How can I convince my coworkers to start a company?

You have to find like minded people, and people who want the security of a large corporation are the exact opposite of the risk taking adventure entrepreneurs take. Entrepreneurs as a group consider working for a large corporation to be a major risk, really working for anyone is a risk. Personally I think having a "job" is a major risk but sometimes it is fun to do too, just like building a business.

The people you are talking to are comfortable and not the right crowd, I am sure some work at the company that would love that opportunity.

Just a word of caution, be careful actively recruiting while on the job, it is a fast way to either A get fired, or B get fired and sued for your side project depending on the company. A lot of FAANG and startups that emulate them have clauses about side projects and so you have to be really careful here if you have one of those. I am all for you doing whatever you want, but just make sure you know the details on how it could affect you.

Those friends/coworkers won't make it in the long-run, even if you can convince them in the beginning.

You need someone that is hungry to start a business, sick and tired of working for someone else, and will sacrifice their free time to make it happen.

I've tried at least half a dozen times in the past to start a company with friends/coworkers..and most failed miserably for this reason.

Some people just aren't meant to start or run a company and want the stability and security of being an employee.

Don't do it. Find someone else, who is at least as much or more enthusiastic about starting a company to work on a product.

Building a product is hard, building a company is harder. There will be lots of ups and downs, so what you don't want is to end up "try to convince to continue working on it" them again every 4-6 months.

Find someone who will convince you.

Running a business isn't just about building something that's interesting to you.

There's plenty of resources on Hacker News about how to validate your business. Assuming your side project is just software you work on nights and weekends, you'll find that "writing code" is just a fraction of what it takes to start a business.

See if you can find a side project that doesn't need to be a full-time business, and figure out how to focus it to be fun. At some point you'll see an opportunity to turn it into something that pays your bills; but don't rush.

Do you really need cofounders ? Can you start already and find someone later on ? I am a single founder and I spent a lots of time, money and energy because I had to find a cofounder because It s what successful startups do. I might not be successful yet :) but I have a profitable startup and I am still a single founder

Build from scratch. First one will be hard, but it will get easier.

Recruit college kids, they can take a lot more risks and less pay. Happy with bunkbeds and ramen. Spend the money on blingy hardware and entertainment. Need more workers, they’ll recruit their friends for you.

Worst case, they have to go back to school with a lot of experience.

People do startups for similar reasons to mountain climbing. They enjoy the thrill of being in control of a chaotic situation.

They like being the underdog. They are at their best when the odds are against them. They love taking responsibility.

A lot of people like that would suffer in a large, stable company.

I agree with others here - if you're working at a FAANG you have it pretty good. They likely value free time more than the ability to try to build a side project.

I'm looking for a project myself to work on - email in my profile if you want to reach out.

as i spend all of my energy to build a great product i dont have any energy left to convince co-founders or co-workers every few weeks. i wouldnt ever found a business or project with someone not as committed to it as myself.

so: if you have to convince someone of co-founding, he/she is probably not a good match

Are you in the USA or Europe?