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Business Cofounders are a Dime a Dozen

joshuavolz.com

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Re: Business Cofounders are a Dime a Dozen

#11

Post by klbarry »

kranner wrote: post #6
il wrote: post #3

Theere's obviously a lot of parasitic business "idea guys" who don't know about technology this article is talking about. At the same time, there's a lot of business guys who can bring real, tangible value in terms of strategy, customer acquisition methods, marketing, finances, etc. I think there'a huge misconception that all it takes to build a company is a couple hackers who can build a product. Building the produc…

I live in India and from my perspective, everybody is a dime a dozen, until they think hard and work hard to distinguish themselves.

Even in NYC, this is true. The majority of coders are not the mythical hackers of the valley, just as most businessmen aren't amazing. Just partner with people who work hard and are great, as there's enough work to go around in a start-up.

Re: Business Cofounders are a Dime a Dozen

#13

Post by euroclydon »

il wrote: post #3

Theere's obviously a lot of parasitic business "idea guys" who don't know about technology this article is talking about. At the same time, there's a lot of business guys who can bring real, tangible value in terms of strategy, customer acquisition methods, marketing, finances, etc. I think there'a huge misconception that all it takes to build a company is a couple hackers who can build a product. Building the produc…

Building and growing a business often require that a person be able to go without making any money for a quite a while, so by definition, these people are rare. I don't think people with the talent to grow a business are that rare, but people with the talent and a conducive life situation are.

And actually, even building a technically mundane product is quite hard, but more for the same reasons building a business is. It's a prototype that's easy to build, but buckling down to cross all the t's and dot the i's, and perform the boring work to make it a real product takes perseverance.

Re: Business Cofounders are a Dime a Dozen

#14

Post by kranner »

klbarry wrote: post #11
kranner wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in India and from my perspective, everybody is a dime a dozen, until they think hard and work hard to distinguish themselves.

Even in NYC, this is true. The majority of coders are not the mythical hackers of the valley, just as most businessmen aren't amazing. Just partner with people who work hard and are great, as there's enough work to go around in a start-up.

Sure but, to clarify, by India I meant the sheer population figures of any occupation or other demographic. It's true everywhere if you're competing online, but here we're used to physically seeing it.

Re: Business Cofounders are a Dime a Dozen

#15

Post by cheald »

il wrote: post #3

Theere's obviously a lot of parasitic business "idea guys" who don't know about technology this article is talking about. At the same time, there's a lot of business guys who can bring real, tangible value in terms of strategy, customer acquisition methods, marketing, finances, etc. I think there'a huge misconception that all it takes to build a company is a couple hackers who can build a product. Building the produc…

I think the takeaway is that "Good business partners are hard to find, and good tech partners are hard to find. Bad partners of either variety are plentiful."

Hackers tend to notice the plethora of bad business types, because we're bombarded by them. Business founders tend to notice the lack of good tech co-founders because all their experience is with bad ones. However, we can observe that there are startups with good ideas, good business partners, and good tech partners. They're out there.

If you're a tech or business type and are looking for a co-founder, but can't find one, consider that perhaps the problem is that you aren't compelling enough to attract the right kind of co-founder. Make sure you're bringing all you can to the table, and you'll find someone to do it with you.

Re: Business Cofounders are a Dime a Dozen

#16

Post by sandipagr »

klbarry wrote: post #11
kranner wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in India and from my perspective, everybody is a dime a dozen, until they think hard and work hard to distinguish themselves.

Even in NYC, this is true. The majority of coders are not the mythical hackers of the valley, just as most businessmen aren't amazing. Just partner with people who work hard and are great, as there's enough work to go around in a start-up.

I dont understand why coders have to be mythical hackers. Isn't all it matters is if you can get the shit done? The reason I am saying this is cause lot of times there are comments that for some reason give "hackers" a higher credibility when coders and hackers are essentially same here. Of course there are projects that require real hacking to complete the job, but most of the times a normal coder can do it as well. Maybe I don't understand the difference.

Re: Business Cofounders are a Dime a Dozen

#17

Post by kranner »

jpcx01 wrote: post #7
il wrote: post #3

Theere's obviously a lot of parasitic business "idea guys" who don't know about technology this article is talking about. At the same time, there's a lot of business guys who can bring real, tangible value in terms of strategy, customer acquisition methods, marketing, finances, etc. I think there'a huge misconception that all it takes to build a company is a couple hackers who can build a product. Building the produc…

I completely agree here. I learned long ago that if I built something that I thought was cool, it didn't turn to dollars. The best hackers absolutely need to find a great business partner. Unless they can wing it on their own. But personally, I hated the doing all the BS it takes to bring a product to market. I just want to build cool shit.

I used to think marketing was BS too, but I've come to think it's just a different sort of hacking.

Re: Business Cofounders are a Dime a Dozen

#18

Post by infoarbitrage »

bottom line: finding great partners of any stripe is tough. it goes beyond mere competency to chemistry, empathy and passion. a bad choice and it sinks the business and leaves a trail of tears. a good choice and, assuming a truly good idea, the potential is hard to quantify. social intelligence and patience on both sides is essential for success. a good match on paper does not necessarily make for one in the real world. it's similar to finding a good investment: personal recommendations, e.g., an effective reputation filter, help winnow down the possibilities immeasurably. but the only thing that matters if whether coder and business dude click. everything else is noise.

Re: Business Cofounders are a Dime a Dozen

#19

Post by il »

jpcx01 wrote: post #7
il wrote: post #3

Theere's obviously a lot of parasitic business "idea guys" who don't know about technology this article is talking about. At the same time, there's a lot of business guys who can bring real, tangible value in terms of strategy, customer acquisition methods, marketing, finances, etc. I think there'a huge misconception that all it takes to build a company is a couple hackers who can build a product. Building the produc…

I completely agree here. I learned long ago that if I built something that I thought was cool, it didn't turn to dollars. The best hackers absolutely need to find a great business partner. Unless they can wing it on their own. But personally, I hated the doing all the BS it takes to bring a product to market. I just want to build cool shit.

That's why a business guy and a hacker is the best team. I love creating new marketing strategies, building campaigns, writing sales copy and doing customer development.

But writing code bores me...I hate slogging through coding and debugging whenever I have to do it.

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