How to write a cofounder profile: every field, with weak and strong example lines

Most cofounder profiles fail in the same way. They describe a good person in general terms ("passionate builder, strong communicator, looking for a technical partner to change the world") and give the reader nothing to decide with. The reader can't tell what you've done, what you need, or whether their life fits yours, so they move on to the next one.

A good profile does the opposite. The right person reads it and thinks "that's me", the wrong person can see quickly that it isn't, and anyone who writes to you has something specific to mention in the first line. This guide goes through a cofounder profile field by field. For each field you'll find what readers look for, a weak and a strong example line, and the common mistakes. At the end there are two full before-and-after profiles and a checklist.

Every example line on this page was written by us for this guide. None of them describe real people. Change the details so they're true for you.

What readers look for in a cofounder profile

Someone reading your profile is trying to answer a handful of questions quickly:

• What is this person working on, or open to working on?
• Have they actually done anything?
• Do they need what I have?
• Could our lives fit? Hours, timeline, location, time zone.
• Would I enjoy working with them?

Gloria Lin, who described her cofounder search to First Round Review, opened her first meetings with "What's your story? What sectors or industries do you have experience in?" (First Round Review). Your profile should answer those two before anyone has to ask.

The MaRS guide to recruiting a cofounder recommends keeping a cofounder profile to no more than half a page, because "the brevity will force you to focus on the highest priorities" (MaRS). That's a good limit for the whole thing, across all the fields below.

The fields at a glance

Before you write: collect the facts

Most weak profiles are weak because the writer started typing before gathering anything specific. Spend twenty minutes collecting the raw material first:

• Numbers. How many customers you've spoken to, users you have, things you've shipped, years in the field, people you've managed.
• Names of things. The product you built, the market you sold into, the tools you use, the industry you know from the inside.
• Dates. When you started on this, when you could go full-time, when a job or course ends.
• Hours. What you give the project each week now, honestly.
• Links. A prototype, a repository, a write-up of customer interviews, a talk, a post.

You won't use all of it. You'll pick the strongest two or three facts for each field, and the profile will write itself around them.

Headline or one-line intro

What readers look for: your role, your field and what you want, all in one line. On most platforms this is the only part people see before they decide whether to open the rest.

Weak example: "Entrepreneur and lifelong learner looking for my other half."

Strong example: "Backend engineer, 7 years in payments, looking for a cofounder who can sell to finance teams at mid-sized companies."

Strong example (no idea yet): "Operations lead in logistics, open to ideas in supply chain software, looking for an engineer to explore problems with."

Common mistakes:

• Labels without content: "serial entrepreneur", "visionary", "builder", "hustler". They say nothing a reader can check.
• Leading with your product's name. Nobody knows what it is yet.
• Trying to appeal to everyone. A headline that would fit a thousand profiles attracts nobody in particular.

What you're building, or what you're exploring

What readers look for: the problem, who has it, and how far you've got. Not the whole plan. A reader wants enough to judge whether the problem interests them and whether you've started.

Weak example: "Disrupting the healthcare space with AI. Stealth mode, can share more after an NDA."

Strong example: "Small dental clinics lose a large share of appointments to no-shows. I've interviewed 22 clinic managers, 12 are using a no-code reminder tool I built, and the hard part now is syncing with their practice-management software."

If you don't have an idea yet, say what you're drawn to and what you'd bring to the search for one. That's a perfectly good profile, and some people would rather start that way.

Strong example (exploring): "I don't have an idea I'm attached to. I've spent eight years in freight operations and keep seeing the same paperwork problems between shippers and customs brokers. I'd like to spend a few months talking to people in that world with a technical partner and pick a problem together."

Common mistakes:

• Secrecy. "Stealth" and "NDA required" on a profile read as inexperience. Two sentences on the problem give nothing useful away. Our post on whether a cofounder will steal your idea covers how to share in stages.
• Buzzwords in place of a customer. "AI-powered platform for the future of work" doesn't say who pays.
• A full pitch. Market size, five features and a roadmap belong in a later conversation.

What you bring

What readers look for: evidence. Titles tell readers where you sat. Results tell them what you can do.

Weak example: "10 years of product experience at top companies. Strong leader and communicator."

