Find a co-founder

You should think of your FounderCloud profile as another version of your CV.

Always include a professionally-taken (or at least professional looking) picture of yourself on your profile.

Write a description of yourself that demonstrates that you have the skills needed to be a great co-founder. This might be details of your education, your previous career or the businesses you’ve started and run in the past.

You should also include one or two details that people will remember when they’re scanning through profiles and comparing them. What can you say about yourself and your achievements that will make you the one they remember?

And finally, but importantly, make sure you include an elevator pitch. This should tell people reading what your business idea is, who you want to target and why you’re the ideal co-founder for this business. A good elevator pitch can help you whether you want to find a cofounder in the UK or find business partners in the USA.

FounderCloud is like a dating app to find business partners. Just as you wouldn’t send a cut-and-paste message on a dating site, so you shouldn’t send one on FounderCloud.

Research every person you want to approach before you write your message. Make sure you know what they’ve done in the past and what they’re looking to do now, so you can talk about these things in your message.

Include in your message details of why you have chosen to contact them and why you think you’re a good match.

Response times vary, often depending on how busy each person is and how much time they have in their diary to send replies. If you don’t get a reply straight away, don’t worry – you probably won’t have to wait long.

Our system shows you the most active profiles first when you search, so the people you message will usually be those who are checking in and replying regularly. We’ll also send a reminder three and seven days after your original message, if it’s still unread.

We suggest that you set up a meeting as soon as you feel comfortable doing so. This is usually best done online, using Whatsapp, Zoom or Skype.

If you prefer, and the person you want to meet is based near you, then you might prefer to meet them face-to-face. If you do this, you should always meet somewhere there are other people around, such as a restaurant or pub. Whether you’re looking to find a cofounder in London or find a cofounder in NYC, there’ll always be a busy place where you can meet.

With premium membership, you get:

• No limits on the number of messages you can send.
• Your profile ranked higher in searches and seen more often.
• Extra search filters to make it easier to find the right match.
• Message read receipts.
• The ability to see whether a member is active on the site, so you don’t waste time messaging inactive members.
• Discount deals with our chosen partner apps.
• The ability to cancel your premium subscription at any time.
• A premium profile badge to help you get taken seriously as a committed co-founder.

You can request that they sign an NDA, though you don’t have to do so. You might find that some co-founders are unwilling to sign an NDA until you’ve met and had at least a preliminary discussion.

Whether or not you use an NDA, it’s important to carry out some simple online research to see if the person you plan to meet has the online presence you’d expect.

It’s also important to mention that when you decide to work with a co-founder, your idea is simply the starting point. Any time you’re thinking about how to find a business partner in the UK or elsewhere, remember that how you work together to make it happen is what will make your business.