Why Developers Aren’t Interested in Joining Your Company

“I’ve got a kick-butt startup that’s going to be huge. I just need someone to help me build it!”

As a founder, you’ve lived with your idea long enough that you know, just know that others will beat a path to your door to join the team. Right?

Wrong.

Let’s go through a typical conversation:

YOU: I’m launching a new startup that sells self-driving baby carriages. It’s gonna be huge! Wanna join, person I just met at random meetup?

DEVELOPER: Uh, what? No. That sounds dumb.

YOU: No, really it’s going to the moon.

DEVELOPER: Cool. How many customers do you have so far?

YOU: Um, well, none because I need someone like you to build it.

DEVELOPER: Oh. Ok. How much money have you raised?

YOU: Funny question, that. See I can’t raise the money until someone like you joins my team. Did I mention we’re going to be huge?

DEVELOPER: I see. It sounds kind of sketchy. Have you done this before?

YOU: Well, no. But I did read Lean Startup and we’re going to do that.

DEVELOPER: So, if I understand you, correctly, you want me to leave my current job where I’m making great money, join your new company, make no money, and work on a completely untested idea with a complete stranger with no clear path to a product or the company making money?

YOU: Yep, that’s right. It’s gonna be huge!

You’re probably saying to yourself “Yeah, that’s absurd” or you should be. And yet, that conversation happens over and over every day.

What makes developers say yes to joining your company is some combination of the following factors:

  • You are a compelling person
  • Your idea is captivating
  • You are an expert in what you’re trying to do
  • They know you already (This is hard to overestimate)
  • You have enough cash that if you’re wrong they won’t go broke
  • An appetite for some amount of risk
  • Upside in the company

Instead of having some variant of conversation above and being frustrated with no one “being willing to jump in”, put yourself on the other side of the table and ask “What would make me say yes to this if I wasn’t already in it?” and go do those things.