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I just need a programmer

cs.uni.edu

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Re: I just need a programmer

#81

Post by rezaman »

Kilimanjaro wrote: post #65

So, you are looking for a programmer? Well, I am one. A goddamn good one. I can make a computer cry twisting its inner wires with just my thought. And I happen to be looking for a partner too. Are you a solid-brass-balls entrepreneur not afraid of rasing money? Can you knock down every tabloid's door to get our story told? Can you set up appointments across the globe with people richer than god? Can you bring a thous…

This seems like a very good analogy to present when you come across non-technical people with pie-in-the-sky requests. They don't know how to go about building the features they dream of, and I have no idea how to go about answering any of the questions you list above. If nothing else, we both realize that the programming isn't just trivial, and neither is the marketing.

Re: I just need a programmer

#83

Post by alain94040 »

Kilimanjaro wrote: post #65

So, you are looking for a programmer? Well, I am one. A goddamn good one. I can make a computer cry twisting its inner wires with just my thought. And I happen to be looking for a partner too. Are you a solid-brass-balls entrepreneur not afraid of rasing money? Can you knock down every tabloid's door to get our story told? Can you set up appointments across the globe with people richer than god? Can you bring a thous…

Exactly. Read again the 4 steps in http://blog.fairsoftware.net/2010/10/15/how-do-i-know-you-ar...

Either you produce value for the overall project, or you don't. Ideas are worth something, but sitting on one and doing nothing is not.

Re: I just need a programmer

#85

Post by storborg »

raganwald wrote: post #16

The trouble with thinking "I have magic beans, I just need water!" is that you don't understand water. You don't know good water from bad. You don't really know how much water to use and when. You can't watch the beans grow and adjust your watering schedule because you think it's all about the beans. You don't get water. That's my problem with "I just need a programmer" entrepreneurs. I can work out how to get paid,…

To continue along the same analogy: the entrepreneur doesn't need to know about water, they just need to know what a good beanstalk looks like.

That's my problem with "I'm the magic water" software developers. I can work out how to pay them, but I can't work out how to make them understand users well enough to make good business decisions about a consumer-focused company.

(Note: I'm actually a developer. And I see that you understand the counterpoint as well, as shown by your last line.)

Re: I just need a programmer

#86

Post by dools »

I have quite a few people I know who are on the "business side" of the entrepreneurial merry go round that quite often call me with their latest idea.

The remarkable thing is that no matter how many times I get back to them with a time estimate of 6 months - or a cost investment of $50k - $100k to get it live etc. the first sentence they always speak is "it's just a simple site that ... "

In fact it's not really limited to these guys. Everyone who calls me to get something done starts off by telling me how simple it is. "It's just this simple thing that ... " as if that's somehow going to make me realise that it IS simple and I can actually do in a weekend what I had thought would take months!!

If it's that simple, DO IT YOURSELF!

Re: I just need a programmer

#87

Post by raganwald »

storborg wrote: post #85
raganwald wrote: post #16

The trouble with thinking "I have magic beans, I just need water!" is that you don't understand water. You don't know good water from bad. You don't really know how much water to use and when. You can't watch the beans grow and adjust your watering schedule because you think it's all about the beans. You don't get water. That's my problem with "I just need a programmer" entrepreneurs. I can work out how to get paid,…

To continue along the same analogy: the entrepreneur doesn't need to know about water, they just need to know what a good beanstalk looks like. That's my problem with "I'm the magic water" software developers. I can work out how to pay them, but I can't work out how to make them understand users well enough to make good business decisions about a consumer-focused company. (Note: I'm actually a developer. And I see th…

I don't agree with your first line. If a manager knows what a good product looks like but not how to make it, he cannot manage its development. The same is trivially true of business things as well. We all know that good sales are high sales with low numbers of customer complaints. How does one manage a salesforce to achieve this?

If the salespeople say that the customers don't want what we sell, are the product managers to blame? Or are the salespeople not very good at their jobs and clinging to the false objections raised by prospective customers?

A sales manager must a decent understanding of sales to manage sales. A development manager must have a decent understanding of development to manage development.

An entrepreneur in a software-centric company had better have a decent understanding of several different things to succeed. It is not enough to say, "I know good software when I see it," IMO.

Re: I just need a programmer

#88

Post by rwhitman »

angrycoder wrote: post #39

As someone who has spent most of his career at a consultancy, people like this put food on my table. The ones who end up being successful understand that they need to learn just as much about the process of software development and usability as we need to learn about their vertical. They understand that a good product is a result of give and take with your developers and analysts. The ones who fail are the type A alp…

There is a good business model in serving these people. Want to build the next WalMart sized franchise? Have the millions to make it happen? Well step this way my friend.

Paid a good chunk of my bills, I'll say that.

Re: I just need a programmer

#89

Post by rwhitman »

One thing I'd say is that I don't believe programmers are the only profession afflicted with this scenario.

Who knows how many times I've had a 'brilliant' idea for something outside my domain where I've said to myself "this is a great idea, now all I need is a ____". I am just thankful that I'm smart enough not to start asking successful people to buy into my stupid idea until I've done some research first...

Re: I just need a programmer

#90

Post by lian »

bad_user wrote: post #58
lian wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, Apple could be a counterpoint if we're just talking about current CEOs. Steve Jobs has never been revered for his electronics skills, and it seems he kind of snuck in the back door in early jobs at Atari and HP. His specialty was always sales, whether selling Apple computers or selling himself. That said, if we're talking "founders," Steve Wozniak was built right in, and he's the computer guru we're looking for…

Steve had one competitive advantage: best friending Steve fucking Wozniak. You know how that happened? They shared common interests, including knowledge of electronics, pulling pranks and passion for computers (yes, Jobs was technically competent enough). And if I know one thing about %99.9999 of would-be entrepreneurs: they aren't best friends with someone like Wozniak.

So...we agree. My point is that where some of the other people mentioned had their masters degrees in CS, Jobs seems to have been more of a business-inclined hobbyist who really liked and could competently work with computers. I concur that his biggest strength as far as computer science went was that he happened to pal around and co-found a company with someone who was the most badass hobbyist in town.
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