So what about the people who advertise they are seeking co-founders, and the public events where that is supposedly the goal? Does this ever work? Have any startups founded this way gone on to success?
In terms of events - I find that many "find a cofounder" events are lopsided with 90% "business people" either looking for free labor (i.e. "willing to you pay in equity") or a "CTO". I try to avoid these events.
Right now I'm working on my venture alone because I just moved out to the bay area and don't know anyone out here whom I have worked with before. Sure, doing it alone is tough, but I'd rather do it alone than have a co-founder I wasn't sure about.
Are you thinking about starting something alone / searching for a co-founder? Feel free to shoot me an email if you wan perspectives on doing it alone. Good luck!
I am just interested that there appears to be a mini-industry springing up to serve people that have this fantasy. It suggests to me that we now have a new set of cultural myths about entrepreneurship, to some extent created by this very website.
Consider how many fortunes are made selling the old image of entrepreneurship. Books with titles like "Millionaire's Mind". They make the elementary mistake of assuming that if one emulates the characteristics of successful people (or organizations), this will lead to one's own success.
For example, Jim Collins has made his entire career out of telling people how to emulate successful organizations. He observes that great (or greatly profitable) organizations, like Microsoft, have all set themselves what he calls a Big Hairy Audacious Goal, such as "A computer on every desk and in every home". And pretty soon the accounting departments at fourth-rate retailers are taking weekend retreats to ask themselves what their "BHAG" is.