The Zero to $10M ARR Newsletter

When I started Groove, I had two choices. Find a technical co-founder or stay stuck forever.

I chose a third option: hire an agency and ship fast.

It cost $300K.

Everyone said I was insane...

But within months, I had momentum, customers, and leverage.

The same founders who called me dumb started asking how I did it.

Here’s what they don’t tell you:

The founder myth is that you need a technical co-founder. So you spend months trying to find the perfect match. Endless coffee meetings. Cold DMs. Talking to “maybe” partners. All while your idea sits on the shelf collecting dust.

This was me when I started Groove.

No prototype. No customers. No funding. Just a Google Doc and a pile of wasted time. And here’s the kicker: every great technical co-founder I met wanted to see traction. But I needed a co-founder to get traction.

Catch-22.

So I made the call. I hired a dev agency. Paid way more than I would’ve for a single hire. But in four months, I had something to show:

• A working product
• 1,000+ users
• Press coverage
• Angel investors reaching out

Was it perfect? No.

• The code was messy
• The process was slow
• I had no one to lean on for product decisions

But I had momentum. I had feedback. I had a business. And that beat sitting in another coffee shop pitching someone who was “thinking about it.”

Here’s the truth: A slow decision kills more startups than a bad one.

While other founders were “learning to code,” “waiting for the perfect team,” or “polishing their pitch deck,” I was getting actual users and shipping a real product.

And in 2025, it’s even easier. You have:

• Global talent
• AI tools
• No-code platforms

You don’t need perfect. You need shipped.

Founder Cheat Sheet – How to build without a technical co-founder

1. Hire an agency or freelance team with real shipping experience
2. Cut scope to the absolute minimum needed for validation
3. Start with a clickable prototype (Figma or Framer + Typeform works)
4. Use no-code tools for front-end, outsource backend if needed
5. Ship within 90 days or your scope is too bloated
6. Get 100 users before thinking about funding
7. Expect to rebuild your tech later; don’t over-optimize
8. Speed is your advantage. Use it.

One line to remember:

Most founders die waiting. The smart ones ship anyway.

Until next time,

Keep building.

Alex Turnbull

Founder and CEO

Groove and Helply