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Comment by chrischen | Hacker News Reader

Wouldn't it be awkward to use the dating analogy if the two founders were of the opposite sex, or homosexual? It feels as if people assume startups are for guys looking for other guys, and this way of thinking further discourages girls from getting into the game. So I dunno, good idea to stop using dating analogies?

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A business partnership is a relationship. It's certainly not a romantic relationship, but it can be just as intense and emotional as a romantic relationship.

No one is suggesting that potential business partners take each other out to the movies. But it's a good idea that they spend a lot of time together and get to know each other well before jumping into a partnership together.

That's why the analogy works. You don't meet someone at a party and marry them the next day. You shouldn't meet someone at an event and make them your co-founder immediately either.

I know it works, but I'm saying isn't it a bit awkward to use on a guy and a girl if they aren't dating?

No one is saying the two people ARE dating and marrying. They're saying the process of finding a co-founder is LIKE dating and marrying.

That's what an analogy is. "a⋅nal⋅o⋅gy - a similarity between like features of two things, on which a comparison may be based"

And the awkwardness comes in because not everyone is keyed in to the analogy. It can be easily misconstrued as the two people are dating. For two guys however it's less awkward because people naturally seek another explanation for the term dating first. But for some people they could jump to the romantic term for dating, and knowing this is why it can be seen as awkward even to just some people.

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