February 1, 2025
By:  
Jorge Lewis

How to find a Tech Co-founder

A comprehensive guide to finding a technical co-founder for your startup, highlighting key considerations, collaboration tips, and red flags to watch out for in potential partnerships.

Founding a tech-startup without a technical co-founder is like building a boat out of cardboard—yes, it might float around for a moment, but the minute you launch for real, you’ll probably sink, rather fast than slow. It’s harsh, but let’s face it: tech-startups thrive on, well, tech. If you’re going to create software or something that demands serious engineering, you need to bring someone on board who loves writing code as much as you love dreaming about the next big thing. But floating around for a just moment is enough.

Now, before you go calling everyone in your LinkedIn network, let’s get one thing straight: a technical partner is more than a glorified code monkey who executes your brilliant vision. They’re in the trenches with you—equal partner, equal risk, equal say (and that often means a thoughtful equity split). Because guess what:

  1. If you’re looking to get funded, the folks with the big checks (or the ones who’ll eventually acquire your company) want to see a balanced founding team. One that doesn’t crumble the moment the product needs a major pivot.
  2. If you're not planning to raise money right away, you still need someone who can build your product reliably and make it grow smoothly, with pivots and all. A technical co-founder brings expertise that will help you avoid costly mistakes and make smarter decisions about your product's direction.

Can You Build It Yourself—Sort Of?

Being "technical" doesn't mean you need to create an entire codebase from scratch. Many successful founders start by cobbling together simple solutions using no-code tools like Airtable, and nowadays Bolt, Lovable, and the likes. They might create a basic landing page, set up a simple database, and connect them with automation tools. Once they've proven there's real demand and gathered initial users, they're in a much better position to attract technical talent. Good engineers love solving real problems, not just daydreams.

This could be as simple as collecting emails from a landing page, creating mockups in Figma, or building a basic prototype with no-code tools. The key is to show that you've done more than just talk about your idea – you've actually tried to bring it to life, even in a rudimentary way. This initiative not only validates your concept but also demonstrates to potential technical co-founders that you're serious about execution.

If You Still Need a Developer…

Think of a tech co-founder like an accelerant. They’ll help you iterate faster, fix those inevitable bugs, and speak the language you can’t. If your idea’s success hinges on robust engineering, you can’t keep hacking with bubble gum (bubble.io) and hopes (Zapier).

Our team at Startino has attempted building full projects in Bolt and it really lets you down after the scaffolding; while it offers a great starting point with AI-assisted coding, it has significant limitations in the long-term. The development environment can become sluggish with larger projects and complex backend implementations often require workarounds. The AI assistance, while helpful for boilerplate code and front-ends, struggles with nuanced architectural decisions that experienced developers need to make.

Moreover, while tools like Bolt and similar AI-powered development environments promise to democratize coding, they create a false sense of capability (for now! 😉). They're excellent for prototyping and learning (you’d be surprised about how much you uncover about your own vision from this!), but building a production-ready application requires deeper technical understanding that these tools can't replace. That’s just our experience though. I’m sure with enough blood, sweat, tears, and smashed keyboards (just me?), you’ll be able to hack a “full” product—but for us it just made sense to migrate the codebase from Bolt to a proper code editor (IDE) (Cursor is my choice).

Start With Your Network

Yes, your network might be bigger than you think. We often forget that random coworker from a past job might be a coding savant. Keep an open mind and see who’s out there. But here’s the key: figure out if they actually enjoy coding. Title ≠ passion. Some folks used to be into it but now want to manage from a distance, so you need the person who genuinely lights up at the thought of debugging at 2 a.m.

Once you spot potential candidates, hang out with them. Collaborate on a small project—could be anything, from building a quick website to organizing a hackathon, or even a passion project unrelated to tech. Gauge whether you click or clash. After that, skip the ambiguous dance. Make them a real offer—salary plus equity if you can afford it; 50/50 equity if money’s tight and you’re both all-in. I salute your efforts if equity is all you can afford, you’ll likely get the bottom rung of the ladder with offers like this, or an individual extremely passionate about your idea… he says…

Or Go Embed Yourself Somewhere

If your network comes up empty, maybe it’s time to press pause on your startup dreams and embed yourself in an industry job with a strong engineering culture, ideally at a startup. Tell the CEO you’ll do whatever it takes to contribute—support, operations, anything. While you’re there, make friends with the dev team. If they like you and your vision, that’s your ticket to a future co-founder. Sure, you’ll be filing customer service tickets or labeling data, but you’ll also be gaining trust and scouting talent in a very real environment. You’ll also gain invaluable experience; able to learn from their mistakes and build a network that could prove invaluable down the line. Plus, you'll get an insider's view of what technical co-founders actually value in their business partners. This kind of firsthand experience is worth its weight in gold, and heavy in responsibilities and time commitment.

If those don’t work

While platforms like Reddit and Upwork can work for finding contractors or freelancers, they're generally not ideal for securing long-term technical partners. These platforms tend to foster more transactional relationships rather than true partnerships. Contractors found through these channels may deliver code, but they rarely bring the deep commitment and input that’s necessary from a founding role (I’d like to think Startino is different 🙂)

The Y Combinator co-founder matching platform is another option worth exploring, though experiences vary. While some people report successful matches leading to productive partnerships, others face challenges with finding serious candidates or establishing genuine connections. The platform works best when users are clear about their goals, actively engage with potential matches, and treat it as one of several channels for finding a co-founder. Like any matching platform, success often depends on individual effort and realistic expectations.

Just take your time, please.

