The conversation always seems to be focused on either finding co-founders or funding. That's really the surface level problem. Essentially the outcome. What's holding you back as a founder? It'd be awesome to dig deeper than surface.
the co-founder problem is real but honestly i think the funding side is just as brutal, especially if you're building something tangible - like a physical business or anything that isn't pure software. most platforms just aren't built for that. i stumbled on https://wepitched.com a while back and it's one of the few places i've seen that actually tries to connect non-tech founders with investors in a structured way. doesn't fix the co-founder thing obviously but at least the 'finding money' part gets a bit less opaque
Distribution is definitely challenging even for startups that are well funded. Funding or no funding, while the latter may help it doesn't change user adoption rate. So many great products unfortunately don't get a chance because of distribution.
If you are trying to bootstrap your startup, then one of your biggest challenges is trying to find co-founders who can/will put as much skin in the game as you do. Everyone wants you to take all the risks while sharing all the rewards.
That’s not true. Most of the time it’s the founder who wants early employees to take all of the risks by paying them much less than their market value with the promise of statistically worthless illiquid “equity”.
Especially bad when it comes to non technical founders with nothing but an idea, who put “ai” in their names and convinced YC to fund them.
the cold start on sales. getting there when you have no brand, no warm intros, and you're doing pure cold outreach as one person is the grind nobody talks about.
Knowing what ideas to invest in both your time and value to others can be hard. Simple is scalable, complex often creates obstacles. Can you explain what you're building so that anyone can get it. If you have to over explain the value then the idea may be too trepid.
