Here's a conversation I keep having with founders:
"We need a technical cofounder."
No. What you need is technical leadership. And there's a more cost-effective, lower-risk way to get it.
The cofounder trap
Bringing on a developer as a cofounder sounds logical — someone to own the tech, build the product, share the vision. But in practice, especially for early-stage hardware and firmware businesses, it often creates more problems than it solves.
You're giving away 10–30% of your equity to someone whose primary skill is writing code. That's enormously expensive when you step back and think about it. A senior developer on a £80–120k salary is one thing. A cofounder with a quarter of your company is an entirely different proposition — and one that's almost impossible to unwind if the relationship doesn't work out.
What a tech-focused NED brings instead
Strategic oversight without the overhead. A NED with deep domain experience in your technology space gives you board-level technical governance for a fraction of the cost — typically a modest monthly retainer or day rate. No equity dilution. No full-time salary. No employer's NI.
Broader perspective. A developer cofounder is heads-down in your codebase. A tech NED has seen dozens of products go from prototype to production across multiple companies. They know which shortcuts will cost you later, which suppliers to trust, and which technical decisions have board-level risk attached to them.
Credibility with investors. A strong technical NED on your board signals to investors that the technology is being governed properly — without the founder dynamics and politics that a technical cofounder can introduce.
Flexibility to scale. In the early stages, your technical needs change fast. A NED relationship is inherently flexible. A cofounder relationship is not. When you need hands-on development, you hire contractors or a dev team. When you need technical strategy and governance, your NED is already in place.
Think long-term
The developer you need today isn't the strategic leader you'll need in two years. But a good tech NED can guide you through both stages — and you'll still own your company when you get there.
Stop giving away equity for skills you can buy. Invest in governance you can't.