Co-Create, Don’t Just Pitch

The key is to test the waters with small, low-stakes collaborations first. Maybe work on a weekend project together, or tackle a minor technical challenge. This gives you both a chance to see how you communicate, handle stress, and resolve conflicts before diving into the deep end. Plus, it's a great way to gauge if your working styles actually mesh or if you're just forcing a fit. Doubts like your leadership, sales, or marketing abilities and his programming and communication abilities will hopefully have an answer at the end of this.

Look Out for These 10 Red Flags

Now, let’s talk about the stuff nobody wants to talk about: the reasons co-founder relationships implode faster than a cheap air mattress.

If you spot these, proceed with caution—or run, depending on the severity:

  1. Rushing Into Partnership (“Let’s Start Tomorrow” Syndrome)
    • If they say yes to everything right away, skipping the “dating” phase, and avoiding any serious discussions, that’s a giant neon flag. You want at least a couple of weeks of discussions, brainstorming, maybe a tiny test project, before signing on the dotted line.
  2. Misaligned Time Commitments
    • One person can go full-time, the other wants to do it on nights and weekends, and nobody clarifies expectations. It’s a slow-motion trainwreck. Successful teams I’ve seen have explicit agreements: weekly hours, response times, overlap windows, a timeline for going full-time… the works.
    • I know its an uncomfortable conversation, myself and Jonas (my co-founder) had been working remotely together for over half a year without discussing these expectations. Once we met in person, the discussion was the only option. We sat down and aligned our expectations everyday for the next half a week. Stressful, uncomfortable, and tough. But its how we’ve come as far and close as we are today.
  3. Vague Skills Claims
    • The “full-stack everything” type with zero actual examples. No GitHub, no portfolio, only big talk. Be wary of folks who dodge technical assessments or can’t point to tangible past work. Don’t let them woo you with technical language—in fact, that’s a sign of an inexperienced engineer, one that can’t speak both your language (layman's) and his (engineer).
    • Vetting is crucial. Without technical expertise, it's challenging to separate skilled developers from those who just talk a good game. Get a technical friend or consultant to thoroughly vet candidates. Check their past work, conduct technical interviews, and verify their communication skills through trial projects.
    • Regardless if you’re looking to work with an indie-dev, freelancer, or development agency, thorough vetting is still essential—check their portfolio, client references, and project management processes (for agencies).
    • Remember: "Buy cheap, buy twice" applies strongly in software development. Proper vetting upfront, while time-consuming and potentially expensive, saves money and headaches in the long run.
  4. Equity Avoidance
    • They refuse to discuss splits upfront or they push weirdly lopsided proposals without reason. Even worse if they avoid vesting schedules or hate putting anything in writing. Real co-founders can handle the tough money talk.
  5. No Skin in the Game
    • If they’re expecting a plush salary from day one but offering no financial or personal risk, it shows they’re not willing to bet on this venture (at least a little), and that’s a problem.
  6. Communication Red Flags
    • Being late to every meeting, responding days later to urgent messages, or getting impossibly defensive when challenged. Pay attention to these patterns early. They rarely get better.
  7. Lack of Long-Term Vision Alignment
    • If you’re trying to build for 10 years, make sure they don’t want to flip in 10 months. Or you love the idea of going full-throttle for VC funding; they want to bootstrap. If your end goals are polar opposites, you’re headed for friction. Align on this ASAP.
  8. Previous Partnership Issues
    • Everyone has a story, but if they’re on co-founder number 12, badmouthing all of them, and can’t articulate lessons learned, you might be next on their “blame” list.
  9. Decision-Making Incompatibility
    • Do they freeze without complete consensus, or randomly pivot the product without telling anyone? If you can’t develop a functional process for making tough calls, that dissonance will kill you.
  10. Misaligned Financial Expectations
  • Unrealistic revenue projections, no clue about personal runway, insisting on top-tier salaries before the product even launches. If the money talk feels off, it probably is.

Bonus Red Flag for non-technical founders: “I Just Need Someone to Build It” Syndrome

This one is a classic: the non-technical founder with “the next big idea,” zero validation, and no interest in learning the basics of how technology works—just wanting an engineer to slave away and build their vision. If you want someone to just build your vision without input, you're better off going solo. Even a contractor or agency should be giving good input, but that’s hard for them and harder for you to listen to.

A Few Good Questions for Potential Tech Co-Founders

  • What’s your time commitment and runway?
  • How do you handle disagreements or pivots?
  • What are your absolute deal-breakers?
  • How do you make critical decisions?
  • Where do you see this going—exit in two years or building for a decade?

If you can walk away from these questions feeling aligned, that’s a huge plus. If you’re seeing any red flags waving in your face, do yourself a favor and investigate before you sign that agreement. The worst thing you can do is lock yourself into a partnership built on shaky assumptions.

Final Word: No Cardboard Boats, Please

Building a startup is already a heroic challenge. It’s a thousand times easier—and more fun—when your co-founder is right there in the trenches with you, both of you taking ownership of the technical and business sides. So take your time. Vet carefully. Co-create so they feel invested, not just dictated to. And watch out for those red flags like your company’s future depends on it—because, to be blunt, it does. Then go build that titanic (just dodge the icebergs!). Cardboard boats are more than welcomed to float for a minute or two, for a proof of concept.

Good luck founders o7

Don’t Build Your Startup on Cardboard—Get the Right Tech Partner

You wouldn’t set sail with a boat made of cardboard, so why launch a tech startup without the right technical co-founder? A strong product needs more than just an idea—it needs real engineering, rapid iteration, and a distribution plan that doesn’t rely on hope.

At Startino, we help non-technical founders find the right technical talent, validate their ideas, and build products that don’t sink on launch day.

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