Startup Founders Struggle with Connection
Early-stage startup founders are experiencing significant difficulty in building meaningful relationships and finding collaborators. This extends to finding co-founders with specific skill sets, and often involves a feeling of isolation despite access to abundant online resources. The core issue is a lack of genuine connection and support within the startup ecosystem.
SOURCES (60)
“Similar boat, looking for co-founder - robotics, embedded systems,ai, vla if this sounds like something you like to work around, drop me a DM.”
“One thing that helped me was contributing to open source projects or sharing small projects publicly”
“I agree. I love brainstorming and I love having fast-paced conversations where everyone's contributing and molding an idea in real time. I have found very few other people like me. As a manager I found that I would have to toss some ideas out at my team and then tell them to go think about it and come back to me later with their thoughts. I would explicitly tell them that I know my ideas are not the best ones and to please shoot as many holes in them as they can and that I would be thrilled”
“We're a Kerala-based startup looking for a passionate individual to join our team as a core member. Business Strategy & Operations Associate (Part-time / Full-time) Eligibility * MBA preferred (recent graduates are encouraged to apply). * Strong interest in startups, business strategy, marketing, and scaling businesses. * Entrepreneurial mindset with a willingness to take ownership and grow with the company. Key Responsibilities * Work closely with the founders to define and execute the”
“Not everyone is the same. Some people flourish in a brainstorming environment where they can contribute immediately and others need some time to sit with her thoughts before they’re ready to contribute anything of value. I don’t think the tech is the problem. I think the expectation that everyone on your team will flourish in the same way is the problem.”
“The difference is that Teams is centered around people where something like slack is around topics. Teams forum-style channels feel too formal for standard conversation and 1:1 chat feels limited, it’s hard to find files and messages. I cant imagine how difficult it is to get anything at all done msft, Teams has come a long way. I see the appeal.”
“I am from Tunisia and I can tell you that this totally relates to me, but even to founders I worked with. For the past 8 years I have been advising African founders, what I reached with time is that what is being talked about in the west (especially in the us) is not feasible for us (we come at a disadvantage since our birth). I got a bit depressed when I reached that point, however what made me a bit hopeful is I am currently working on a book that summarizes my experience. At least that gives”
“Man personal friendships, unless they have extraordinary work ethic and character, it doesn't work. You sometimes get less work done, conversations or criticisms taken personally when it shouldn't, them trying to play around the friendship etc. and in the end it just harms the relationship. Just take it as a learning experience. That's the best thing you can do.”
This is built for me! If still wanted either DM me or allow DMs on your end.
“If it’s a small enough fee, it’s probably just to get a sense that you’re serious about building something and working with their mentors. Do they list who their mentors are and what their backgrounds are on their website? That’s the first place that I would start to find their names and investigate their backgrounds on LinkedIn to see if they actually align with the type of help that you need for your startup. If it’s just a bunch of random retired, executives or people that have never shipped”
“Reckon that's a smart split, fractional CTO to steer the ship and a senior dev to actually build it. Keeps your burn low while you sort the culture.”
“Thank you so much for your advice, unfortunately I can’t afford it alone, and apart from financing the project, he has big connections to help us with sales, and eventually growing the project faster..”
“I haven’t found them to be useful because there’s too many founders in the space and not enough industry specific executives in the room who can actually make warm introductions”
“I work in podcasting and digital media, and a few months ago I was added to a private Discord for job leads, freelance work and referrals. At first it seemed useful. People shared openings, recommended editors and helped each other find work. Then I started noticing conversations where someone would ask, “Has anyone worked with this person?” and the replies would be things like, “Talented but difficult,” “I’d be careful,” or “Not worth the headache.” I was scrolling on my phone one night when I”
“Hey! Would love to chat but I'm not able to DM for some reason, might be a karma limit thing. If you click on my username, there should be a 'Chat' or 'Send Message' option there..”
Going deep into MCP, headless and SF skills for Claude, I’m looking to partner with others who want to build agents and run webinars. Any cloud, any background. Just looking to get…
“I am looking to make new friends based in london, who are into Ecommerce, Social Media Marketing, online business or Providing marketing services have experience, already working and passionate about business. Happy to connect.. submitted by /u/EducationalEbb5208 [link] [comments]”
“Yup, the cold start problem. Well hopefully people here that are interested can help”
“While dating apps don't really spark any interest in me, and I'm a little pessimistic in regards to your discord group actually competing with the top apps. I do like the concept of creating an open-source one to compete with the top apps that are more dubious, It would be good to see open-source take on some of the other bigger apps, like Ubereats and such. Good luck to you.”
“I've actually thought about this sort of thing before. A dating app that isn't purely profit-driven at the expense of its purported goal would be good for society. The hard parts would be getting people to actually use it, plus the maintenance costs if it is successful”
Seeking a reliable n8n developer for ongoing project-based work (build + maintain)
“I’m fully transparent about our intentions and i can tell you as a software engineer I more then one asked to give a feedback and never think in my mind that should be required any compensation I did not ask for any implementation I just show new technology and if you love that and it’s interesting you can see is as an opportunity to learn”
“Google your city + startup and see what comes up. Look for incubators, accelerators, and anything entrepreneurship. They will know where the start scene is in your area.”
