How to Find a Co-Founder

5 min read

Most advice about finding a co-founder is just a list of websites. The actual process matters more than the platform, so here's the version that focuses on that.

Start by writing down exactly what you're building and exactly what's missing — not a personality type, a specific gap. 'Someone who can do marketing' is vague. 'Someone who has grown a consumer app past 10,000 users' is a filter that works.

Post that description somewhere it can be discovered, not just searched. A public card on Krooko, a post on Indie Hackers, or a detailed Startup School profile all work the same way: they let the right person find you instead of you guessing who to cold-message.

Talk before you commit to anything. The first conversation should be about the problem you're solving, not the equity split — how someone talks about the problem tells you more than any resume.

Test the partnership on something small before making it official. Build a tiny piece of the thing together, or solve one real problem as a trial. It's the fastest way to see how someone actually works, not just how they talk about work.

Only then put it in writing. A simple collab agreement — what each person owns, what happens if one side leaves — protects the partnership, not just the paperwork. Krooko's messaging includes exactly this, so you don't need a lawyer to get the basics down.