Should i bring on a co-founder or hire my first employee to split equity?

[Donald.H]

I’m trying to decide whether to bring on a co-founder at this stage, or if I should just hire my first employee instead. My product is nearly ready for a limited launch, but I’m stretched too thin between development and trying to line up our initial customers. I’m worried about giving up equity and control too early, but I also know I can’t do everything myself forever.

[LukeC]

I chose to hire my first employee instead of bringing on a co-founder. It let me keep ownership and push the product forward, but I spent nights juggling dev work and customer outreach and still burned out on launch week.

[Brian_G]

I've heard stories where a partner who shares product vision helps a lot, but the talk about equity and control makes a lot of folks pause. It can feel like inviting someone to steer the ship while you’re still learning the ropes.

[Eleanor.M]

It did feel like the bottleneck was getting customers lined up more than the code. We shipped features but the onboarding and waitlists moved slower than I expected, maybe because of misreads on who actually wants this.

[Ronald82]

Do you think the real blocker is demand or something else in your funnel, not just headcount?