“Start by defining a specific problem for a specific user. That gives you a concrete problem to solve. It also allows you to explain your pitch to people in a way they can understand. As is, this is super vague and it sounds like you’re trying to boil the ocean.”
Let’s talk! Send me a DM! I’m new in Reddit don’t know exactly how to do that :)
“I have this itch to build something. Like genuinely, it doesn't leave me alone. But I keep hitting the same wall. I've heard the classic advice a hundred times: "find a problem, solve it." Cool. I get it. But that advice alone isn't moving me anywhere anymore. I'm not looking for another framework or another YouTube video telling me to "validate my idea." I've had enough of that loop. I specifically want to build something non-tech. Something real-world, s”
“Hi everyone, We’re a small-ish MSP, around 17 staff and 4MM in yearly revenue. I’m overdue for a peer group. Anything people like outside of the Pax8 ones (I think previously this was SeaLevel?) Truthfully I was hoping for an active channel on MSPGeek, but I don’t think there is one. I’ve also tried TechTribe but feel we grew out of it unfortunately. Really just looking for occasional gut checks from people in a similar place. I’ve posted her occasionally, but I’m not always looking for mixed fe”
“How helpful are “founder communities”: informal groups of tech founders who get together for dinners, networking, fun events, etc., generally led by one person as their main job, and often sponsored by accounting firms, law firms, Carta and banks? It seems like it’s good advertising for the sponsors, but are they useful for founders? if not, what should they do to become more useful? submitted by /u/Ok_Counter1939 [link] [comments]”
“I have been trying platforms such as YC’s Work at a Startup, Wellfound, LinkedIn, and other job boards, but not much of remote hiring(outside US). I have been working with react, next.js , react native and node.js from last 4 years and more. I wanna to join an early-stage startup, contribute closely to the product, and learn more about a startup. Whenever I find an interesting startup, I usually reach out through email or Discord. Most of the time, they are either not hiring, do not have the bud”
“Hello folks. I'm reaching out to get some help connecting with the right people. I was working in the US as a manufacturing and operations consultant and am moving back to India. I have experience solving problems in factories, developing and improving processes as well as building inventory models and much more. I am trying to do the same in India. I've had some meetings with some executives but they don't really have the on ground idea. Also this industry in general does not seem t”
“It sounds like you’re on the right track with your existing outreach, but here are a few additional strategies that could help you connect with early-stage startups looking for a developer: **Networking Events and Meetups**: Attend virtual or local tech meetups, startup weekends, or hackathons. These can be excellent opportunities to meet founders and other developers who might know of openings. **Startup Incubators and Accelerators**: Keep an eye on programs like Techstars or Seedcamp. Many sta”
“Startup Name / URL On Target Ventures https://ontargetventures.co Location of Headquarters Toronto, Ontario, Canada I am always open to connecting with other founders, agency owners, and operators in Toronto, across Canada, or in the United States. Elevator Pitch On Target Ventures helps founder-led agencies get their client delivery under control before they need to hire a full-time COO. Our main offer is the Delivery Control Diagnostic, a focused review for digital, marketing, RevOps, automati”
Hiii, I am looking to officially start hosting/creating events next year and would love to have entrepreneurial conversations. I would love to build friendships with other people who are growing in their…
“I have been trying platforms such as YC’s Work at a Startup, Wellfound, LinkedIn, and other job boards, but not much of remote hiring(outside US). I have been working with react, next.js , react native and node.js from last 4 years and more. I wanna to join an early-stage startup, contribute closely to the product, and learn more about a startup. Whenever I find an interesting startup, I usually reach out through email or Discord. Most of the time, they are either not hiring, do not have the bud”
“Worked at a seed-stage startup with 4 cofounders. Three of us around 24, one 32. Guess who was CEO. The 32M CEO and one of the 24F cofounders started dating. They thought it was a secret. The entire core team knew within weeks. From there it went exactly how you'd expect. She wasn't strong at her actual job, so she compensated by controlling access to him: filling his calendar, sidelining anyone who'd worked with him before, and turning her personal grudges into his opinions. Anyone”
“My game is far from the prototype phase, im actively saving up for a computer to build that project. Im as well as trying to a build a community throughout Twitter and Instagram. My game is currently done with its concept phase, and is ready for prototypes, I just have to save up money for a laptop. Give some tips if you’d like, i appreciate them. submitted by /u/ManyInternational309 [link] [comments]”
“Go where procrastinators are, listen to their pain, and request testers (in appropriate threads and forums). Given the nature of the problem you're solving, you might want to sweeten the pot a bit to incentivize them to follow through!”
“I have a small notion built, I'm willing to show anyone what we have so far. But nice point out, I just didn't know how to include that, but yes I can share to anyone who wants to see. I'm not like everyone else scared someone will take my idea or anything it's not really groundbreaking but I do see a gap in the market. 🤷♂️”
“The fastest way to attract good builders is usually to show a real artifact, not a recruiting intention. Even a scrappy landing page, teardown, or workflow sketch gives people something to react to and filters for seriousness. Otherwise you mostly collect people who like the idea of building.”