Has this ever happened, when you liked one or two of the cofounders and not so much the others?
Based on our app, what if you like one of us, or two, but not the other one or two cofounders?
Thanks.
I also started to notice that there isn't any correlation between skill and determination. Looking for skill and hoping for will is a disaster. People who were "really into it" would pick anything up on the fly, enough to be dangerous, and that'd be great. On the flip side, people who were "rockstars" but not driven, would not do what they say they would, you'd be waiting on their email responses, man did they kill the morale. Reminds me of a Sir Richard Bronson quote: Hire for attitude, train for skill.
I would bet the combination of determination and "solving the right problem" makes a winner. Also instead of luck, I believe in being at the right place, at the right time. In order to be ready for that you have to be there, everyday, even if the bus does not come for 100 days straight, you stand there with the exact fare, knowing that when it does come, you'll be ready to ride that rocket.
Sorry about the rant, I know you're a busy guy, and thanks for answering my question. Any input from you is always greatly appreciated.
In response to your question, you want people who are all awesome (although it looks like you've already come to this conclusion on your own). Skill can change but determination generally doesn't. 2 founders are ideal, don't look for more people just because they're warm bodies or allow you to fill out an extra checkbox on the "list of skills that people in this startup have".
That being said, there is a baseline level of experience/competence (ideally as a programmer, I assume you're doing a software startup) necessary for a determined person to make a contribution. This isn't very high though.
Granted, relationships don't always work out exactly that way, but roughly speaking they usually do. People I like tend to dislike the same traits in other people that I do, and vice versa.