Finding a technical co-founder, becoming an angel developer, and starting a new golf clubs company :: with Gabe Coyne

One of the most common questions in the startup space is how to find a technical co-founder to design and build your product. In this episode of Ventures, we discuss in depth both how to become a great startup CTO and to find one in your network. We also talk about the founding story of Stix (https://stix.golf/), a new golf brand focused on middle-market, stylish clubs for the casual golfer. 

Visit https://satchel.works/@wclittle/ventures-episode-7 for detailed notes and links to resources mentioned. 

You can watch this episode via video here. 

My guest this week is Gabe Coyne (Co-Founder & CEO of Stix and General Partner at Prota Ventures) and we cover the following: 

2:00 - Gabe intro, his journey of becoming a designer/developer/entrepreneur, co-founding a technology startup, and starting a new golf brand. 

14:30 - What advice does Gabe have for young creative people - e.g. out of high school - considering how to educate themselves in design and software development? 

23:00 - What was the journey like co-founding Influence Mobile? What were the different stages like of being a CTO of a growing startup? 

31:20 - How can a non-technical founder find a technical founder?  What is the best way to find and screen for a CTO of a brand new startup?  

34:26 - How should a non-technical founder think about the spectrum of finding a hero “unicorn” developer (like Gabe) to hiring a shop to build it all? 

37:20 - Why startups fail (i.e. founder/team conflict)

38:09 - How do you get into a position where you can become an “angel developer” and work for equity in a bunch of different startups? 

41:45 - The Stix founding story, early validation, market positioning, etc..

46:55 - Where can people find out more about Gabe & Stix? https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabecoyne/ and https://stix.golf/