In this episode we talk about getting started. Founding a company means you are constantly learning to do new things, like hiring and selling. How do you handle these new situations where you have no experience? How do you avoid mistakes? We are here to help! In this episode we answer questions including:

• How do I find a co-founder?
• How do I sell my first customers before my product is ready?
• How do I hire my first salesperson?

All of these questions were submitted by listeners just like you. You can submit questions for us to answer on our website TheStartupHelpdesk.com or on X/Twitter @thestartuphd - we'd love to hear from you!

Your hosts:

• Sean Byrnes: General Partner, Near Horizon www.nearhorizon.vc
• Ash Rust: Managing Partner, Sterling Road www.sterlingroad.com
• Nic Meliones: CEO, Navi www.heynavi.com

Reminder: this is not legal advice or investment advice.

Q1: How do I find a co-founder?

• Start by joining co-founder matching platforms like YC’s co-founder matching, university mailing lists, and local meetups. Often, friends or friends of friends are the best connections.
• Talk about what you're building on social media at least three times a week.
• When you find a promising partner, work on a small project together first to test compatibility.
• Join hackathons, take on side projects, or participate in school challenges to build experience.
• Investigate problems that you are uniquely positioned to work on.
• Develop a durable skill set, especially in building products in emerging markets like AI.

Q2: How do I sell my first customers before my product is ready?

• This is a great opportunity to create a design partnership.
• Consider offering a mix of services and software to get started.
• If they truly need your solution, they will be patient—it’s a good test of urgency.
• Avoid endlessly delaying until you feel "ready"—perfection is a myth.
• Set a target date for release and keep them engaged along the way.
• Keep delivering value:
  • Continue discovery—learn more about their specific needs.
  • Provide access to prototypes and early versions.
  • Offer no-cost pilots to keep them involved during final development stages.

Q3: How do I hire my first salesperson?

• Seek advice from people who have hired salespeople before—they can guide you.
• Even if you don’t fully understand sales, great people can help you hire the right person.
• Ensure you’re actually ready—do you have a structured sales playbook to guide them?
• Write a clear sales playbook before hiring. If you can’t, you’re not ready yet.
• Post the job broadly to attract a wide range of candidates.
• Ask candidates to produce a sales deck or similar work sample as part of the screening process.
• Ash underscores how challenging it is to hire your first salesperson with this: hire three people, knowing that only one will likely be the right long-term fit.

Tune into the full episode to learn how to navigate these challenging "getting started" moments!