Find the right co-founders and advisors is one of the most important steps any tech startup takes. The surest way to deal better with day-to-day challenges is by having great co-founders. Now they can’t just have a great CV, they need to be the right co-founders. You’ll be spending LOTS of time with them - perhaps even more time than you spend with your family and friends. You will fight, win and lose together. It’s hard to find them, because you will only know you’ve made the right choice, after you start or complete your adventure together.
For a tech business we recommend to start with a team that covers the following areas. That team can either be comprised of full-time founders, or through advisor or vendor partnerships to cover all areas:
A product person
This person, advisor or agency should be obsessed with the product details and strategy. They should be able to hire great designers to help build a better product. They should constantly think about the little yet big details of a product. They also (ideally) should have experience in building different kinds of products and understand not only how it’s designed, but also how it’s made (technically).
An engineer
This person, advisor or agency needs to be incredibly skilled in engineering, and should ideally be an experienced CTO. They should know how to hire engineers, how to define a scalable architecture, how to build up a strong engineering culture — and how to build a maintainable product.
A marketing/sales machine
The next person (most companies forget) is an experienced sales/marketing role. The person or agency in this role should be able to define a world-class brand and develop it globally. They need to build up a strong team that can tell great stories to attract new customers, while keep the existing ones interested.
A business/finance person
Having a financial mastermind is an incredible asset, and reduces the risk of making financial mistakes in the beginning enormously (e.g. agreeing to the wrong investment terms). I would never start a company again without having someone taking over that role.
Also, traditionally 1 of those 4 people should take over the leading role. There are ways to build up a company without a leading role, but I think it’s more than healthy to ultimately give someone the authority to make the final call. It helps you keep up the speed.
When it comes to equity, be fair. Everyone should invest the same energy and the same amount of time. Also think about your first employees, it’s normal to let employees participate in the companies financial success by giving away virtual stock options. Make sure you hire an experienced lawyer for setting up the company.