Insights
How to Find and Vet a Cofounder
Feb 27
Reading Time: 7 minutes
The right cofounder turns bold ideas into impact, shares the weight of critical decisions, and complements your strengths. Research from DCVC shows that two or three cofounders are the most common at billion-dollar startups. Yet not every founder takes the same path, and 20% of unicorn companies were started solo.
In either case, finding the right cofounder or building a network of close collaborators as a solo founder, taking an intentional approach can make all the difference.
| Quick links: |
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| Look for Capability, Compatibility, and Complementary Skills |
| Search in Targeted Networks, Platforms, and Communities |
| Vet Potential Cofounders for Shared Values, Vision, and Trust |
We talked to Gigascale founders about finding cofounders. Here’s their advice.
Look for Capability, Compatibility, and Complementary Skills
Building a company takes expertise and resilience. An ideal cofounder fills gaps, complements your capabilities, and expands your network. Technical skills alone aren’t enough. A strong partnership requires shared values, work ethic, and vision.
Before founding Arch, Phil Krinner’s background was in hardware. After studying the HVAC market and narrowing in on the bottlenecks in heat pump adoption, he realized Arch needed to be a software company. Phil knew he wanted a cofounder with technical skills, but resilience was just as critical.
“I sourced about 120 potential candidates,” he explains. “After screening, I had deep conversations with about 30 of them.” This led him to his future cofounder Sacha Schmitz, who taught himself coding as a teenager and had already pushed through earlier startup failures. Sacha’s ability to learn from setbacks and pivot into new opportunities convinced Phil that he was a fit. “I was like, this is someone I want to start a really hard thing with.”
Meanwhile, Brad Hartwig of Arbor initially tried to recruit his former boss from SpaceX as CTO, but the timing wasn’t right. That “no” led him to Andres Garcia-Clark. “I asked [my former boss] who was the most talented person he had worked with, and he pointed me to Andres,” Brad explains. Andres was the perfect fit, given his rare expertise in both rocket engines and power generation.
Search in Targeted Networks, Platforms, and Communities
When starting a search, explore multiple channels to meet as many like-minded people as possible.
Three climate communities for entrepreneurs and people interested in startups:
- MCJ Collective. A Slack-based community for climate tech founders, technologists, and industry leaders.
- Work on Climate. Another Slack-based community that partners with organizations to generate ideas, raise funding, and leverage business influence to build the climate talent pipeline.
- ClimateTech Expertise Network. A network for startups to get to market faster through mentorship, talent matching, vendors, events, and other resources.
If you prefer a more structured approach, formal programs provide opportunities to meet potential cofounders and work together to test compatibility. Some we recommend:
- The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). Offers funding, technical assistance initiatives, prizes, and competitions to advance energy solutions and offer opportunities to meet like-minded people.
- Y Combinator’s Cofounder Matching. Available for all stages of companies, with or without an existing idea, and doesn’t require any equity to join.
- Carbon13. A five-month venture builder program that brings together scientists, technologists, and people with business backgrounds to form teams and develop climate tech startup concepts.
Venture building programs, including accelerators, are another route. While there are many programs for established startups, some focus on the earliest phases of company-building:
- Both Breakthrough Energy Fellows and Activate help scientists and engineers commercialize research and develop entrepreneurial skills, which can lead to meeting cofounders.
- MIT Proto Ventures: This venture studio turns overlooked lab breakthroughs and market opportunities into world-changing companies. The program combines tech scouting within MIT labs, primary market research, and a venture fellowship.
- CU Boulder’s Embark: Focused on deep tech startups and matches motivated entrepreneurs with breakthrough innovations to launch new companies. The program provides IP rights, salary support, grant funds, acceleration resources and investor introduction.
- Newlab’s SPINOUT: This program is funded by the DOE and designed to support scientists at the earliest stages of the academic spinout process. The year-long fellowship provides prep, resources, and the network needed to translate lab-based research into real-world impact.
Cocoon’s cofounders (Will Knapp, Eliot Brooks, and Freddie Scott) met at Carbon13. They quickly recognized the value of their complementary skill sets, their common goal of delivering impact as soon as possible, and their overall enjoyment of working together.
When asked how to make the most of a structured program, Eliot advises, “Don’t force it. It’s perfectly fine not to partner up right away. By connecting with people who want to solve similar problems, you’re broadening your network. That’s an important step that could lead to finding the right cofounder later.”
Finally, a couple of approaches available to anyone: tapping into your existing network and building in public. Your existing network is one of the richest sources for potential cofounders. Former colleagues, mentors, and peers already understand your capabilities and can act as endorsers.
Building in public helps you attract the right people while creating accountability. Share your vision, challenges, and milestones on social media, blogs, or newsletters. Ask for advice and connections. Engage with experts in your field.
Jason Jacobs, founder and venture partner at MCJ, is an example of how learning in public creates new opportunities. He recently described how this was a superpower for everything MCJ built. Now, as he embarks on a new phase of discovery, Jason set up a newsletter to share his thoughts, create accountability, and develop a feedback loop that attracts like-minded collaborators.
Vet Potential Cofounders for Shared Values, Vision, and Trust
A cofounder relationship is built on equal footing. Before making major decisions together, you need confidence in each person’s priorities and values.
That’s why the vetting process deserves careful attention, which Phil shares was something he and Sacha discovered quickly. “We had a harder conversation early on,” Phil says. “My cofounder wanted to jump in earlier than I did. That conversation was tough, but seeing how we worked through it gave me even more confidence in the partnership.”
Our tips for the vetting process:
- Look for a track record. Competitive fellowships, like Northwestern University’s Entrepreneurial Fellows Program or Cornell’s Runway Startup Postdocs, show a potential partner has proven skills and experience in high-stakes environments.
- Check references. Former managers, coworkers, and co-creators provide a better assessment than you can get in an interview alone. Look for people who have chosen to work with them multiple times.
- Align on vision. Talk openly about long-term plans, risk tolerance, and growth expectations. This raises key issues about strategy early on.
- Discuss core values. Shared principles make it easier to navigate decision making. “You need to be able to make mistakes and know that your cofounder trusts that you’re acting in good faith,” Brad says. Discussing core values also uncovers work styles and patterns that will impact how you lead a future team.
Lastly, nothing beats trying it out. “Working together and engaging with someone over a longer period of time before cofounding helps minimize false positives,” Phil says. He spent several months testing potential cofounders with short-term projects before committing.
If you’re exploring founding a company while still in school, try a project-based entrepreneurship class that involves forming a team and developing a commercialization strategy. That way, you can test compatibility in a lower-stakes environment.
Some of the best climate-specific programs include:
- MIT’s Climate & Energy Ventures
- Stanford Climate Ventures
- Duke’s Commercializing Climate Technologies
- Cornell’s Green Tech Innovation in Practice
- University of Austin’s Energy Ventures Practicum
Bottom Line
Cofounders aren’t just teammates. These relationships shape the company’s trajectory, define its culture, and are instrumental to achieving long-term impact. Take time to find the right fit. It’s one of the most important company-building decisions you’ll make.
Visit the Gigascale blog for more insights on building and scaling startups.
