Get Going.
Welcome to 2026. Our first piece this year is about making progress. It’s an expanded commentary on “Lesson #7” from 25 Lessons from the first year of Solo Founders.
There are many creative ways to procrastinate and not get started. One of the least imaginative and industry-endorsed is burning too many cycles looking for a co-founder.
Co-founders can be amazing. Our community ODF has helped great co-founders meet and start companies like Traba and Contra. But far too often people use a lack of a co-founder as an excuse to not get started. Worse, they sometimes settle for co-founders of convenience that are a ticking timebomb. A lack of a co-founder gating your progress is an especially poor excuse nowadays with the remarkable amount of leverage one high agency person can get using the latest tools.
What’s the optimal stopping theory for finding a co-founder? Our opinion: never settle, and try to make as much progress on your idea as possible in parallel.
You can dedicate six months "looking for a co-founder" and never actually make progress. Instead, do the opposite: build, talk to customers, ship experiments, and let traction and momentum attract collaborators or a future co-founder. If you have to choose between another month of looking or another month of building and talking to customers, do the latter.
Once you get going, you will discover you can do far more solo than most believe.
Additional commentary on making progress without co-founders
Rahul from Julius AI:
One of the biggest blockers for new founders is thinking, ‘I have an idea I'm excited about, but I need a co-founder.’ I've met people who are still looking for a co-founder six months later… It's a giant waste of time.”
If you truly believe something should exist, you can make so much progress without a co-founder. With AI, even if you're non-technical, you can build a prototype, talk to customers, and do initial sales, marketing, and validation.”
As you make progress and gain momentum, it becomes much easier to attract people—a founding team, a co-founder, or investors. Without that momentum, when you're starting with a blank slate, the space of exploration is infinite… That should not be a blocker to starting a company.
Get started, make progress, and if you meet awesome people along the way, bring them onto your founding team.”
The Case for Solo Founders:
Don't let finding a co-founder block your progress. Just get started. You might discover the perfect partner along the way—or realize you can succeed on your own.
Paul Klein IV from Browserbase:
Having a perfectly aligned co-founder is a superpower. But most people don't have that. So should finding a great co-founder be a blocker? Not necessarily. Get started, make progress, and if you meet awesome people along the way, bring them onto your founding team.
Charles Hudson from Precursor Ventures:
“I often ask people: What do you think you're going to get from a co-founder? Are there other ways to get those things?”
We hope you enjoyed this expanded commentary on “Lesson #7” from 25 Lessons from the first year of Solo Founders.
If you’re currently building solo apply to the Solo Founders Program.
