I ran a free “job dating” thing for entrepreneurs recently. Then I decided to call it the Co-Founder Finder Confab.
It was thrown together based on a complaint/question I am often asked: Where do I find a co-founder?
So, with the help of Darren Mulvihill (@DarrenMulvihill), Head of Seed Investing at Lucey Technology (@LuceyTechnology), and Kevin Loaec (@KLoaec), an entrepreneur feeling the pain, we tested the market.
We allocated 30 spots to start-ups and 100 to people looking to join a start-up. That last number allowed for a sizable no-show rate. Start-ups were classed as Funded, Traction, or raw Idea.
The other attendees were broken in to Sales, Developer, Business and Other.
The first thing I did was tell all my contacts in the investment, networking and accelerator communities about the event. I asked them to pass on the info if they knew any start-ups looking.
One day after the email, all of the start-up spots had been snapped up!
Then the event was promoted in the usual places, and I got in touch with a few college career offices. The 100 places filled eventually.
There was a great buzz on the night and the chatter lingered on social media for a couple of days afterwards. Here is some of what happened:
- One participant emailed to thank me tonight — the event was on 9 days ago — that he found a job. “The start up dating even turned up very good for me, I took up an internship offer,” he said.
- I bumped in to another attendee yesterday who was acting on behalf of investors. They are now performing due diligence on one of the companies there.
- Most of the start-ups left with contact details fully intending to follow up with promising candidates.
If there are any other success stories, I would love to hear them. Email me at jm AT johnmuldoon.ie.
Image of Blackrock Village, Dublin, courtesy infomatique on Flickr.
