Boston Co-Founders Wanted

We held our first ‘Co-Founders Wanted’ Meetup at the Harvard innovation lab this past Thursday, July 12th.  It was a fantastic event with about 100 attendees.  People from all industries came out, technical and non-technical people alike.  Demand was incredibly high for the event, evidenced by a long waiting list.  In fact, some really eager people showed up at 5:45pm (the event started at 6:30pm), and one group drove all the way from Amherst simply to be part of the event!  I encouraged the early birds to walk around and check out all the cool things happening at the i-lab.  Luckily for me, Boston Startup School students were mingling around the lobby area and nearby break rooms, hard at work well after classroom hours.  You could see, feel, and hear the energy and excitement coming from these young entrepreneurs, a perfect way to set the stage for the Meetup!   

All in all, it was an incredibly passionate group of people and the energy level was inspiring.  Before the real networking began, Jay Batson, co-founder of Acquia, imparted some of his ideas on the group about what to look for in a co-founder citing his own experience.  Jay was then kind enough to stick around and chat with people individually.  Let’s just say he was one popular guy all night!

Overall, I only heard one big complaint all night, a complaint echoed by multiple people: This is a much needed service for the entrepreneurial ecosystem, and we need more of these events!  This was great to hear, and I’m happy to say that we’ll be hosting these Meetups in Boston every 2-3 months between the Harvard i-lab and MassChallenge.  

Boston innovation and entrepreneurship is absolutely exploding right now.  Startups need the right founding teams, yet finding the right co-founders is incredibly difficult.  Often times people turn to friends and co-workers as comfortable, easy options, but more often than not, these are both poor places to find the right business partners.  Beyond complementary skill sets, a business partner needs to share your passion and commitment.  Moreover, the right business partner should have a shared set of values and a shared vision for what your company can and will be.  Sure, in a perfect world you will be great friends with your co-founder, but at the end of the day, it’s not about being best friends.  It’s about starting a company and building a successful and impactful business, something that is incredibly difficult to do.  The right co-founders matter, and this decision shouldn’t be taken lightly.  

At CoFoundersLab, we have the largest pool of entrepreneurs to choose from on our online matching platform at CoFoundersLab.com, and the pool is growing every day.  We’ve perfected our Meetup model in other cities to augment the online matching platform, and we’re really excited to finally bring our services to the Boston startup community.  Harvard is leading the way by sponsoring these events in order to pave the way for aspiring entrepreneurs.  The i-lab is a special place, bursting with ideas and passion to change the world for the better through entrepreneurship and innovation.  We are grateful to have their support, and we can’t wait for our next Meetup!