How I Got Technical Co-Founders To Join My (Fashion) Startup

When we first started ideation process for Klëm, it was immediately clear we needed a dedicated team of technical co-founders because we were about to embark on a crazy journey of a lot of work and tons of code. Some investors were nice enough to tell me it would be impossible to get tech onboard in this environment (this was 8 months ago and tech talent was pretty scarce)

I like a challenge though and so immediately after I was told it would be impossible, I got cracking and these were the exact steps I followed.

Plan A : Create a CRM of Personal Contacts that Could help

I have worked with a bunch of technical people in the past on different teams some of whom were friends. I created a spreadsheet and noted every single one of them including what they were good at and if we were still connected.

A lot of them were senior in their career and with mortgages so unlikely to go in on a startup at this stage but I set up calls because they could open me up to their network and maybe someone they know could help.

How did it go? : Like I mentioned above I never expected these people to jump into Klëm, at least not right away but from the conversations we got our Tech Advisor who is a senior data scientist and in the top 5 of the smartest people I know and has been invaluable so far.

Another friend from the list above did agree to help out until I found my actual team but about 4 months later of working on Klëm she actually took the step and became a co-founder. It was the most natural transition with no push from my side.

Plan B: Post Free Job Ad on Indeed

This part was nerve wracking because at the point we were doing this I had nothing to offer and was really still figuring out the problem I was looking to solve and I was afraid I might not have the answer to some of the questions these very busy and logical people might have but it was free so I just went for it.

How did it go? We got 50 applications across Ireland, Germany and Spain. I was shocked. For the technical interviews , I enlisted some of the senior developers from my CRM above and shortlisted to about 7 people. We worked together for a couple of weeks and then narrowed that list down to two who took on ML and Infrastructure respectfully.

To pick my final co-founders these were the questions I really focused on

1. What are your career ambitions ?
2. How does something like Klëm get you there?
3. What are you most excited about on this project?
4. How will you support yourself while we get it off the ground?

To go on this journey with me, my co-founders needed to see themselves as owners of the company (because they would be) and it was important they could envision it as something that gets them to a future they would like. They needed to be excited about making Klëm their own, after all I wasn't hiring employees.

Currently

Klëm now has three technical co-founders who own different parts of the product while working in tandem whenever necessary of course. Our CTO manages the ML piece, then we have a head of app infrastructure (that is the friend who started out as a favour but then became a real co-founder) she has built all the front end of the app and then last but not least we have someone managing the backend and API who happens to also be an AI engineer.

I am the Product Manager then responsible for managing the backlog , user stories and running the weekly sprint meeting as well as our bi-monthly weekend hackathons. On top of that I also dab as CEO , speaking to investors, getting Klëm into the conversation and basically anything to do with the business side of things. We also have a data analyst intern because the data piece is pretty big with a lot needed on the set up side.

We all work together but each of us is trusted to own a specific part of Klëm, it is clear how much we need each other to make it all work so no toes are stepped on.

Conclusion

The best piece (s) of advice I can give anyone at this stage of their startup are

• Utilise your network. Maybe you did not work with other engineers in the past but perhaps you have a friend who did.
• People will make promises and not follow through but remember it is not personal. Everyone is busy and your startup is hardly going to be their top priority no matter how much they love or believe in you.
• You are more likely to get a tech person involved if your project will somehow allow them to flex some technical muscles that they are unable to in their day job. Perhaps there are some technologies your app will use that they want to master- try to understand what these are and pitch from this point not the one about the elusive millions their equity will fetch. One is possible and the other is probable- good to know the difference when pitching.
• Be clear on how you want to work , equity splits, responsibilities and expectations from day one.
• Drive and flexibility beats seniority at early stage. Developers who have been principal in FAANG and other big Tech will rarely make good super early stage co-founders because they are rarely flexible or able to be really scrappy. They are used to working with massive budgets and supports and if you get them onboard, it is likely you will end up hiring too fast, too soon because you will want to appease them. The company logo looks good on your deck but you have to think long term. The exception here is if they have worked in early stage startups before- if not, avoid until you can afford to pay them as employees.
• Be patient and keep an open mind. Try not to get someone on board just because you think the exact way about things or you have the same hobbies. There is a lot of respect in our team but we are all quite different. We have someone who goes to church every Sunday, another who has never stepped in one and some drink alcohol and others will never touch a drop. None of this matters, we weren't putting together a band.
• Your co-founders are not your emotional dumping grounds. You have your personal friends for that (if you must). We keep things professional as much as possible. I'm building a billion dollar company with these people and they need to trust in my ability to own my sh*t. Also startups are hard enough as it is and if you are in a place of ongoing emotional difficulty, it might not be the right time to take it on.
• That said, laugh together and have fun. You are not curing cancer, unless of course you are. We post memes and make fun whenever appropriate. Respect both self and for others is always paramount to make sure we never cross lines even unknowingly (bullying, racism, sexual harassment)
• Opt to over-communicate vs under communicating. Write all the important things down and send them around to make sure everyone is on board. Sign IPs and agreements to make sure the project is always legally protected.
• If you are remote, I highly recommend setting up times to just work together and brainstorm. Our last hackathon helped us feel more aligned than we had been in months, highly recommend doing one of those- so fun too.

That is it , I hope someone finds it a tad useful. Also happy to answer any questions of course.

Thanks for reading!