Hi jdileo, I'm an east coast hacker who has lived in very rural areas and has not had the opportunity to hook up with reasonably-financed partners because of the location of where I live.<p>I'm looking to move to the Valley for my next startup, however, and my expertise is not only on hacking internet applications together its also on growing small teams into large organizations. My day job is advising large organizations how to run their teams like startups. I've written several web applications as startups in the past but never seemed to make it past the first stage. I've also consulted with a few startups and know their pains.<p>I also like bunnies and puppies and long walks in the park.<p>(grin)<p>Good luck to you, my friend. I've been actively seeking a cofounder for about a year. I'm not sure what the magic formula is. Perhaps it might be best to get out there, set up shop, and do some networking for a month or two.<p>As to hiring and percentage ownership and such, put your checkbook away. If you're serious about a startup, go 50-50 with whomever you hook up with. Startups are inherently risky. You need another brain that's in this struggle with you 100%, not some schmuck looking for a paycheck. Don't get me wrong -- there are great employees out there. But what you need is technical <i>vision</i>, not just technical execution. You don't know what you don't know. And employees aren't going to fix that.<p>Having said all of that, you come at this in a severe disadvantage -- you've already had a successful business. That means you're not as hungry as the average person. The next startup I'm in, I have to make it work or go back to consulting. You can always hang out for another year and see how things go. At some point, your "runway" can be too long. I really believe you can have too much money for this sort of thing. I'd also think about a three-person team just to balance it out and prevent deadlocks. I can't overemphasize how critical people selection are to team performance. It's critical enough in any kind of business endeavor, but in startups? Having the right folks that mix the right way is gold -- literally.<p>Hope that helps you. Glad to continue a conversation if you'd like. Just drop me an email.