Founding Teams: What Works, What Doesn’t — with Andy Chen

Founding Teams: What Works, What Doesn’t — with Andy Chen

From Founders in Arms by Immad Akhund and Rajat Suri

April 1, 2026 · 39 min · Season 2 · Episode 78

About this episode

Andy Chen discusses the dynamics of founding teams and the importance of co-founder selection.

Andy Chen is the co-founder of Outcast Ventures, an early-stage fund focused on rethinking how founding teams come together. Prior to Outcast, he worked across recruiting and venture capital, including roles at Riviera Partners, Kleiner Perkins, and Coatue, where he was a General Partner. At Outcast, he’s building a talent-first approach to company creation, including a co-founder matching program designed to help founders form stronger teams from the start. What you'll learn: Why choosing a co-founder from your existing network can lead to weaker outcomes The data behind why strangers can make better co-founders What actually makes a billion-dollar founding team Why Andy evaluates the team before the idea when investing The key ingredients: skill, interest, and timing alignment Why solo founders rarely build generational companies How AI is enabling a new wave of high-revenue, small-team businesses The evolution of venture capital — and what might come next Andy’s unconventional path into venture, including time in government (as shared in the episode) In this episode, we cover: (00:00) Why successful founders struggle to find co-founders (00:28) Introduction to Andy Chen and…

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