Note: all the names have been omitted in this post to protect the not-so-innocent.

This past week I have been stood up twice by people I need to talk to in regards to my startup. That is nothing new for an entrepreneur, but as others before me, I started doubting in whether my endeavor was something that would succeed, and if I was the only one really thinking this was a good ide.

Still feeling a bit down over this, despite a weekend that managed to push it a little in the background, I decided to write some emails to potential partners to see if I could get together with them on an upcoming conference.

However I didn’t get far. My inbox contained an email from a friend pointing me to an article describing how the biggest player in the industry was about to enter my niche market – and I haven’t even launched yet.

Now most people would probably see this as the end and head further down to hole of despair only to exit on the other side with a decision to call it quits. I will admit I initially did use some words I will leave out of this post. However after a little time to reflect I calmed down and started analyzing the situation:

-        I had prematurely gained a competitor I knew eventually would enter my space.

-        The market moves fast and total market domination was never the plan as it was unattainable. This “new” competitor doesn’t change that.

-        My approach to this niche market has been to create a user experience not found elsewhere; the new competitor doesn’t change that.

Finally I recalled a tweet from Naval "What if Google does this?" counter "What if Google enters the VC business?" and a blog post from M Suster ending with “.. if there are no BigCo in your market you are probably in the wrong market.”

I guess in the end it is what entrepreneurship is all about; no matter how far down you are there can be a positive side to it. Onward!

I recently answered a question on OnStartup on LinkedIn and realized that the question “How do you meet your Business Partner” required a little more in-depth coverage.

I don’t think there is a formula to this, but if there is I will gladly take it. I think if you are looking for a techie partner it is a little easier than looking for one with a business sense. If you find the “hacker” type techie you will have found someone that is also willing to work hard. You should look at some of the Q&A developer sites out there CodeProject, StackOverflow, or you could try to be part of one of the new social developer sites like Forrst. The smart people will stand out on those sites. However that is not enough. As a developer most of my friends are techies, smart and will work hard, but that doesn’t make them good cofounders.

 In the search of a cofounder I have come to the conclusion that it is extremely difficult to find someone with the entrepreneurial gene. Having it myself I simply just assumed it was in us all but not necessarily as predominant in everyone, and just needed some nurture to blossom. Some people are happy with status quo and will do anything not to rock the boat. That is fine by me, but I can’t use them in my startup. I need someone that will live and breathe for the startup for as long as it takes to get it going. Someone that has the startup on his/her mind as the last thing before bed and first thing in the morning.

As I mentioned I was blind to the fact that not everyone has the gene. I probably should have taken a note from my conversations with my wife because for some reason she never gets as excited about the new features I come up with as I do. It is not until I speak to other likeminded individuals that I see the same spark in the eye that indicates that the wheels are in motion trying to find some twist to the newly acquired knowledge.

 Networking is the key to finding people with similar mindset, and it is the similar mindset that needs to be there if there is to be any chance of finding a good co-founder. Please don’t confuse that with people always agreeing with you, as it is important in any business to have a natural counter weight of opinions. To successfully network, try joining local networks in business or development depending on which type of cofounder you are looking for. Alternately you could join something like Founder Institute or Founder Labs that is focused on helping you in becoming a better entrepreneur.

Finally if you find the formula, please let me know.

To kick this year in high gear I am proud to announce that I will be launching a startup – FlatLeaf – later this year.

It is still in stealth mode but stay tuned and more will follow.