Forgive the very long post, but this is very important and I want to get it right. I recently started putting out feelers in my personal network, but given how much I value Reddit's startup-oriented communities, I'm posting here as well.

I am founder of a FinTech startup and seeking a technical co-founder. At a very high level, we are creating a marketplace that brings liquidity to asset classes that have historically been very illiquid.

It is still at the pre-seed/ground level, but so far, here is some of what we have:

• A damn cool business model with nearly unlimited upside if we nail the execution (and, of course, find a bit of luck).
• Some early code, built by outside developers over the past several months, for the service’s MVP. Currently it’s a PHP application (Laravel) on a vanilla LAMP stack with a Bootstrap front end. Of course, I will defer to you as to whether we build on it or go in a different direction.
• Great advisors, including some who have sat on the boards of the very companies who could acquire us down the road.
• Early validation/interest from prospects and partners.
• Increasing awareness as a result of recent media coverage in top tier financial media.

What I bring to the table:

• Twenty-five years of experience in tech industry roles that include a wide range of marketing, business development, strategic, and operational responsibilities. I am not just a strategist and leader, I am also a highly skilled operator.
• Experience as a founder or very early executive of several startups, including two that resulted in exits, most recently a mid-nine figure sale to a Fortune 20 company (as a result, I joined that company as a senior branding and communications executive).
• A world-class personal network that spans the worlds of media, tech, finance, and government. I can get to almost anyone. If I can’t get to them, I can get to someone who can.
• A solid work ethic that respects work/life balance. I know how to hustle and how to work smart. I have a collaborative, honest, laid-back working style.

Essentially, I can manage the marketing, strategy, finance, operations, and regulatory aspects of the business. I don't mean to imply that I need to own all of it—if you have strengths in these areas, I am more than happy to share. If you don’t, I’ll nonetheless include you in major decisions in those areas to the extent you wish to be involved.

What I hope you bring to the table:

• Full stack technical development talent. Ideally, you’ll be the primary developer until we close a financing.
• An obsession with immaculate UIs and first-class user experiences.
• An openness to and understanding of (but not zealotry for) decentralized finance, tokenization, and blockchain. This may or may not be the right path for us, and I want you to participate in that decision.
• Substantial experience building and shipping technology services (ideally financial) and leading a technical team.
• Self-starting, self-managing work ethic. You know what needs to be done and you do it (or ensure it gets done) without needing to be managed.
• Collaborative working style. I’ll defer to you on technical decisions, but you’ll be willing to talk through the big strategic ones with me.

So far, the only money into the company has been from me and a couple of friends. If you bring some capital to the table, that’s great, but not necessary. I’m currently of the mind that we should wait until we have some traction prior to doing any serious fundraising.

This is and will continue to be my full-time gig. It should probably be yours, too. If there are other projects on your plate, this would need to be your priority and you would be hustling alongside me on a daily basis. You would commit that once we close a round of financing, you’d become full-time CTO.

All of the above will inform our discussion around equity. While we're on that topic: this isn't my first rodeo, so you're not going to have to fight with me for equity. I know how important you are, and I am prepared accordingly. I want you motivated by the fact that you're not just having fun, but you're going to get filthy rich doing it.

If this sounds like you, I look forward to our conversation.

And if this doesn't sound like you, I’m still glad to talk! I love connecting with fellow entrepreneurs.