Ask HN: Is it possible to "find" a cofounder?
I'm starting to think more seriously about who my target audience/market is, how big said market is and the available money within that market, first functional versions of the application, and so on. I spent most of this last weekend just in front of my white boards, sketching out ideas and writing down lists of things to do or areas I need to research so I can turn my guesses and assumptions into assertions based on facts. I started wondering if it might be worth it to apply for the next YCombinator round and read over Drew Houston's application for Dropbox Saturday night (thanks Drew!). That made me realize how far I have to go before I can even start to ask if the idea is an endeavor worth pursuing. Reading over Paul's guide on how to apply reinforced that I'm not to the single founder rule. So, I've added "Find a cofounder" to my to-do list.
Thing is, I've been "looking" for a cofounder for a while. I don't actively search, but I often share my ideas (and especially this one) among programming friends I trust. All are nice and feign interest, but nobody is as passionate about raw data from public records like I am. Maybe I should be studying Statistics instead of CS? ;) Some friends are interested, but those few are at most a fraction as passionate as I am about my idea. Of course, I understand it's my idea and that's why I'm passionate about it. But I wouldn't feel comfortable coding this idea up with anyone who's not even close to as passionate as I am about it. I'm not crazy, right? From all that I read, especially from Paul and HN, it seems that both/all parties need to have this insatiable drive in order to have any chance.
So, is it possible to actively search for a co-founder? Has that worked for anyone?
tldr; Getting serious about idea for a business; have told friends and although some are interested, none are passionate/hungry; is it possible to find a cofounder? for that relationship to work if it wasn't pre-existing?