This is a short story about all the various ways we tried to get a tech pro to join our up-and-coming startup, and what we did instead.
We’re creating neonine.ai, a super cool video creator. But our tech limitations in building it started to show somewhere between a Figma file and a Miro board. We created boards and simple user-flows and tried explaining it to a few people. But nobody really wanted to listen. Customers today want to see way more than just a clickable prototype and nobody is really invested in giving feedback on something they can’t see. At least, nobody we know.
Plan A: First stop LinkedIn..
So we decided to find the tech guy or girl to join us. Our first stop was LinkedIn.. isn’t it always? Because like millions of people hang out there daily, and they’re just waiting for an exciting opportunity. Wouldn’t you want to join a promising startup??
It was tedious work and I suddenly felt sorry for all the sales people and headhunters who have to do it every day. Without a fancy software, I spent hours browsing profiles, trying to understand people’s skills and see if they matched what we needed.
We needed for a full-stack developer with experience in (or at least interest) AI. Personality was also important because you have to be adventurous and fun to trade your 9-5 for instability. And then the person needed to be hands-on.
So many profiles were abandoned, without a picture or a description, that I could make a living just advising these people on how to improve their online presence. But that’s another story.
On my journey to finding this one person, I finally connected with two guys who seemed interested in the idea. The first person, let’s call him Marc, was a recent graduate with some work experience and a lot of interest in joining a startup. After a couple of emails, he ghosted me completely without further explanation. Super frustrating and a waste of time, but it happens. Next!
The other developer, let’s call him Xavier, was interviewed by my co-founder. He actually made it to the call but completely hijacked the meeting and didn’t share any of his own experience. Like, I get it, you want to know how we intend to go to market and make money, but only talking without listening or ever describing what you’d bring to the table is a no-go, red flag. Another red flag was his overall shitty attitude and personality. Next!!
Plan B: Founder matching platform
Two weeks into the LinkedIn search, we abandoned the platform and decided to register on a local founder-matching website. The sole purpose of said website is to find a co-founder with the skill set you need. Some people are looking to join a team, others are looking for a new team member. We decided to go with the free version (for testing purposes), which allowed us to only contact a few people a week. After our experience with Xavier, the personality match accounted for more than hard skills, so we were looking for a friendly, optimistic bio. That’s not as easy to get, you see.
But hallelujah, only a day later, I got two responses. One was from a guy who already had his own business and wanted to sell me his IT services (which is a no-go and should be blocked by the platform providers), and the other guy seemed just wonderful. Friendly, knowledgeable, and with that spark in his eye. His profile said he wanted to join a team and was into the whole AI thing.
We quickly booked a call the next day… I was actually super excited to meet this person, I could feel it. But you know already that this story cannot have a happy ending. For starters, the guy didn’t switch on his camera and wasn’t interested in joining the team. Instead, he told me he needed to leave in 30 minutes, and after listening politely for a few minutes, he went on about his own startup idea and wanted my feedback. Um, hello!! I’m all for giving feedback and supporting your crazy idea, but shit, I told you clearly that I was looking for a tech co-founder to join the team. Why even bother talking? Nextttt!
Plan C: Professional services
After another frustrating talk, we moved on to Plan C. This plan was more sophisticated. We decided to contact an agency/freelancer on one of those websites and get a professional opinion and a quote. We paid $50 for the initial conversation, and I gave it completely to my co-founder to handle. At this point, I was fed up.
It was the most professional chat of all, but I was getting impatient, and running out of ideas. These guys followed up with a bunch of ideas and a super high quote. Ugh it wouldn’t be possible to pay for that.. now what??
Final plan
Luckily, that’s why I’m not doing this alone. So grateful for my amazing co-founder, who went ahead and got a software he could work with for the time being. He also created a loose plan of action, and at the end of the day, we agreed that we saved time, money, headaches, and all kinds of weird people by not signing anyone.
If it were easy, everyone would do it, right?? You have to walk through the inferno part before you get to the paradise. Or something like that.
So, due to these unforeseen things, the MVP is taking a moment longer than we thought, but this gives me plenty of time to work on the website. I can’t wait to launch the first version and get people to test it.
Creating a startup isn’t easy at all, but neither is life itself. Surround yourself with people you can count on at any moment in time. And be there for them when they need you.
That’s the story for today… ’til next time, my dears.
EXPRESSO NIGHTS 