Archived summary — the original Medium post may not be around forever, so here's a record of what it covers.
Practical advice on finding a technical co-founder, aimed at non-technical founders. The starting point: validate the idea before you go looking. Get email signups, get a few people to actually pay, or ship a scrappy MVP that proves the need exists — that proof is what makes you attractive to a technical co-founder in the first place, since you're asking them to bet their time on your judgment.
From there, four places to actually look:
- Personal network — message people you already know on Messenger or LinkedIn, treat it as a chance to reconnect, and see if they buy into the idea.
- Referrals — pitch everyone you meet, and explicitly ask for introductions to people who might fit.
- Professional platforms — sites built for exactly this, like CoFoundersLab and BEAM.
- Hackathons — a fast, low-commitment way to see how someone actually builds and works under pressure before asking them to join full-time.