Success is obviously preferable to failure, and we all believe that we're talented to a degree that gives us a high enough likelihood of success for startups to be worth pursuing. However, this sort of extreme personalization of results is not attractive.
- Are proven to be able to build a business - Probably have the cash to actually work for equity INDEFINITELY. Most people have a very finite amount of time they can work for equity before they start getting hungry and have to pick up a day job or some consulting work. - Probably don't need startup education... i.e. they know about the highs, the lows, the shifting landscapes, etc. - Aren't currently deeply engaged with another project.
Personally, I'm still iffy on the "founder personal ad", whatever the filter. It's like advertising for a wife... I think it'd be better to advertise that you're interested in "dating" and seeing where it leads. But if you're going to go this route, veteran founders with a track record seems like an obvious filter.
No one wants to be excluded. On the same breath, when I started out I had many preconceived notions about the best way to run a company based on what I thought was common sense. Only by trying things and tracking the results was I able to see that the right approach wasn't always intuitive. I understand things now that I couldn't have known without the actual experience of starting the company and taking it through to the exit. I'd prefer to start the next venture with people already at that stage, if possible.
All that said, we're really most interested in people who are good friends; who have worked closely together and understand each other very well.
There's your filter.
What's obnoxious about "completed an exit" is that talented people can fail to meet this for reasons that aren't their fault. Possibly the VC wanted to aim for an IPO, they failed because of the downturn, and now they haven't "completed an exit". I know of stories like this.
I wouldn't bat an eye if you said you were looking for people with substantial entrepreneurial experience. I just think the specific criterion of "completed an exit" is obnoxious. It sounds like you think you're too good to talk to people who are talented but haven't had their break yet.
It's about (among other things, I assume):
- Wealth (exit = cash = ability to work for equity for an indeterminate period) - Availability (recent exit = not currently engaged with another project)
The first is the biggie. I'd say 99.9% of people on HN can't say "I will eschew all paying work for up to 2 years and can toss a few hundred grand of my own money in if we need a cash infusion".
Of course, the recent exit thing is a problem, too. Most buyers lock in the founders for 1-2 years, so recent exiteers will have golden handcuffs.