There seems to be a misconception here that the observation
most successful large startups have more than one founder
implies if I were to add another person to my startup it would be more likely to succeed. It doesn't, unless that person is addressing a particular deficiency to the extent that they deserve ~50% equity.
If a complimentary skillset, alternative perspectives and/or shared workload isn't worth that to you then don't look. However important it may be to an external investor betting on you, you don't need to signal to yourself you're committed enough not to drop startup life in favour of that dream job at Google or pivot towards a "lifestyle business". People looking for cofounders solely to improve their chances of getting into incubators probably ought to reassess their priorities.
Comments
There seems to be a misconception here that the observation most successful large startups have more than one founder implies if I were to add another person to my startup it would be more likely to succeed. It doesn't, unless that person is addressing a particular deficiency to the extent that they deserve ~50% equity.
If a complimentary skillset, alternative perspectives and/or shared workload isn't worth that to you then don't look. However important it may be to an external investor betting on you, you don't need to signal to yourself you're committed enough not to drop startup life in favour of that dream job at Google or pivot towards a "lifestyle business". People looking for cofounders solely to improve their chances of getting into incubators probably ought to reassess their priorities.