Ask HN: How do you find a GTM cofounder for a developer-first infra startup?
3 points by Aydarbek a day ago
I’m a solo technical founder building a curl-first, HTTP-native durable event log (Raft-based).
A recent Show HN got ~90 GitHub stars and a few forks, which helped validate the technical wedge.
I’m now trying to figure out the right way to find a GTM/product-oriented cofounder for an infra / devtools startup (early pilots, narrative, talking to users).
For people who’ve done this before: – what worked or didn’t work? – where did you meet your cofounder? – any red flags to watch for at this stage?
Happy to share more context in comments if helpful.
I’m a VC, not a founder, but I’ve seen a lot of what works (and what doesn't) when it comes to finding a co-founder.
Here are three pieces of advice I'd share:
1. Do not search for a cofounder in the abstract. Instead, start by pulling people into the problem. Look at your users or advisors. Pay attention during early user interviews: if someone starts offering unsolicited feedback, reframes your thinking, or shows a natural ownership instinct, that might be your person.
2. Do not underestimate technical people with storytelling skills and user empathy. Not all GTM leaders come from sales.
3. Before formalizing anything, align with your co-founder on three fronts: what you're building (make sure you're on the same page here) + your roles and decision-making + equity and commitments. Bring in a third party if needed and write things down.