Finding People To Work Cheap While Starting a New Company

Once you have an idea for a company, the first sales process is toget talented people to work inexpensively to help build a prototype or get the first product out the door.

If you are having a super hard time finding people to join you, then you can imagine how hard it will be to get VC funding. So, the first litmus test for a new idea is how high of quality people can you attract to come work on a project with no money. If you can get talented people, then your idea has more merit. Remember that most businesses rarely work out like the original plan, so you'll need talented people to help find the right path on your journey to building a great business. If the only person that will come work with you is an unemployed third tier engineer, then you should revise your plan.

What about hiring people? Well, if you are sufficiently rich, I suppose it could work. However, if the plan is to raise money, I'd recommend giving someone a good chunk of equity and doing it as a co-founder. Getting others invested in the business is critical.

Where do you look for a co-founder? For technology start-ups, look to the best engineers you know. Make a list of two or three people. Rank them in the order you would like them to join you and pitch them on the company. Getting good engineering talent is one of the hardest things to find in today's market. If you can get two engineers, I'd do it. The most important thing here is to look for people you know. People that you have seen thier work and trust it. I think the odds are worse if you find your co-founder similarly to how you would recruit and hire an unknown employee. The best hires are usually referrals.

Also, recruit a co-founder that can grow with the business. In start-ups, the work is very hands-on, but you'll need a different skillset from your management team as the business grows. My ideal technology co-founder is someone that can and will code a fulldays work, but also has experience managing teams.