Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Hackers vs. Consultants: How not to find an idea (Part 1 of 3)

behindthescenes.midtownrow.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–18 of 18 posts

Re: Hackers vs. Consultants: How not to find an idea (Part 1 of 3)

#11

Post by akashs »

pkamb wrote: post #9

I naturally had some very tech-heavy ideas (e.g., new approaches for mobile / social / local, new hardware devices). I found it hard to get my co-founders to react positively, even after spending hours trying to convince them of the opportunity. I can spend hours explaining why an idea was a better technology than what's out there, but for some ideas, it's just tough to fully appreciate if you don't understand the te…

"Better" was probably the wrong term, but if you start thinking about enterprise technology, a lot of it is actually just straight up based on how much cost savings or performance improvement something can deliver (e.g., a DB that gives an order of magnitude performance improvement for certain verticals). You're right that consumer stuff is a different story.

And as far as the sales comment below...as mentioned in the post, sometimes it's not worth me shoving it down their throat if they're not going to be pumped about coming in to work everyday.

Re: Hackers vs. Consultants: How not to find an idea (Part 1 of 3)

#12

Post by hammock »

The OP doesn't seem to be able to take any personal responsibility for his ideas flopping. Can't put one iota of blame on himself.

I've spent enough time to know that the culture of a 'corporate' work environment forces you into a particular way of thinking

They can't appreciate the idea because they don't understand the technical details

Perhaps my cofounders had their judgement clouded by creating one too many PowerPoint decks or Excel models

Do you think maybe it has at least a little to do with a) your idea b) the way you're selling the idea or c) you?

Re: Hackers vs. Consultants: How not to find an idea (Part 1 of 3)

#13

Post by JoachimSchipper »

hammock wrote: post #12

The OP doesn't seem to be able to take any personal responsibility for his ideas flopping. Can't put one iota of blame on himself. I've spent enough time to know that the culture of a 'corporate' work environment forces you into a particular way of thinking They can't appreciate the idea because they don't understand the technical details Perhaps my cofounders had their judgement clouded by creating one too many Powe…

Note that the next installment will presumably be business-focused. Two unbalanced views may more-or-less balance out.

Re: Hackers vs. Consultants: How not to find an idea (Part 1 of 3)

#14

Post by [deleted] »

hammock wrote: post #12

The OP doesn't seem to be able to take any personal responsibility for his ideas flopping. Can't put one iota of blame on himself. I've spent enough time to know that the culture of a 'corporate' work environment forces you into a particular way of thinking They can't appreciate the idea because they don't understand the technical details Perhaps my cofounders had their judgement clouded by creating one too many Powe…

[deleted]

Re: Hackers vs. Consultants: How not to find an idea (Part 1 of 3)

#15

Post by alnayyir »

akashs wrote: post #4
hoop wrote: post #2

The premise is interesting, but there isn't anything conclusive about part 1. Part 1 is also incredibly short. It left me wondering why the story is even divided into parts at all. I felt as if I started watching a 30 minute TV show and "TO BE CONTINUED" happens 10 minutes in.

Hey, thanks for the feedback. We understand where you're coming from, but we wanted to present the "business side" as it's own independent view. And while you're correct that Part 1 is a bit short, it was much too long to condense into one readable post. Ultimately, we're still learning and we'll keep your points in mind for next time.

Stop wasting our time with this. Post it when it's done, divided into parts or not.

I will read part 1 and only part 1 if that's the only one available at the time it was posted. I will not return to your site to look for that content again.

I despise this trend.

Re: Hackers vs. Consultants: How not to find an idea (Part 1 of 3)

#16

Post by jroseattle »

akashs wrote: post #11
pkamb wrote: post #9

I naturally had some very tech-heavy ideas (e.g., new approaches for mobile / social / local, new hardware devices). I found it hard to get my co-founders to react positively, even after spending hours trying to convince them of the opportunity. I can spend hours explaining why an idea was a better technology than what's out there, but for some ideas, it's just tough to fully appreciate if you don't understand the te…

"Better" was probably the wrong term, but if you start thinking about enterprise technology, a lot of it is actually just straight up based on how much cost savings or performance improvement something can deliver (e.g., a DB that gives an order of magnitude performance improvement for certain verticals). You're right that consumer stuff is a different story. And as far as the sales comment below...as mentioned in th…

"sometimes it's not worth me shoving it down their throat if they're not going to be pumped about coming in to work everyday."

Good sales pitches don't involve feelings of having things shoved down one's throat. Don't think "sales" in the slick marketing vernacular -- think translation that your team members can understand, in spite of their (in)familiarity with the market.

Re: Hackers vs. Consultants: How not to find an idea (Part 1 of 3)

#17

Post by Bootvis »

alnayyir wrote: post #15
akashs wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hey, thanks for the feedback. We understand where you're coming from, but we wanted to present the "business side" as it's own independent view. And while you're correct that Part 1 is a bit short, it was much too long to condense into one readable post. Ultimately, we're still learning and we'll keep your points in mind for next time.

Stop wasting our time with this. Post it when it's done, divided into parts or not. I will read part 1 and only part 1 if that's the only one available at the time it was posted. I will not return to your site to look for that content again. I despise this trend.

I thought: Maybe someone (me) can write a little app that notifies you after the story is completed. But I will not, this behavior should not be stimulated. If you have something to say finish what you want to say and then post it to HN. It's not even possible to have a meaningful discussion right now.

Re: Hackers vs. Consultants: How not to find an idea (Part 1 of 3)

#18

Post by ihaveaquestion »

It is funny that most people in software have no fucking clue about software...all they have is their IDEAAAa...and they think they own > 70% because of their idea.

I had a potential co-founder ask me once...Dont you think 30% is a lot for just making it..I stuck to a diplomatic answer but I wish I had told him something like.."No you retard....70% is a lot for just sitting on your couch and reading fucking techcrunch all the time".

Bottomline is if you cant code you are not invited to the party!

Post reply on HN