How we build founding teams

We don't recruit co-founders in pairs. We build founding teams sequentially, matching founders to the startup as it reveals itself.

The sequence:

  1. First founder joins — leads the early discovery and validation (Stage 1)
  2. Startup reality emerges — we learn what the product requires, what the market demands, what the first founder brings and lacks
  3. Second founder profile is defined — based on what we've uncovered, not on a template
  4. Second founder joins — typically in Stage 2, as the product takes shape

This sequencing is deliberate. The right second founder depends on what the startup actually needs, and you can't know that before you've started.

What we're building toward

Every founding team needs to cover three capability areas:

Capability What It Means
Builder Can design and ship product. Understands technology deeply enough to make architecture decisions and lead a technical team.
Launcher Can acquire customers and close deals. Understands the market, the buyer, and how to create urgency.
Organizer Can build and lead a team. Understands people, culture, and how to scale an organization without breaking it.

The ideal founding team covers all three, but rarely does one person cover them all. The art is in the combination.

Matching the second founder

The second founder profile is defined by two inputs: what the first founder brings, and what the startup demands.

Based on the first founder:

If the first founder is strong in... We may look for someone strong in...
Building + People Market + Org
Product + Tech Sales + Market
Sales + Org Product + Tech

We're looking for complement, not overlap. Two builders with no launcher is a product that never sells. Two launchers with no builder is a pitch deck with no product.