How to get from weekend idea to funded startup
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I'm also a huge fan of the benefits of multiple co-founders. With the startup I'm currently working on, GooseChase (http://goosecha.se), we have 5 co-founders: 2 Business, 2 Developers, 1 Front-End Designer. For the business guys and the development guys, they each have different strengths so there's minimal overlap, but it's very helpful to have someone that you can bounce ideas off of. Problems are a hell of a lot easier to solve when you have a fresh take on it.
Anyone have any stories or examples of bootstrapping and/or relatively large co-founder groups?
From my personal experience, it is very common to see startups founded with many co-founders. I've seen it a lot in college groups, where one individual is very motivated to bring in their friends with specialized skills.
Unfortunately, the high speed stage of startups where anything goes, and any one founder's ideas can define the product does not last for long. This often leads to a smaller, more refined group of founders.
It's tough sometimes but having supportive founders, friends and family is key.