Strong example (technical): "Built the booking system at my last company from scratch; it handles about 40,000 bookings a month. I've shipped two side projects to paying users, one of which still makes a small monthly income."

Strong example (business): "Sold software to hospital procurement teams for five years, mostly deals that took six to nine months. I know who signs off and what they need to see."

Strong example (design): "Product designer for six years, the last two as the only designer at a 15-person startup. I run my own user interviews and I can build simple front ends."

Common mistakes:

• A pasted CV. Pick the two or three facts most relevant to what you want to build.
• Modesty that hides results. "Helped with sales" is weaker than "closed our first 14 customers", if that's what happened.
• Overclaiming. Anything you write here will come up on the first call. If you can't talk about it in detail, cut it.

What you need in a cofounder

What readers look for: whether they're the person you're describing. This is the field where specific wins most clearly. A narrow description puts some people off, and that's the point: the ones who stay are the ones worth talking to.

Weak example: "Looking for a technical cofounder. Must be passionate and a rockstar."

Strong example: "I need an engineer who has built and run integrations with other companies' software, ideally in healthcare. Must-haves: you'd want to work on this full-time within six months, and you're within three hours of UK time."

Strong example (business gap): "I need someone who has sold to operations managers and enjoys being on calls all day. I'll handle the product and engineering."

Separate must-haves from preferences, and keep the must-haves to two or three. Our guide to what to look for in a cofounder helps you decide which criteria belong in which group.

Common mistakes:

• "Someone to build my app." It describes a contractor. If you want a cofounder, say what they'd own and decide together.
• A wish list. Ten requirements tell readers you haven't worked out what matters.
• Describing the person by personality alone. "Driven, curious, kind" fits everyone who will read it.

How you work

What readers look for: what you'll be like on a Tuesday afternoon in month eight. This is the field most people skip or fill with adjectives, and it's the part a partner lives with every day.

Weak example: "Hard-working team player who loves to collaborate."

Strong example: "I write things down: a short weekly plan and notes after every customer call. I'd rather disagree out loud the same day than let it sit. I work best with one long focused block each morning and calls in the afternoon."

Strong example: "I move fast and fix things after. I reply to messages within a few hours on weekdays and mostly switch off on Sundays. I like a short check-in every day while we're early."

Concrete behaviours to choose from:

• How you plan: detailed plans, or short cycles and adjust.
• How you decide: data first, or instinct and test.
• How you handle disagreement: talk it out straight away, or think first and come back.
• How often you want contact: daily, a few times a week, weekly.
• When you work: early, late, weekends or not.

Common mistakes:

• Describing the ideal you. If you hate planning, say so. A partner will find out within a month, and it's better they choose you knowing it.
• Only listing strengths. One honest weakness ("I'm slow to delegate") makes the rest more believable.

Commitment and timeline

What readers look for: whether your life and theirs can move at the same speed. Different expectations about hours and timing are easy to state up front and hard to fix later.

Weak example: "Fully committed to making this happen."

Strong example: "About 15 hours a week now, alongside a full-time job. I plan to go full-time in March, once my notice period ends. I can work on this for about a year before I need an income again."

Strong example (exploring): "Exploring for now: about 5 hours a week of calls and research. I'd consider going full-time next year for the right person and problem."

Common mistakes:

• Rounding up. Writing "full-time" when you mean "full-time once things take off" wastes everyone's time.
• Leaving it out. If you don't say, readers assume whatever suits them, and you find the gap on the third call.
• Talking about ownership or terms. Who owns what comes much later, once you've worked together and both want to continue. It doesn't belong on a profile.

Location and availability

What readers look for: whether you can meet, and when you can talk.

Weak example: "Location: Earth. Remote-friendly."

Strong example: "Based in Berlin (CET). Happy to work remotely, but I'd want to meet in person every month or two. Free for calls on weekday evenings and Saturday mornings."

If you'd work across time zones, say how many hours of overlap you'd need. Our guide on how to find a remote cofounder goes into what to agree early.

Links and proof

Readers trust what they can see more than what you write about it. One or two links do more than a long paragraph:

• A prototype, live product or landing page.
• A public repository or design portfolio.
• A short write-up of what you learned from customer interviews.
• A talk, a post or a thread where you explain how you think.

