I am always exploring various options on how do we elevate the co-founder search program (next happening on 29th June) to the next level. It’s intuitive that co-founder search program has to factor-in both online play as well as offline play.
In offline play or offline meetups there are various kinds of meet-up which could be possible these are as below:
Long 1-on-1 meet-up
Long 1-on-1 style is where you or someone initiates a request for meeting , you meet for long hours, after couple of meeting you are in position to decide, to join as co-founder or not?
Pros – Private, personal meet, can take as much time as needed for meeting
Cons – Time consuming, might start to become attached, various org can’t help much in 1-on-1 meeting
Co-founder speed dating
Co-founder speed dating could be arranged time to time preferably once in a month or quarter where whole pool of co-founder seekers are invited from respective cities to have a 3 to 5 minutes speed dating style conversation.
Pros – Meeting potential people who wouldn’t have been in your radar, selection pool increased drastically, and healthy team with multiple co-founders could be formed.
Cons – Constrain on time, meeting undesired people, product or idea not understood properly
Tech v/s Biz group mash-up
Since it is observed that most co-founders seek techie, offline meet-up of techie group v/s business group can be arranged once a month or quarter, where techies are able to tell/sell their skills and business people are able to excite techies to join them in their start-up
Pros – Great place to scout techies, early talks or product development can happen.
Cons – Not all the co-founder seekers are seeking techie, there is shortage of techies who can join.
Expert/skill driven date
In real world for work and employment people having specific skill-set are searched, co-founder can search for those skill -set online through co-founder search platform and have 1-on-1 meeting with the potential seeker.
Pros – Private, personal meet, time saving
Cons – In case if the business is changed or another idea is taken, the co-founder with specific skill-set might not be right fit. Co-founder with specific skill-set might not be flexible or juggadu enough to carry out other entrepreneurial activity, apart from suggesting best match various org can’t help in meeting.
Industry driven
Many start-up players seek to join someone from same industry because they understand the industry or business area very well; they are well connected with the people, and are able to sense what’s the pulse of industry? What will work and what will not work? Since they understand pain areas, they are able to work on solution with insights. (If the business has app as a product the team formed can anytime
have apps developed in-house or through freelancer) If of the start-ups ecosystem can arrange Industry driven meet-up once in a month or quarter (this style is similar to SME Mixer)
Pros – Taking well informed decisions, getting leverage on business and connections
Cons – competitors might find difficult to work together, Participation across industry for seek co-founders not possible
If you were to search for co-founder which meet-up styles would be best suited to you such that you don’t have to look further. What prolongs the co-founder seeker’s final ‘Yes’ decision. In case if I have missed out any meet-up style kindly let me know.
