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Having multiple founders greatly reduces the chance of a startup being abandoned.

I agree whole-heartedly with that statement.

However, I've seen quite a few startups funded by YC and other incubators break up because one guy thought he had to have a token co-founder and that person wasn't ultimately into it.

So I wonder if this sort of attitude is a good thing, or if it just means "If you're a single founder, get someone to apply with you so you get in."

That is definitely a problem. I'm not sure what to do about it. Would those startups have done any better without the extra founder? Maybe, maybe not. We need more data.

Plus it provides a support system when things go wrong. And yes, things will go wrong. Something always goes wrong in a startup. But hopefully there are more highs than there are lows.

I used to think exactly the same thing.

Then I got a co-founder and the difference it's made has been unbelievable.

If you can't convince at least one person that your concept is good enough that they should devote their time to it the idea is most likely not worth pursuing.