41–50 of 117 posts
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Exactly! Idea guys are pretty good at getting mockups and stuff done, showing off the ideas. They can pitch it and make it impressive.
Y'know, us developers are also "ideas guys" in addition to being developers.
marknutter is 100% correct. I can't imagine founding a startup that had a non-developer "idea guy."
I wrote a blog post related to this yesterday. I agree with the author 100%. I can't remember how many times some business guy tried to pitch me on some stupid idea without an inkling of knowledge about programming or how the web works. The worst part is that they generally have no money either. If you have a good idea with some idea of how to implement it and a clear vision, you may be able to sell me. If you have a…
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wait. what!?!?
Do you have a specific part of that, that you take exception with? Replies like "wait. what?!" don't actually contribute to the conversation on YC.News and are functionally, pollution. Also don't use downvotes as an "I disagree" weapon, but rather a way to cull commentary that isn't contributing to the exchange. Much like your own, actually. Confer with http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html In the "In Comments"…
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I fail to see where that part is reflected in the guidelines. The comment basically contradicted itself enough that I felt that they actually needed to explain themselves further.
But as requested I will proceed to write a small thesis on why I think their comment is wrong, if you'll permit me dear protector of hacker news.
I wrote a blog post related to this yesterday. I agree with the author 100%. I can't remember how many times some business guy tried to pitch me on some stupid idea without an inkling of knowledge about programming or how the web works. The worst part is that they generally have no money either. If you have a good idea with some idea of how to implement it and a clear vision, you may be able to sell me. If you have a…
Could you update your profile with contact information (the email address field is not public). I'd love to read the post you described. It sounds like I've recently came to the exact same conclusion, except I'm actually the business guy who used to pitch stupid ideas (ah the naivety).
I'm that founder learning how to code right now and I couldn't agree more with you. Been hacking away for a 1-2 months so far with a friend who is a developer. It's totally worth it.
You will NOT become an engineer, programmer, or web developer, but you will be able to put a prototype of your idea together and maybe get one or two beta users for feedback... You will also be able to have an intelligent conversation with a developer. I get sad whenever I encounter a business person with no technical bullshit filter. Not because I'm judging them, but because if I can bullshit them, any other develop…
If you learn enough to do a bad job building your prototype, you will learn what you don't know. Right now you don't even know what you don't know.
Also, you can't hire someone for a job you know nothing about. Doing (even a poor) job on your prototype will teach you to evaluate a technical co-founder.
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I don't want to sound harsh, but that's at least in part because talk is cheap - everyone enjoys talking and brainstorming, but at some point you have to put your head down, get your hands dirty, and get through that last 10% of work that invariably takes 90% of the time. There's nothing wrong with what you enjoy doing - it's very valuable to have someone good at it - but there is a difference between a good sales/ma…
So you're saying that doing hardcore marketing and biz-dev isn't 'putting your head down'? If a fantastic technical founder programs a fantastic app, but no one finds out about it, what value is it? It needs to be in the hands of users! I believe that it's just as valuable (i'm not going to say 'if not more')
We spent months and months building a business plan, doing market research, talking about our IP, our proprietary processes, etc. When talking to all the investors we met while in the Notre Dame McCloskey Business Competition, we were basically informed the business plan wasn't worth the paper it was printed on, we had no IP, and the reason investors won't sign an NDA on your idea is that an idea isn't worth shit. When I actually started building something, when we got the land needed for the other part of our business, and when we had substance (not just words); that's when they listened, offered us money, and things started to work out.
FWIW Jason Fried, one of the original founders of 37signals, still doesn't know how to program ( http://37signals.com/svn/posts/2540-no-more-drive-by-teachin... ) but that obviously hasn't prevented the company from being a success. But then 37signals started off as a web design firm, and he had the good fortune to hire DHH.
I think Fried is sharp enough to identify talent and bullshit anyway, so he overcame the necessity of this advice through that and the fact that the above advice isn't entirely applicable to his case.
So what you're saying is ... learn to program, unless you are sharp enough to identify talent and 'bullshit' ... How would one identify this innate ability to know that they didn't need to actually learn how to program then?
> the above advice isn't entirely applicable to his case.
Care to explain why?
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Could you update your profile with contact information (the email address field is not public). I'd love to read the post you described. It sounds like I've recently came to the exact same conclusion, except I'm actually the business guy who used to pitch stupid ideas (ah the naivety).
Updated profile with a link to my blog. It's less of a fully thought out post and more of a rant/anecdote. Enjoy regardless :)
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So you're saying that doing hardcore marketing and biz-dev isn't 'putting your head down'? If a fantastic technical founder programs a fantastic app, but no one finds out about it, what value is it? It needs to be in the hands of users! I believe that it's just as valuable (i'm not going to say 'if not more')
From someone who has interacted with a lot of investors trying to raise money and pitch a business I started with some friends, I can assure you that a lot of what people think makes a business is bullshit. We spent months and months building a business plan, doing market research, talking about our IP, our proprietary processes, etc. When talking to all the investors we met while in the Notre Dame McCloskey Business…