Telescope Ventures July Newsletter
The Telescope Playbook: Finding a Co-Founder | Office Hours with Elise Sutherland and Dan Fleming | Telescope's Monthly Recommendations
Hello Telescopers!
Thank you for coming onto this journey 🚀
We’re on a mission to champion the next generation of disrupters. Through educating and providing real exposure to the world of venture capital & startups, we hope to inspire YOU (yes you reading this) to be the next Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Melanie Perkins, Whitney Wolfe, [insert your name here].
Every month, we'll be collating tools and resources for aspiring founders and VC's, giving you all the ins and outs of the startup world.
📓 The Telescope Playbook: Finding Your Co-Founder
Finding a counterpart to help drive your startup is no easy feat. You’re trying to be compatible on many levels - reliability, skills, values - the list goes on. While tricky, it’s not impossible. To help, we’ve come up with a 5-step playbook on finding your future co-founder:
1. Do a (completely honest) self-evaluation
Before you start, it’s important to be critical of where you are at. What are your strengths? Who do you want to be known as the go-to person for? Identify key qualities, skills, and experiences you bring to the table.
Then, the weaknesses. Be honest with your shortfalls. No one can do it all. Being clear on where you stand can help you identify the complementary skills you need in a co-founder. Have an app idea and need someone technically minded? Or wanting a finance guru to sort out those pesky balance sheets? List out what’s needed and get clarity on what you’re looking for.
2. The Hunt: Scouting
Time to whip out your binoculars. Here are some non-traditional and traditional channels to try!
Reddit.
It works! Fun fact: Telescope Venture’s founders, Ashlee and Elton, met via a university subreddit.
Bumble (Bizz).
Bumble has a separate section called Bumble Bizz. It’s the same idea as the dating function, only it’s for professional connections. Swipe right on your future co-founder!
LinkedIn.
#OldbutGold platform. You can learn a bit about the person’s background, strengths, and gauge an idea of the complementary skills they bring. Incognito mode optional, if you don’t want them to know you’ve been on their profile 10+ times.
Your Network.
Your network might know someone who knows someone. Based on the principle of the 6 degrees of separation, you could even ask Elon Musk to be your co-founder. He may have time to squeeze you in between Tesla and Space X. Maybe.
Communities
Be where the people are. Scan Facebook groups, attend startup seminars and events, join student associations focused on entrepreneurship and startups. Post on the page and put yourself out there! Let others find you.
3. The coffee catch-ups
After scouting, start building a relationship with your potential co-founder. Have various coffee catchups to identify commonalities. Understand their background, what drives them, and their skills.
On your own side, go into it prepared: What is your elevator pitch? What is your vision for your startup? What do you want out of this?
4. Deep dive into compatibility
After getting familiar with each other, a deep dive into your compatibility is a good step forward. With any potential co-founder prospects, go through this set of questions.
A preview:
“What if one of us leaves? What will happen to their equity? Is there a vesting period?”
“What if an investor wanted to invest (or a vendor/partner would only work with us), but expressed that you weren’t the right person? How would we handle that assuming that the company really needed the money?”
“If this venture fails and we don’t achieve the vision and outcome we worked so hard for, what would be important for you to retain personally? (Pay severance, reputation, relationships, etc.)”
The ups and downs startups face are no easy feat. Knowing your co-founder, really knowing them, can make sure you go into the partnership with no surprises.
5. Make it official!
Once you’ve spent time with your co-founder, go through the legalities. Don’t delay them.
Happy Hunting!
📣 Pitch to Us! 📣
Are you a student founder looking to build your startup? Are you looking for access to mentorship, capital, and the university network? If you want to collaborate, send over your details and we’ll get back to you in 24 hours.
🗣 Office Hours
Every newsletter, we interview a startup founder or investor to give you a tell-all into the world of startups 👀 Subscribe to our Medium to get all the latest updates.
🎤 Founder of the Month: Elise Sutherland, CEO of Stelect
For the month of July, we had the pleasure of sitting down with Elise Sutherland. Elise is a Forbes 30 Under 30 powerhouse who's making big moves in the Medtech space. We chatted about Stelect's journey, how she pitches a technical product, and how she manages the ups and downs of startup life.
🎤 Investor of the Month: Dan Fleming, Investment Manager at Folklore Ventures
Telescope Ventures chatted with Dan Fleming, Investment Manager at Folklore Ventures. Working in a venture capital fund himself, Dan knows a few things about the dos and don’ts of startups. We chat about his journey into the VC space, self-awareness, and high performing teams.
🤓 Telescope’s Monthly Recommendations
📚 Community
A warm, vibrant and active community, Earlyworks has a Slack channel dedicated to young people interested in startups. The community provides interesting resources, job postings, and gives advice on tech, startups, and careers.
📚 Newsletter
A great resource to keep up to date with the latest news in the Australian and New Zealand startup scene. Airmail includes updates on startups, interesting topics that caught their eye, and updates on major funding rounds.
📚 Podcast
The business podcast walks through the A-Z of running a successful side hustle and/or small business. If you have a burning idea but don’t know how to get started, this podcast provides great insight on how to build it from the ground up.
Until next time!
🚀 Vivian from Telescope Ventures
Website | LinkedIn | Medium | Instagram | Newsletter