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Why look for a technical co-founder? Why not just hire somebody to do the technical work? Is it the upfront salary which is the issue?
All of which already have high paying careers. They're young enough to defect, but only if they have a chance to make their mortgage payments.
Vin (of Yipit) has a similar blog post ( http://viniciusvacanti.com/2010/09/cant-find-a-technical-co-... ) but from the perspective of someone who actually just got down into it and wrote the entire site. While not uniquely a NYC problem, it was refreshing to be out in the Bay Area and not be at startup events hearing MBAs pitch "it's like Facebook, but for dogs!" I tell everyone that asks me about finding a technica…
I think its great when the 'non-technical' co-founder even knows their way around coding a little bit. Otherwise I find you have to explain every single thing to them and they don't have a solid grasp of the problem. Getting to know your way around a language like Ruby isn't all that hard. As a technical person, I run into people all day long that have 'big ideas' which are often mashups of existing sites, "Its like…
Why look for a technical co-founder? Why not just hire somebody to do the technical work? Is it the upfront salary which is the issue?
Employees care about their companies they way teachers feel about their students, they care about their success and are generally enthusiastic but that particular interaction doesn't define them and it's possible to be just as happy somewhere else. Founders care about their companies the way parents care about their kids. I've seen this asymmetry cause some issues where founders don't get why their employees aren't a…
Vin (of Yipit) has a similar blog post ( http://viniciusvacanti.com/2010/09/cant-find-a-technical-co-... ) but from the perspective of someone who actually just got down into it and wrote the entire site. While not uniquely a NYC problem, it was refreshing to be out in the Bay Area and not be at startup events hearing MBAs pitch "it's like Facebook, but for dogs!" I tell everyone that asks me about finding a technica…
If you have a prototype/demo and some level of traction, you can much more easily attract better technical talent.
I am a developer that hangs out in startup circles and I get approached several times a week by "idea / business people" if I'm interested in joining a venture as a technical co-founder. My answer so far has always been no.
It's very hard to convince someone that your idea is golden. Even if you do find a co-founder, it's even harder to instill your ideology and passion into them. You should be founding projects with people you know already, not strangers. You don't want an employee -- you want a missionary.
Many non-technical people seem to think that developers lack creativity and need their guidance. What gave them this illusion? The majority of great web products came from people who could write a prototype. Do that and you'll attract attention from developers who will want to join your project.
Writing a prototype is not rocket science, and if you'll try it, you'll also see that programming is very fun and rewarding. Kate Ray hits the nail on the head -- all you need is regular old hard work. I started programming when I was 12 and it's not because I'm Doogie Howser. I just wanted to learn it, so I did.
I don't want to discourage anyone, but you are practically distracting yourself from building a product by learning how to program. Getting really good at something takes many years of practice, and the program you write will likely be full of problems you are ill-equipped to fix.
I strongly believe being really good at one thing means you shouldn't try to multi-task or wear too many hats. That's counter-productive and recipe for moderate work quality. At the same time, the early days of the startup are the most fragile times. The business guy who speaks engineering or visa-versa will have a huge competitive advantage.