Julian Weisser is the Founder and CEO of Solo Founders, a three-month residency program in San Francisco where founders live and work together while maintaining full authorship of their companies. He's also the CEO of On Deck Founders (ODF), a program that over seven years and 26 cohorts has helped over 1,000 people start companies that have collectively raised more than $2 billion.
As an angel investor with more than 150 portfolio companies including Levels, Astroforge, and MagicSchool, he's seen patterns in what actually predicts startup success versus what investors claim they're looking for. He writes the Texts with Founders newsletter sharing bite-sized practical wisdom for entrepreneurs and publishes Multitudes, a newsletter exploring founder psychology and startup strategy.
In this episode, Weisser breaks down the denominator delusion: solo-founded companies were more likely to succeed than co-founded ones, but nobody talked about it because when you look at the total number of successful companies, co-founded businesses eclipse solo successes—while hiding how many unsuccessful co-founded companies exist in the denominator.
His core unlocks: two-thirds of startups die from co-founder disputes before reaching product-market fit or running out of money, being solo is far better than 99% of potential co-founders, and authorship (the desire to express yourself and put your vision into the world) matters more than contortionism (twisting your company to match what investors want to see).
The flippening already happened in ODF 26—over half chose solo. In this conversation, he breaks down why MagicSchool's Adil Khan (a former high school principal with no startup experience) succeeded solo, how "co-founders of convenience" kill companies before they reach potential, what makes the Solo Founders residency feel like having "five co-founders while building your own company," and why mimicking trends accrues value to memes instead of founders.
Key Topics Covered:
- The denominator delusion: why solo success rates are higher but invisible in the narrative.
- Two-thirds die early: co-founder disputes kill startups before product-market fit or funding issues.
- Co-founders of convenience: rushing into partnerships because investors demand it.
- Invalid constraints: questioning beliefs (like needing school/work co-founders) that prevent great companies.
- ODF's evolution: expanding who can start companies and who they can start them with.
- The flippening moment: over 50% of ODF 26 chose solo after the program.
- Authorship vs. contortionism: building authentically vs. pattern-matching for investors.
- Solo Founders residency: six to seven founders per cohort, living/working together for three months.
Chapters:
- (00:11) The denominator delusion: why solo-founded companies are more likely to succeed
- (02:53) How ODF expanded the co-founder search beyond school and work connections
- (07:05) The flippening: when solo becomes the default instead of the exception
- (09:27) Why two-thirds of startups die from irreconcilable co-founder disputes, not lack of product-market fit
- (10:02) Best practices for co-founding: avoiding assumptions and pre-mortems
- (14:03) How early founders decide to go solo (most don't even consider it initially)
- (17:42) ODF 26 results: over half chose to build solo
- (18:48) Founder characteristics across boom cycles: more mimicry and trend-chasing than ever
- (20:21) Mimicry vs. authorship
- (22:33) The growth narrative trap: why $100B outcome fixation from massive funds limits great companies
- (25:09) The Solo Founders residency: three months, "five co-founders"
- (30:13) The space: own rooms, common areas, office on ground floor, 6am-3am usage
- (33:27) Who applies: half bootstrapped and sold companies
- (36:46) Authorship as the defining trait
Where to find Julian Weisser:
X: https://x.com/julianweisser
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julianweisser
Website: https://weisser.io
Where to find SOLO:
X: https://x.com/solofounding
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/solo-founders
Website: https://solofounders.com
Where to find ODF:
X: https://x.com/joinodf
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/'odf'
Website: https://joinodf.com
Newsletters:
Texts with Founders: https://textswithfounders.com
Newsletter (Multitudes): https://multitudes.weisser.io
Where to find David Phillips:
X: https://x.com/davj
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/davjphillips
Brought to you by:
Fondo — All-in-one accounting for startups: fondo.com
