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Idea Guy Looking for Developer

bubblefoundry.com

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Re: Idea Guy Looking for Developer

#41

Post by raganwald »

flyosity wrote: post #19

The thing that always gets me is that "idea guys" seem to assume that "developers" can't get ideas, like it's a skill that only a select few can possess. Guess what? Everyone has ideas, and being a developer is great because we can actually build our ideas.

If I may be the lone dissenter...

Could it be that there are many business people, some of who have ideas but no ability to execute, some of who can execute but have no ideas, and a very few who have ideas and can execute on them?

And like wise could it be that there are many developers, some of whom have ideas but cannot build their dreams, some of whom can build but have no ideas, and a very select few that have ideas and can build them?

If these two suppositions are correct, then there are some pairings of business person and developer that can work, including a rare business person who has an idea and can execute on the idea, and who needs a developer who can build but doesn't have an idea?

Of course there's some symmetry here, there are going to be developers with ideas and who can build. They will be looking for business people who don't have an idea of their own but who can execute.

Re: Idea Guy Looking for Developer

#42

Post by mnutt »

duopixel wrote: post #6

I'm always amused at the "why don't you try building it yourself" response developers give when they're asked this kind of question. The amount of knowledge you need to execute an idea is staggering. Deep down they know there's a 99.9% chance the guy will fail. It's as if a person went up to an architect and asked him to build him a hotel with promises of sharing the future revenue stream. Architect responds "I can't…

Even if you can't perfectly execute on your idea, the fact that you've built something yourself probably means that a) you care enough about the idea that you want to see it built one way or another, and b) you've thought through how the product will work sufficiently to build something. I would guess that most people who come to developers with ideas haven't actually thought the product though very much.

If you make a prototype that shows promise and show it to me, I'm more likely to start thinking "this is really cool, how can I make this awesome?" than "this person wants me to build something for them for free".

Re: Idea Guy Looking for Developer

#43

Post by sidmitra »

Raphael_Amiard wrote: post #39
sidmitra wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The idea guy has its own place in the market. It is the reason why there're so many consulting firms in the first place(including mine)! Some people genuinely believe in their ideas, enough to pay someone else to do it(not in equity ofcourse). And those are usually the people whose ideas work out in the end.

> And those are usually the people whose ideas work out in the end. I got the impression that in the tech world, those who succeed were those who did learn how to realize their ideas by themselves, or at least have an idea about how to realize them. But then, i may be biased.

>realize their ideas by themselves

Agreed. But "realize" could mean developing it themselves, or finding another way. Here i was assuming the idea guy can't code himself out of a hole, and realizes that shortcoming.

Re: Idea Guy Looking for Developer

#44

Post by longlistener »

"Idea Guys" make me laugh. Theres the old sayings about "10% inspiration and 90% perspiration", "the devil is in the details", etc are usually ignored by the idea guy, they think they get away with just spouting a few ideas and be done.

Ideas are cheap, theres a billion of them and 99% of them have major problems. Theres basically no such thing as a successful idea guy; theres project managers, business development people, developers, money people, etc and lots of them have ideas. Start working on business plan, raising money, building relationships, get in and figure out the subtle details of those ideas.

Re: Idea Guy Looking for Developer

#45

Post by freshfunk »

To some degree both ideas and developers have become commodities. One doesn't need an MBA to come up with an idea and most people can learn some basic levels of programming.

I think the real value in both lines of expertise is execution.

In the MBAs case, it's not about how many different ideas they can come up with. It's whether they can distinguish which 1-3 ideas that a company must execute on in order to be successful before they run out of money, the competition beats them and/or reach the greatest market potential. Time and money is finite.. very finite.

In the developers case, can they execute quickly and still architect a scalable system, build for flexibility, pick the right technologies/platforms to use.

Re: Idea Guy Looking for Developer

#46

Post by Travis »

raganwald wrote: post #41
flyosity wrote: post #19

The thing that always gets me is that "idea guys" seem to assume that "developers" can't get ideas, like it's a skill that only a select few can possess. Guess what? Everyone has ideas, and being a developer is great because we can actually build our ideas.

