Starting a business is not a cakewalk. From creating business plans to developing marketing strategies and from securing funding to building a team, each process requires professional expertise and careful execution.
Do you know around 90% of startups fail, among which, 10% are likely to shut down their businesses within one year, while 70% close within 5 years? Startup founders have a less than 20% of success rate. These stats clearly show that startups have very little chance to succeed.
While there are many reasons that contribute to this high failure rate, lack of technical expertise is the most common issue. Finding the right tools for your business, implementing them correctly, migrating your business from the traditional to the cloud-based model, and conducting other digital or technical operations require a technical co-founder. Let’s see what a technical co-founder does for your business.
What is a Technical Cofounder?
A technical co-founder brings the technical expertise and knowledge of different tools and software programs to the table. They are not the CTOs or software designers. Technical co-founders take on more responsibilities than your IT help desk service providers.
They don’t only just take care of the technical aspects of launching a new product, but they are equally involved in creating business strategies, building a team of employees, and managing overall operations. Technical cofounders stay with the business from the commencement. They define the business’ mission and vision and develop strategies that can drive the business to success.
Their compensation is calculated based on their financial contribution to your business, and other factors including, their time, effort, skills, experience, and roles. If you are working with one or more technical cofounders and are worried about equity distribution, you can use a startup equity calculator to determine the equity share of each cofounder. In the meantime, let’s learn more about the roles and responsibilities of a technical co-founder.
Manage Technical Aspects Seamlessly
The technical work that might seem too complicated or boring to the general people is quite interesting for the tech experts. This involves building a technical infrastructure with new software applications, mobile apps, websites, and other on-premises or cloud-based solutions.
In addition, they are responsible for checking the progress of the technical work, onboarding engineers, implementing new tech software into the premises, explaining technical jargon to the team, and creating business plans. All of this requires an experienced IT professional. Imagine having to research technical terms every day just to understand the jargon. It’s best to leave the job to a tech expert and focus on other core areas of your business.
Help in Fundraising
A technical cofounder is responsible for generating funds. They focus on building partnerships and finding investors that are willing to put the time and money into the business. Since a technical co-founder has knowledge of the product’s technical parts, they can pitch effectively and raise money for the business easily.
Effective pitching is key to raising sufficient funds for the firm. Although raising funds is the responsibility of each founder that’s invested their money and ideas in establishing the company, technical cofounders are comparatively more involved because of their technical background.
It’s easy to convince an investor to put their money into your business when you have a technical cofounder. That’s because investors are quite reluctant to trust a business that lacks technical expertise or doesn’t have at least one technical cofounder to manage the business’ IT operations.
Help in Product Development
Moving from the ideation phase to the execution can be really challenging. With so many innovative ideas, lucrative campaigns, and new solutions, things can seem pretty chaotic for business leaders. Having a technical co-founder who serves as the problem solver, can help you implement the right solutions and utilize the best technology.
That’s how businesses are able to launch the best version of their products and services. Technical cofounders take part in your brainstorming sessions and product development, ensuring that each product is in line with your company’s goals and is technically fit for the users. As mentioned above, a technical cofounder can help in fundraising for your new projects, thus helping you expand your product line and areas of operation.
Seamless Transition
As mentioned earlier, transitioning from offline to online work mode is quite overwhelming for managers.
Suppose you run a bakery that offers cakes, pastries, and other baked goods in your location. You realize you are catering to a very small percentage of your potential customers, so you plan on expanding your business to the entire city by implementing digital solutions. Now, that requires a software developer who can design high-quality software to manage your online and offline orders in a single place.
The migration from offline to online business requires technical knowledge, wireframe building, resource allocation, hosting service, and other technical aspects that only an IT specialist can manage. The founders that have built the business and brought the idea into reality should focus on expanding their business and making their products better instead of managing technical operations.
Stay up-to-date with Technical Evolution
Technology is evolving at a fast pace. Every time you think you have learned a new concept or have implemented the latest technology, there’s something better or a revolutionized version of the tool launched. Technical cofounders keep abreast of these advancements. They enjoy the process of deploying new tools, updating the software apps, and modifying other technologies to ensure the business is technically up-to-date.
For a normal cofounder, this can get really hectic. If your interest lies beyond the technical function of a business, you won’t be able to handle this part well. It’s best to find a technical cofounder who loves to explore new tools and gadgets that can keep you ahead of your competitors and improve your business function.
Conclusion
Having a technical cofounder is a must for every business that has expansion plans. Not only will they manage the IT work effortlessly, but a technical cofounder builds customers, investors, and vendors' trust in your business.
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