Ask HN: How do you evaluate non-technical co-founders?
8 comments
There are many answers to your question, but when it comes down to it, you are probably looking for someone who can network. Now I don't mean go hire the douche popular jock whose daddy has some fancy title at a 500 company. Instead look for someone who has the ability to make great connections. I would suggest going for someone who has (or is) graduating from a "top" school with a strong alumni network...but I have a feeling you already knew that. It sounds like you already know what you want/who has the best potential. Its just a matter of finding them. I would suggest making the interviewing process a little longer than usual.
PS It seems like I fit the mold quite well so here is my shameless solicitation.
PS It seems like I fit the mold quite well so here is my shameless solicitation.
I will say to you what I say to those looking for technical co-founders: Learn to do it yourself first, until then, you trying to evaluate them is like a deaf/blind person being a judge on American Idol.
Think about it, a deaf/blind dude reading up on how to evaluate good music/dance. Or flip the problem, do you think a business guy, pure and pure, can read some stuff and then be able to judge which one of the guys on your team is the best hacker?
I know the skill set is different, but the concept is universal: you have to know a craft in order to appreciate it in order to know/tell the difference.
Think about it, a deaf/blind dude reading up on how to evaluate good music/dance. Or flip the problem, do you think a business guy, pure and pure, can read some stuff and then be able to judge which one of the guys on your team is the best hacker?
I know the skill set is different, but the concept is universal: you have to know a craft in order to appreciate it in order to know/tell the difference.
"Learn to do it yourself first" -> that's like saying learn to play professional football first before evaluating NBA candidates. You just can't.
Instead, evaluate them on smart, getting stuff done and culture fit, and then have a techie friend who is really good evaluate their tech skills.
Instead, evaluate them on smart, getting stuff done and culture fit, and then have a techie friend who is really good evaluate their tech skills.
There are two tools that come to mind. One is behavioral interviewing (which is also IMHO useful for interviewing technical candidates once you know they can code their way out of a paper bag):
http://www.udel.edu/CSC/pdfs/behav_interview.pdf
The other is using your network and references to actually get informed opinions about candidates' long-term attributes.
http://www.udel.edu/CSC/pdfs/behav_interview.pdf
The other is using your network and references to actually get informed opinions about candidates' long-term attributes.
Get a biz guy that has a track record. When looking for a programmer your skills get tested with scenarios, code, and such. The biz guy should have a record of raising investment, pitching, networking, ect. If you are targeting a newer biz guy - find what you think is a right fit and then have him pitch you your own idea. Is it a good pitch or not?
Take them to some drinks, and be sure to drink more. If you felt good with them during the ordeal, then that's a sure sign.
Never wear your geek hat doing these types of things, you'll be putting them through the technical sieve and that, as I know you've already experienced, don't work.
Never wear your geek hat doing these types of things, you'll be putting them through the technical sieve and that, as I know you've already experienced, don't work.
See:
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2378703
http://blog.hirelite.com/how-to-evaluate-a-non-technical-co-...
Okay, thanks for the links. However, I hate to say this: I code for a living, and I can't parse a lot of this *t. I read the hirelite blog post a few months ago and found it amusing, but not very helpful. The blog's subheaders are:
Traction (nonsense marketing term; immeasurable hyperbolic bullshit; what you're in after a skiing accident) Domain experience (.com? .net? .social?) Marketing ability (ability to talk BS -- covered) Fundraising ability (as above) Product skill (uses the term metrics way too many times; "skill" with our product doesn't require Skill writ large anyway; that's the point of our product.) Respect for development (we hope so) Relevant connections or following (Dad? Mom? Facebook? We have those).
This, in short, does not help because it reads like what a non-technical co-founder needs to know to get a job with us, not what we need to find the right NTCF.
Traction (nonsense marketing term; immeasurable hyperbolic bullshit; what you're in after a skiing accident) Domain experience (.com? .net? .social?) Marketing ability (ability to talk BS -- covered) Fundraising ability (as above) Product skill (uses the term metrics way too many times; "skill" with our product doesn't require Skill writ large anyway; that's the point of our product.) Respect for development (we hope so) Relevant connections or following (Dad? Mom? Facebook? We have those).
This, in short, does not help because it reads like what a non-technical co-founder needs to know to get a job with us, not what we need to find the right NTCF.
Talk to them to test their attitude, general smartness.
Then look at past performance in the areas that you expect them to work (making deals, raising money, sales, ...).
So then the question is: what do you need them for, specifically?
Then look at past performance in the areas that you expect them to work (making deals, raising money, sales, ...).
So then the question is: what do you need them for, specifically?
There are tons of websites dedicated to finding technical co-founders, and basically none dedicated to the non-tech kind. And to some extent it's probably because there isn't a simple test you can administer to check whether someone would be good for the job. I mean, there are ways you can test someone's technical knowledge. But how to test whether a non-tech has the stamina to be a long-term team player, the playfulness to be a great evangelist, the cajones to be a good salesperson, and the drive to never become complacent or lazy? That they're smart enough to play the part, that they're competent to maintain good business sense and good social skills -- I mean, what's the test for that? A dinner and drinks doesn't seem enough to know it (let alone an email exchange or a 30-minute interview.) And moreover, a lot of times we think the ability to hype something is key, and therefore people who hype themselves well must be good at hyping something we're building. To a certain extent that's true, but it's missing a key component: Trust. Trust granted is inverse to a person's ability to hype themselves. Put another way, the best salesment are humble, and generate sympathy as well as respect and adulation. We've yet to see much humility, or even humanity, in the people applying for this role.
So how do you evaluate non-technical co-founders, if you're an all-tech startup? For the longest time we've maintained we don't need them at all, but it's becoming obvious that in some ways, we really do. But without hard and fast rules for evaluation, we're operating on gut instinct, which can only take us so far.