Technical Cofounder Search

A matching server for cofounders: real profiles, idea validation, two-week trial projects and equity basics.

4 categories
15 channels
8 roles
Small

Choose a server, review what will be created or reused, then confirm. Merge keeps what you have; replace rebuilds the server. Vetox takes a safety backup first either way.

No uses yetNo views yet

Server structure

Channels

ENTRANCE

how-this-works
Profile, validation, trial project. In that order.
apply
What you have shipped and what you are looking for.
lounge
Open to applicants.
what-you-bring
Self-Roles panel.

MATCHING

profiles
One thread per person. Shipped work, hours available, runway.
idea-validation
Stress-test it. Critique is expected, not encouragement.
looking-for
One specific search per post.

TRIALS

trial-projects
Two weeks of real work. Agree the scope in public.
trial-outcomes
How it went, including when it did not.
matched
The pairs that stuck.
Pair Room
Open Room

PRACTICALS

equity-and-vesting
Principles, not your specific split. Learn this before you negotiate it.
legal-basics
Incorporation, IP assignment, agreements.
the-hard-conversations
What you must ask a stranger before committing years to them.

Roles

FacilitatorAdministrator
Member
Applicant
Engineering
Design
Commercial
Muted

Overview

Cofounder matching servers usually consist of a hundred people posting that they have an idea and need a developer, and nothing ever happens. This layout is arranged around the two things that actually predict a match: a real profile and a small piece of work done together. #profiles is a forum with one thread per person, tagged by what they bring — engineering, design, sales, domain expertise — and by whether they are looking now or later. The required shape is stated: what you have built, what you are looking for, how much time you have, and whether you can go without income. That last question ends more mismatches early than any other. #idea-validation is where an idea is stress-tested before anyone commits, with the rule that a critique is expected rather than encouragement. #trial-projects is the mechanism this server is built on: pairs agree a small two-week piece of work and report on it publicly, because a fortnight of building together tells you more than three months of coffee. #trial-outcomes records how those went. Practicals covers what people avoid until too late: #equity-and-vesting, #legal-basics and #the-hard-conversations, which is for the questions you must ask a stranger before committing years to them. Membership is vetted, and #matched celebrates the pairs that stuck.

When to use it

Cofounder matching fails because it optimises for the pitch instead of the fit: everyone posts an idea, nobody states their runway or time availability, and pairs commit after two friendly calls without ever having built anything together. This layout requires a real profile with the awkward details, expects ideas to be stress-tested, and pushes every promising pair into a two-week trial project before anything is signed.

What makes it different

Profiles state time available and whether you can go without income, which ends mismatches early.
Ideas are stress-tested in a channel where critique is expected rather than encouragement.
Every promising pair runs a two-week trial project before committing to anything.
A channel for the hard conversations you must have with a stranger before signing years away.

Recommended Vetox setup

Applications
Run Applications on #apply so the room is vetted and profiles come from people actually available to start.
Self-Roles
Post a Self-Roles panel in #what-you-bring so a search can ping engineers, designers or domain experts specifically.
Reminders
Set Reminders on #trial-projects so a two-week trial gets a public check-in rather than quietly lapsing.
Starboard
Point Starboard at #idea-validation so the sharpest critiques become a reference for everyone else.

Questions

Why insist on a trial project?

Because compatibility over coffee predicts almost nothing about compatibility under a deadline. Two weeks of real work reveals how someone handles disagreement, whether they finish things, how they communicate when stuck, and whether their claimed skills match their actual output. It is a small cost that prevents the expensive version of finding out, which is eighteen months and a shared company later.

What makes a profile useful here?

The unglamorous facts. What you have actually shipped, not what you are interested in. How many hours a week you genuinely have, not how committed you feel. Whether you can go without income, and for how long. Two profiles that are honest about those three things can rule each other out in a minute, which is the most valuable outcome a matching server can produce.

Should equity really be discussed in public?

The principles, yes; a specific split between two people, no. #equity-and-vesting exists so that first-time founders learn what a vesting cliff is and why an even split is not automatically fair, before they are negotiating it with someone they like. The actual conversation belongs between the pair, ideally after the trial project rather than before it.

Common mistakes

Posting an idea and asking for a developer, which is the least effective message on any matching server.
Committing after two friendly calls, without ever having built anything together under pressure.
Avoiding the equity and time conversations until after the company exists, when they get expensive.

Consider instead

Startup Hiring Pipeline You are hiring employees for defined roles rather than looking for a partner.
Indie Hacker Community You intend to build alone and want a community of solo builders instead.

Do you have any doubts?

Our team is there for you

0.0k

Servers

Commands

Users

Languages