into a product that we ended up selling. I never would have thought of it had there not been his zany idea.<p>Coming from somebody who was the single founder for 5 months, I would say, much more difficult doing it yourself.

Good cofounders are better than no cofounders is better than bad cofounders.

It depends on the type of startup, your own skills and stress tolerance level.I would support going at it alone ,if its possible to do so and circumstances permit. Whats the point of trying to get people on board as cofounders is you the only one who has the vision.Those people will not be motivated as you are and wont be so passionate.

At the meta-level, this thread's an example of the potential of a system like Quora. It's been open for nine months and still attracts good new responses that get voted up. The brief bios add a lot, and so do the pictures. If you just want a quick answer, the top answer (or the top three) are fine; if you want to delve in more, all the different perspectives and experiences add a lot of value. Impressive.

How many are there, anyways? It's always been Gates and Allen, the two Steves, Sergei and Larry, Yang and Filo, even Zuckerberg and Saverin(?) Are there any renown tech startups that had a single founder?

Thought experiment: "How much more difficult is it to build a startup with someone else than just by yourself?"

Wow, really good answers. Glad we got to hear from Drew Houston.

More than 2x.