Where founders and quality associates/co-founders meat.

Vojtech Arkes  • Peerlist

Polln8: Where the Right People Find Each OtherBuilding a startup is one of the hardest things a person can do. You can have the sharpest idea in the room, a product that solves a real problem, a pitch that turns heads, and still fail because you built it with the wrong people, or worse, alone. The early-stage startup world is full of brilliant founders who never reached their potential simply because they couldn't find the right co-founder, the right associate, or the right operator to help them execute. Polln8 was built to fix that. Polln8 is a quality matchmaking platform for the startup ecosystem, a place where founders, co-founders, associates, and operators find each other based on what actually matters: complementary skills, aligned ambitions, and shared vision. It strips away the noise of traditional networking and replaces it with something more intentional, a swipe-based interface designed specifically for the people who build companies from the ground up. Polln8 operates on two distinct sides that mirror the real dynamics of how startups actually come together. On one side you have Founders, the builders and visionaries with a startup they are actively working on or an idea they are ready to take seriously. These are early-stage startup operators who have skin in the game. They are looking for a technical co-founder to build what they have been describing in decks, a business-minded partner to handle the side of the company they are weakest in, or a founding associate ready to go zero to one alongside them. Founders create profiles that represent their startup, the stage, the sector, the traction, and the team gaps, giving potential matches a real picture of what they are joining and what is being built. On the other side you have Talent, skilled professionals, operators, and specialists who want in on the startup world but need a better way to find the right opportunity. These are the co-founders who have not found their founder yet, the associates ready to step into a high-ownership role at an early-stage startup, and the C-suite level executives who have spent years inside large organizations and are ready to bring that firepower to something they actually believe in. Talent profiles highlight domain expertise, the kind of startup they want to help build, and what kind of role they are open to, whether that is a full co-founder equity split or a founding associate position. The platform matches these two sides through a mutual swipe system. Founders discover talent, talent discovers startups, and a match only happens when both sides express interest. No cold messages into the void, no unanswered LinkedIn requests, just a clean bilateral signal that both people are open to a conversation. One of the most critical problems in startup networking is credibility. Anyone can say they are a founder. Anyone can claim co-founder status or C-suite level experience. Polln8 takes that seriously with a verified profile system. Every user on the platform, whether founder or talent, goes through a verification process before their profile becomes visible to matches. Verification confirms identity and professional background, so when a founder connects with a potential co-founder or when a seasoned executive discovers an early-stage startup, both parties are exactly who they say they are. Verified status is displayed on every profile, a signal that carries real weight when you are deciding whether to have a conversation that could change the trajectory of your career or your company. Polln8 was not built as a general networking app with a startup filter bolted on. It was designed from the ground up for the specific dynamics of startups and the people who build them. For C-suite level executives ready to transition from a traditional path into the startup world, Polln8 offers a direct line to founders who need exactly what they have built over a career. For first-time founders, it offers access to experienced co-founders, operators, and associates who have done this before. For everyone in between, it is the quality matchmaking layer the startup ecosystem has always needed but never had.