Article

How to Pick a Co-Founder

Naval Ravikant · Venture Hacks Free Intermediate

Naval calls picking a co-founder your most important decision, more than product or market, and this is the canonical short guide on how to do it. It covers complementary skills (one builds, one sells), founder vesting so a breakup does not sink the company, and why two to three founders beats going solo. Practical and unsentimental.

  • The ideal team pairs a builder with a seller
  • Set founder vesting before you ever need it
  • Two to three founders is the stable range
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It answers 2 questions

  1. I'm non-technical, do I actually need a technical co-founder?
  2. How do I actually find a technical co-founder?

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