If I may be the lone dissenter... Could it be that there are many business people, some of who have ideas but no ability to execute, some of who can execute but have no ideas, and a very few who have ideas and can execute on them? And like wise could it be that there are many developers, some of whom have ideas but cannot build their dreams, some of whom can build but have no ideas, and a very select few that have id…

I don't disagree with your statements -- their is definitely a spectrum of each type of cofounder.

However, out of the spectrum of idea guys, one signal I look for is their desire to pursue their idea. One great way to do that -- teach themselves to code.

It doesn't mean that their ideas aren't any good. But at a glance, if someone has an idea that they believe in enough to teach themselves basic skils... well, then they become more than just an idea guy.

Someone who is unwilling to teach themselves basic programming has no business in a web startup.

Re: Idea Guy Looking for Developer

#47

Post by raganwald »

Travis wrote: post #46
raganwald wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I may be the lone dissenter... Could it be that there are many business people, some of who have ideas but no ability to execute, some of who can execute but have no ideas, and a very few who have ideas and can execute on them? And like wise could it be that there are many developers, some of whom have ideas but cannot build their dreams, some of whom can build but have no ideas, and a very select few that have id…

I don't disagree with your statements -- their is definitely a spectrum of each type of cofounder. However, out of the spectrum of idea guys, one signal I look for is their desire to pursue their idea. One great way to do that -- teach themselves to code. It doesn't mean that their ideas aren't any good. But at a glance, if someone has an idea that they believe in enough to teach themselves basic skils... well, then…

+1!

When discussions about interviewing and hiring come up, I always like to remember that these things are strategies, and false negatives are simply a cost of doing business. While I'm sure we can find of some great businesspeople with good ideas who didn't teach themselves some simple programming, a strategy of only working with those who did is probably still an excellent filter that will get rid of far more false positives than trip over false engatives.

Re: Idea Guy Looking for Developer

#48

Post by 9ec4c12949a4f3 »

flyosity wrote: post #19

The thing that always gets me is that "idea guys" seem to assume that "developers" can't get ideas, like it's a skill that only a select few can possess. Guess what? Everyone has ideas, and being a developer is great because we can actually build our ideas.

Dude, I had the idea on the weekend to make slippers with Sigmund Freud's head on them. We'd call them freudian slippers. Now, go make some slippers and pay me for this idea.

Re: Idea Guy Looking for Developer

#49

Post by 9ec4c12949a4f3 »

spencerfry wrote: post #40
flyosity wrote: post #19

The thing that always gets me is that "idea guys" seem to assume that "developers" can't get ideas, like it's a skill that only a select few can possess. Guess what? Everyone has ideas, and being a developer is great because we can actually build our ideas.

Ideas are easy, yes, but executing on ideas is difficult. Very difficult. Often developers need to spend their time working on production and don't have the time to follow through with the other aspects of the business. That's why founding teams do the best and often those successful founding teams are made up of one "idea guy" to see the vision through.

Because people stare out a window going "come on inspiration!" Look for a problem. If you don't know how to look for problems, that's a problem. Solve problems.

Every single last "great idea" has solved a problem.

My trips to france takes too long, lets invent something faster.

My bacon gets all greasy when I microwave it, lets invent a rack to put it on.

My MP3 player is confusing and weird, lets make a simple one. How do we make a simple one? Lets make something based around what people find simple.

Etc.

Re: Idea Guy Looking for Developer

#50

Post by bestes »

There seems to be an assumption that idea guy == business guy. Also that idea guy has no knowledge or understanding of anything technical. And that somehow idea guy is always trying to scam you.

I think ideas are a skill just like anything else. Most people can design a web page. Not everyone can design a good web page. Most people can or can learn to program, but that does't mean they can develop a good site (this one is a bit more of a stretch).

As a converse, I know quite a few (very good) developers who have ideas, but those ideas suck. And so do their UIs. And their marketing plan.

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