Ask HN: Should I tell cofounders/investors to optimize my env before startup? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Should I tell cofounders/investors to optimize my env before startup?

2 pointsamts3 comments

I keep my Aspiring Founder profile active in the Co-founder Match platform at Startup School and despite having written very low information density stuff in the profile, a few people contacted me regarding co-founding and applying to a batch in another accelerator.

My main startup idea is in agritech, but it is malleable and scalable to many adjacent fields as well. In the majority of agritech you may not need to survey what users want, as the majority of users in this field just want better yields. Apart from making notes, collecting information about the field and conducting some sparse pilot research in the field, I as a founder haven't done much about it for years for various reasons.

Currently I need to repair my habitable property in Lithuania and I can basically do 80% of this myself, so won't have time for optimal work on a startup. Any of this property is not suitable for optimal work, so I may need to flip or rent it. Should I tell all this stuff to potential co-founders/investors now, or should I suspend my Aspiring Founder profile for some time?

It is a very interesting question you are asking. If I have to give a cold response and answer your question straight to the point, I would say I think you are mixing your personal life and professional life. If you think the opportunity is really great, then you have to manage your personal situation and your personal setup should not impact the organisation. Because in a scenario if you have external investors, they would expect you to give 100% and your if are not performing 100%, you end up losing out too.

Bottomline is you have to be very excited and motivated about the opportunity and you have to be all in because the journey is hard and it is harder when you take someone's capital to work on the startup.

I see, but sometimes there are such statements like "we invest in founders". Founders are expected to execute on stuff. And if I had been given full time in a low cost country with good internet infrastructure I'd execute on >80% on startup related things. On the other hand, I can quote a founder in quantum mechanics in favor of providing optimal living conditions for startup founders. Would it sound redundant or whatever?

"We invest in founders" actually means the founders have hustle in them. They have perseverance, when things are going south, they will hold post and keep the organisation motivated. Having a good internet infrastructure is 5% of the problem when if comes to startup. The issues that you will face are as follows - Not able to find PMF, Not able to hire good talent, not able to raise new capital, new competitors popping up all the time. As a cofounder, it is not about just building the stuff, building the solution is 5% of the problem statement, as a cofounder you have to have the ability to navigate through difficult times and have the perseverance for that.

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