Check each link works and shows what you claim. A link to a dead page, or to a portfolio last updated four years ago, says more than you want it to.

A full example profile, before and after

The two profiles below are examples we wrote for this guide. They describe imaginary people.

Example 1: a technical founder with an idea

Before: "Passionate full-stack developer and serial entrepreneur. Building an AI platform that will revolutionise how small businesses work. Looking for a business cofounder who is a hustler and shares my vision. Must be 100% committed. DM me for details!"

After: "Backend engineer, 7 years, the last 3 at a payments company. I'm building invoice reminders for small accounting firms: I've spoken to 18 firms, and 6 use a rough version every week. I need a cofounder who has sold software to small professional firms and wants to own sales and customer conversations. I work about 15 hours a week on this now and plan to go full-time in April. I write things down, prefer short daily check-ins and reply within a day. Based in Manchester (UK time), open to remote with monthly meetups. Demo and interview notes linked below."

What changed: labels became facts, "AI platform" became a customer and a problem, "hustler" became a role, "100% committed" became hours and a date, and the reader now has three or four specific things to mention in a first message.

Example 2: an operator without an idea

Before: "Ex-consultant, MBA, love startups. Open to any idea. Looking for a technical cofounder to build something big together."

After: "Six years in hospital operations, the last two running scheduling for 400 nurses. No fixed idea yet, but I keep seeing the same staffing and handover problems and I'd like to explore them properly. I'm looking for an engineer who'd enjoy spending a couple of months interviewing nurses and ward managers with me before we choose what to build. I can give 10 hours a week now and could go full-time next summer. I like to plan in two-week cycles and talk things through on calls rather than in long messages. Based in Bengaluru (IST)."

What changed: "open to any idea" became a field the writer knows deeply, which is far more attractive to a technical person than a blank page. The reader knows what the first months would look like.

What to cut from a cofounder profile

• Adjectives you can't prove: passionate, driven, visionary, rockstar, ninja, hustler.
• "No time wasters" and other warnings. They make you sound difficult and put off careful people.
• Your full life story. Keep the two or three facts that matter for this partnership.
• Stealth and NDA requests. Describe the problem; keep the details for later conversations.
• Ownership, titles and terms. Far too early.
• Complaints about past cofounders or employers. Readers will wonder what the other side would say.
• Jargon from your industry that a strong candidate from another field wouldn't know.
• Anything you'd be embarrassed to explain on a call.

One plain-language note: in Boomerang's analysis of more than 40 million emails, messages written at a third-grade reading level got 36% more responses than those written at a college reading level (Boomerang). That study was about emails rather than profiles, but the lesson carries over: short words and short sentences are easier to act on.

Profile tips for your situation

If you're technical. Business-minded readers want to know you'll talk to customers too, not only build. Mention any time you've spoken to users or worked on what to build.

Example line: "I've run 20 user interviews myself and I'm happy to keep doing them."

If you're non-technical. Engineers often hear from people with ideas and no evidence. Lead with what you've done about the problem: interviews, sign-ups, a no-code version, pilots. Our guide on how to find a technical cofounder covers what engineers look for.

Example line: "40 people joined a waitlist from one post in a nurses' forum; 9 have tried a spreadsheet version."

If you're still in a job. Say so, and give the hours and the date you could leave. Readers respect honesty about this far more than vague promises.

If you're a student. Say when you graduate and what you'll do in the summer. Readers mainly want to know what happens after exams and after graduation.

If you want to join someone else's idea. Make it clear, and say what kind of problem you'd be glad to work on and what you'd own.

Example line: "Happy to join an existing project in climate or energy and own growth and partnerships."

How to tell if your profile is working

Give it two weeks, then look at who has been writing to you, or liking you, and who hasn't.

• Nobody responds. Your profile probably lacks proof. Add a number or a link to "What you bring" and "What you're building".
• The wrong people respond. "What you need" is too loose. Name the gap more exactly and state your must-haves.
• People respond, but the first calls go nowhere. Check commitment and location. A mismatch there often only shows up on the call.
• People ask the same question every time. Answer it in the profile.

Update the profile when anything real changes: a new customer, a full-time date, a pivot. An out-of-date profile leads to calls that start with corrections.

