I never see posts on HN from the perspective of "I'm a technical founder with an idea and a product, and I need a non-technical co-founder who can pitch, market and sell it".
Finding a Technical Cofounder
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Re: Finding a Technical Cofounder
#12I never see posts on HN from the perspective of "I'm a technical founder with an idea and a product, and I need a non-technical co-founder who can pitch, market and sell it".
that is because most tech people think they can do sales, marketing and ops while non-tech people know they can't code.
Re: Finding a Technical Cofounder
#13Does the reverse (finding a business cofounder) also apply? What resources do you recommend a technical person gather (beyond things like Rework, which I grok, and Four Steps to the Epiphany, which I need to reread and try to grok)?
Honestly, the odds are so skewed in your favor that the only thing you need to do (if you're happy being the tech guy) is meet quality business co-founders. Let it be known that you're available. Go to meet-ups like Hackers and Founders. Go to founder-dating events. Build a cool sample app and post on HN.
Business guys will seek you out (at least, they do for me) - assuming you can hack, you're that one guy in green.
Re: Finding a Technical Cofounder
#14I'm apparently the green guy. Yay. I still lean towards someone who's got a good sense of the technology. Someone that labels themselves as non-technical has already missed the point. I love learning business, there's nothing I don't want to learn about running a company. I think any founder should feel the same way, especially about the technology. Learn to code or at least learn to read the code.
Re: Finding a Technical Cofounder
#15I never see posts on HN from the perspective of "I'm a technical founder with an idea and a product, and I need a non-technical co-founder who can pitch, market and sell it".
that is because most tech people think they can do sales, marketing and ops while non-tech people know they can't code.
If non-technical founders are advised to try to code, technical founders should be advised to try to do sales/marketing/ops too. Just do not put too much expectations in either way: it will probably always be better to find a co-founder, not just to fill in the abilities gap, but also as emotional support / motivator / POV enriching...
Re: Finding a Technical Cofounder
#16Great slides. This really resonates with the experience I've had recently too. I'm a grad student doing a dual-degree MS in CS as well as MBA. A lot of MBAs don't really "get it" when I talk to them. I'll be sure to pass this along. Thanks Alex.
Re: Finding a Technical Cofounder
#17I never see posts on HN from the perspective of "I'm a technical founder with an idea and a product, and I need a non-technical co-founder who can pitch, market and sell it".
that is because most tech people think they can do sales, marketing and ops while non-tech people know they can't code.
Not that I've seen. Most technical people I know are aware that they lack the requisite sales skills.
What I have seen, however, is a moral judgement about the relative merits of what skills the founders bring to the table. Specifically, I have known many technical people who perceive sales and management as of lower value than technical creation. Consequently, they privately scoff at the notion that the person doing the "hobnobbing", "gladhanding", and perceived-to-be-commodity sales activities gaining equivalent equity or compensation as themselves.
Out of their sense of "fairness", some of these people go it alone or hire out rather than seek an equal partner in their endeavors.
I know this sounds highly anecdotal( and it is ), but I've seen it enough that I suspect it's at least somewhat widespread.
Re: Finding a Technical Cofounder
#18Fellow Penn student, I was there for Tisch's talk--well done. I agree entirely. Build, build, build. And if that's not possible: learn, learn, learn.
Re: Finding a Technical Cofounder
#19Earlier quoted context omitted.
that is because most tech people think they can do sales, marketing and ops while non-tech people know they can't code.
Not that I've seen. Most technical people I know are aware that they lack the requisite sales skills. What I have seen, however, is a moral judgement about the relative merits of what skills the founders bring to the table. Specifically, I have known many technical people who perceive sales and management as of lower value than technical creation. Consequently, they privately scoff at the notion that the person doing…
I've seen this too, and it hurts all parties. But I can sympathize with the tech guy---sales and management are other words for value extraction. How is a technical person to be sure they're not the extractee (i.e. getting screwed)?
I think the best answer is what mguillemot suggests---a tech cofounder should learn a bit more about the sales/marketing/deal-making side. He can then gain a better understanding of what the sales guy does, how hard it is (or isn't), and he'll be more respected by a career salesman, just as an MBA who knows how to code is much more trustworthy to the average technical person.
Re: Finding a Technical Cofounder
#20> Co-founders are looking for competence and traction
You could boil it down to this and scratch the "technical" in the title.