I stumbled across this question on Quora yesterday and found it quite interesting. So I wrote an answer for it.

But actually it kept me thinking and I decided to use my answer as a basis to expand a bit more upon. So, read on…

What should a non-technical co-founder offer to attract a good technical co-founder?

In short, a non-technical co-founder should offer experience in a non-technical area. :) Easy, right?

But OK, let’s take a step back and ask in a more general way: What is a technical co-founder good at? Technical stuff, right - which could be in general software engineering or in more detail something like Java development, iPhone/iOS development, Android development, or front-end development/web development, etc.

Is a technical co-founder all you need for a startup?

In most cases not. Because unfortunately in most cases a startup will not just run because it’s suddenly there with a product. So, your product is new - what do you think who knows about it? Probably almost nobody (beside the people you told personally like friends and family, maybe some colleagues). There you have it, your startup would probably be better off with somebody, who is good in marketing, SEO, somebody who knows the right people and can convince bloggers, etc. to cover your startup/product. Because if only a few people out there know about your startup, it’s really hard to grow.

No offense, if you’re a technical co-founder and you’re good at all that, too, you have my deepest respect because IMHO this is not easy.

So, what else could a non-technical co-founder do for your startup?

What about design and UX (no, these are not the same, sorry to disappoint)? If you could have a co-founder on your team, who’s good at design and UX, chances are good that your product will be better and less sucky. Why? Well, you probably read, especially in the last time, that design suddenly is super-important for startups (haven’t heard about it yet? Go read Design Is Now Crucial to Startup Success). Somebody who is good at design and understands UX is able to shape your product in a better, probably more user-centered way, which is good for the user and in the end good for you (because he will love your product more and tell all friends and cats about it). IMHO a product cannot exist or even succeed without good design and UX.

But is there more a non-technical co-founder could do for your startup?

Oh, absolutely. For example in the case that the technical co-founder might not be a rockstar business development guy (can happen more often than one would think). You think you don’t need a biz dev guy? Well, think again. Also business development should be core (just as technical stuff, design, and marketing) to your startup. Why? Well, what do you think, who’s building all the necessary relationships? Who brings in partners? Who thinks about where your product and its content could go? No business development, no growth.

What should a non-technical co-founder offer to attract a good technical co-founder?

Seems like back to square one. But now that you read some examples of what a non-technical co-founder should offer to attract a good technical co-founder, the image might be clearer (at least I hope I didn’t confuse you too much).

He should offer complementary skills, which are useful to build your startup and develop a great product - no matter in which area. As you can see marketing co-founders, design co-founders, business development co-founders, … are also very important people to have on board at a startup.

And just in case you’re not sure where to find a non-technical co-founder, check out our product Founder2be.com - the online matchmaking service for startup co-founders.

Posted by Wolfgang from the Founder2be team.