How Foundinity uses your profile

On most platforms, everything a reader learns about you comes from what you type, so the "how you work" field carries a lot of weight and is the easiest to fudge. On Foundinity, part of that work is done before anyone reads a word you write.

You state what you need in a cofounder, and answer an assessment about how you work: commitment, working style, ambition, personality, goals, values, alongside your skills and interests. A multi-trait algorithm built on established psychological compatibility models ranks the people you see, and your profile is visible only to compatible members, so the people reading it already fit on the things a profile is worst at showing.

• Your written profile can stick to facts. What you've done, what you're working on, what you need. The assessment covers how you work.
• A compatibility breakdown on every match shows where the two of you align and where you differ, so you both have something specific to talk about.
• Your profile isn't public. Only compatible members can see it, and an "exploring" status lets you look before you commit.
• A 10-day clock on each match keeps conversations moving, and you book the intro call in the app.
• Pricing: free to get started; Plus is $5 a week or $15 a month. See how it works.

When a match comes in, our guide on how to ask someone to be your cofounder covers what happens after the first message.

Cofounder profile checklist

Before you publish, check each line:

• The headline says your role, your field and what you want, in one sentence.
• "What you're building or exploring" names a customer and a problem, not a category.
• There's at least one number in "What you bring".
• "What you need" names a specific gap and no more than three must-haves.
• "How you work" describes behaviours, including one honest weakness.
• Your weekly hours, and a full-time date or "not planned yet", are written down.
• City, time zone and how often you'd meet in person are clear.
• At least one link works and shows something real.
• No unprovable adjectives, no NDA request, nothing about ownership or terms.
• The whole thing fits on about half a page.
• Someone who knows your work has read it and agrees it's accurate.

FAQ

What should I write in a cofounder profile?

A one-line headline, what you're building or exploring, proof of what you've done, the exact gap you need filled, how you work, your hours and timeline, and where you are. Keep it to about half a page and use facts rather than adjectives.

How long should a cofounder profile be?

About half a page in total. The MaRS guide to recruiting a cofounder recommends no more than half a page so you focus on what matters most. Most fields need one to four sentences.

What's a good cofounder profile example?

One where every line could only be about you: a role and field in the headline, a named customer and problem, results with numbers, a specific gap, honest hours and a date. See the two before-and-after examples above.

How do I write a cofounder profile if I don't have an idea?

Say which field or problems you're drawn to, what you know about them, and how you'd like to choose a problem with a partner. Some people would rather pick the problem together, and an "exploring" profile reads well when it's specific about the field.

Should I share my startup idea in my profile?

Share the problem, the customer and how far you've got, in two to four sentences. Keep details such as your approach to the hardest part for later conversations. Asking for an NDA on a profile puts most people off.

How do I describe myself to a potential cofounder?

Use results, not labels. "Closed our first 14 customers" tells a reader more than "strong salesperson". Add how you work day to day and one honest weakness.

What should I say I'm looking for in a cofounder?

The specific gap (the skill or experience you lack), two or three must-haves such as hours, timeline or location, and what they would own. Avoid lists of personality traits that fit everyone.

Should I mention that I still have a job?

Yes. Say how many hours you give the project now and when you could go full-time, or that you're exploring. Readers will find out anyway, and stating it up front attracts people at the same stage.

How often should I update my cofounder profile?

Whenever something real changes, such as new customers, a full-time date or a change of direction. If you get no useful replies in two weeks, revise the proof and the "what you need" field first.

Why isn't anyone replying to my cofounder profile?

Usually because it lacks proof or is too general. Add a number or a link to what you've done, name the exact gap you need filled, and state your hours and location.

Sources

• "The Founder Dating Playbook: Here's the Process I Used to Find My Co-Founder", interview with Gloria Lin, First Round Review, 30 September 2019, checked 13 November 2026.
• Jon E. Worren, "MaRS Guide: Recruiting your co-founder", MaRS Discovery District, checked 13 November 2026.
• Boomerang, "7 Tips for Getting More Responses to Your Emails (With Data!)", 12 February 2016, checked 13 November 2026.
• Foundinity profile, matching and pricing from foundinity.com, checked 13 November 2026.