r/cofounder — Complete Community Guide
Welcome to r/cofounder, a community of over 55,000 members dedicated to connecting entrepreneurs with potential cofounders. This is the place for those who have a solid business plan and a project ready to go. It's not for job seekers or third-party vendors. Be sure to follow the posting rules to make the most of this space.
What you'll find on r/cofounder
Meta Announcements
Every now and then, you'll see some meta posts that lay down the law here—like no social media startups due to scams. These are basically the rulebook updates from the mods to keep the community clean and focused.
Funding Milestones
Some folks post about their recent funding wins, like 'hey, we just raised €600k and need a tech co-founder.' It's a mix of bragging rights and a call for skilled partners to join the ride.
Tech Co-Founder Searches
A huge chunk of posts is people hunting for tech co-founders. You'll see everything from full-stack developer gigs to niche needs like someone to help disrupt Goodreads or the music industry.
Biz Co-Founder Searches
Not just tech, there's also a lot of posts looking for business-minded co-founders. Think roles like a CTO or someone who can handle the startup's biz side while the techies handle the code.
Project Pitches
People drop in with their startup ideas and pitches, looking for partners who vibe with their vision. Whether it's a travel buddy app or live concert streaming, everyone’s got a dream they want to share.
Region-Specific Opportunities
You'll notice some posts are tagged with regions like USA or EU, which helps if you're looking to connect with someone nearby or in a specific market. It's all about finding the right fit with geographical perks.
Cautionary and Advice Posts
Occasionally, you'll come across posts that offer truths or advice, like the challenges non-tech folks face when finding tech co-founders. These are great for newbs and veterans alike, looking to navigate the startup world.
Community Reminders
The mods sometimes pop in with reminders, like 'this isn't a job board,' to keep things on track. It's a nice nudge for folks who might be veering off the community's main purpose.
How to Engage
Always start with a strong pitch in your post. For example, one post that got a ton of upvotes began with 'Looking for a tech cofounder to disrupt the real estate market!'—it grabs attention right away.
Be clear about what you're looking for in a cofounder. A post that did well asked for 'an experienced marketer with a passion for sustainability,' which helps the right people self-select.
Share a bit about your journey or background to build credibility. One popular post included a line like 'After scaling two startups, I'm now diving into health tech,' which shows you're not just dreaming.
Use specific numbers or achievements to back up your project's potential. I remember a post saying 'We've already secured $50k in pre-seed funding,' which definitely caught eyes.
Engage in the comments to keep the conversation going. Posts where the OP replied to every question and comment seemed to stay at the top longer.
Highlight the problem you're solving in a compelling way. One post that got a lot of traction started with 'We're tackling the student loan crisis with a new AI tool.'
Include a clear call to action. A post that stood out ended with 'If you're passionate about education and have a tech background, let's chat!' which made it easy to know what to do next.
Be upfront about what you're bringing to the table, like 'I bring 10 years of product management experience and a network of industry contacts,' which shows you're a serious partner.
Rules & Moderation
A rules lawyer is somebody who attempts to use the letter of the rules without reference to the spirit, usually in a misguided or ignorant attempt to "win" a debate with the mods. Don't debate the mods on the rules. You will lose.
We want the oldest, highest karma accounts here possible. Any attempt to create a "cofounder only" account for specific use here only is against the rules. We do not allow alts and will be actively working to ban any of the ones we find. If you can't post on a new account, that's why. You are NOT allowed to post on new accounts that do not have enough karma. this is by design and we will never override it to allow you to post on a low karma account, so do not ask.
Be a good person, inside and outside of this group. If you are caught acting in an unethical manner in your daily life and what you are doing makes people worried about your ethics, or you are doing shady things, we don't want you here. Being a Violent or Sexual Predator is an automatic ban from this group.
Violates a rule on the rules page the the wiki at https://www.reddit.com/r/cofounder/wiki/index
Adding more than one primary skill to the title of the post makes the community less focused. Pick your primary skill, and mention in your post if you have other skills, but only list one primary skill in the title of your post or it will be removed. So do not use the words 'and', 'or' etc in your title. Think of the grammar of these two sentences: Looking for a X and bunch of Y. Looking for an X. See how the second is more focused?
Adding more than one primary country to the title of the post makes the community less focused. Your primary country is the one you were born in or spend he most time in. Feel free to mention in your post if you have other immigration/residency/travel privileges, but only list one primary country in the title of your post or it will be removed.
Digital Currencies are only secure on non-quantum computing platforms so any attempt to post them here is considered malicious or ignorant. NTF's are just a scam that have the same problems compounded by the long term hosting issues of a single URL. Work on bigger, more relevant problems instead. Read https://moxie.org/2022/01/07/web3-first-impressions.html to learn why NFT's are a scam.
Applying to be a co-founder in a role you have no prior experience with is not allowed. To clarify: 1. If you have no tech experience, don't apply to be a tech founder. 2. If you have no sales experience, don't apply to be in sales. Fundamentally this is bait and switch, otherwise.
Anybody who wont disclose where they are based physically is being shady and is not welcome here. We understand that you may be working remote but you still MUST say the country/state you are in.
Anybody who refuses to disclose their years of experience is being shady and is not wanted here.
Roastmaster party foul. Outright insults, etc. Never insult others, but feel free to be the toastmaster and remember that you are roasting a friend, even if you only just met in that thread. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roast_(comedy) for style data.
If you are a person looking of your next gig and your casually looking for work, do not post here. Only post here if you want to start a startup and you already have a business idea. Posts to find your next gig when you don't have a business plan will get you banned.
No illegal drugs are to be posted in this sub. If drugs are posted about you are expected to name the state/country law that makes the drugs considered legal. If you do not do this we will instantly ban your account forever. For example: The law that makes Weed recreationally legal in WA state in the USA was I-502, after I-692 passed for medical use. Both the STATE and the bill/law MUST BE REFERENCED IN THE POST. The STATE in the title, and the law in the post itself.
Medical Startups must have an MD with a PHD and 5 years of practice experience to be allowed to post here. Anything medical related qualifies as this. See the wiki list of additional rules for more data. This is to protect people. If you whine about it we will just ban you.
Staffing companies are not allowed here as we find they don't provide enough value for the damage they do.
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