Finding a Technical Cofounder • Hacker News Board

Re: Finding a Technical Cofounder

#21

Post by inuhj » Tue, Nov 15, 2011, 6:57 AM UTC

The question I ask myself is why would you want a non-technical founder to learn to code if they will never write production code? The encoded message in most of the replies fall in to a few categories: 1) to understand the technical feasibility of their vision and 2) as a way of showing initiative.

#2 is what code jockeys want to see and the natural way for a coder to measure initiative is in lines of code. What non-technical founders don't seem to realize is that you can begin building the product without writing code: - Make a landing page. - Do A/B testing on marketing and company names. - Talk with customers. (this is huge) - Weigh the pros and cons of different business models. - Tied in very closely with the above but plan features. - Do everything BUT the code.

In other words, execute.

Re: Finding a Technical Cofounder

#22

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Nov 15, 2011, 6:59 AM UTC

rwhitman wrote: post #11

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".

[deleted]

Re: Finding a Technical Cofounder

#23

Post by notatoad » Tue, Nov 15, 2011, 7:00 AM UTC

nikcub wrote: post #12

rwhitman wrote: post #11

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".

that is because most tech people think they can do sales, marketing and ops while non-tech people know they can't code.

No, I don't think most tech people are under any illusions about their ability. But sales, marketing, and ops scale in a much more linear way than tech does. You don't need a ton of marketing ability to make a few sales and get a bit of cash flow coming in. Then you can hire sales and other non technical staff, rather than bringing them in at the cofounder level.

Re: Finding a Technical Cofounder

#24

Post by AlexeyMK » Tue, Nov 15, 2011, 7:08 AM UTC

davidwparker wrote: post #16

Great 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.

Glad you found them helpful! I really need to write the actual article version of this talk.

Re: Finding a Technical Cofounder

#25

Post by inuhj » Tue, Nov 15, 2011, 7:40 AM UTC

zsherman wrote: post #7

Hrothgar15 wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is exactly right. People don't choose their passions; their passions choose them. Specialization is a Good Thing.

Fair enough, Steve Jobs serves as a prime example for this. Wozniak was a far better engineer than Jobs. I guess I should have elaborated, you don't need to be a coding ninja to run a startup but I do honestly feel that a solid understanding of coding and computer systems is essential for any tech entrepreneur.

Steve Jobs could code. He was a technical founder.

Re: Finding a Technical Cofounder

#26

Post by trustfundbaby » Tue, Nov 15, 2011, 7:42 AM UTC

This is a small thing, but its huge for me. As a technical guy, seeing that the entrepreneur has actually tried to code gives me the re-assurance that they'll actually appreciate my contributions when I come on and not just think that throwing instructions over the wall for me to build will even be remotely okay.

For example, I want a guy that knows that I'm using a nosql datastore and why, even if they can't write a query. Someone smart enough to grok things enough that it'll be tough to bullshit them unless you're skilled at it (bullshitting). That way, they'll have some shot of having things continue to run okay if I get hit by a bus or am otherwise unavailable for some period of time.

Re: Finding a Technical Cofounder

#27

Post by BerislavLopac » Tue, Nov 15, 2011, 8:19 AM UTC

rwhitman wrote: post #11

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".

Here's another reason: if you are a single technical founder working on a great technology, but lacking business skills, you don't even need a co-founder -- the best option for you is to find an angel investor, who will bring cash, but if they're interested and dedicated enough will also provide the missing skills.

Re: Finding a Technical Cofounder

#28

Post by helipad » Tue, Nov 15, 2011, 8:51 AM UTC

I'm a non-technical founder but I decided to teach myself PHP (via CodeIgniter), jQuery, CSS3, how to play with LESS CSS, Amazon S3, source control and countless other small things.

What I learned from using 'race to the bottom' oDeskers is that if you're going to be a non-technical co-founder, you better at least be sure what it is you're asking for.

Re: Finding a Technical Cofounder

#29

Post by j_camarena » Tue, Nov 15, 2011, 9:22 AM UTC

inuhj wrote: post #21

The question I ask myself is why would you want a non-technical founder to learn to code if they will never write production code? The encoded message in most of the replies fall in to a few categories: 1) to understand the technical feasibility of their vision and 2) as a way of showing initiative. #2 is what code jockeys want to see and the natural way for a coder to measure initiative is in lines of code. What non…

True story. I made my landing page .. Learned html and css from zero for that... I got enough clients to be profitable that way and also got selected for startup chile.

Im now trying to learn python. Much much better than waiting for miracles

Re: Finding a Technical Cofounder

#30

Post by apollo5 » Tue, Nov 15, 2011, 9:44 AM UTC

I sat awkwardly around for a year and courted two technical co-founders..the first left to take his dream job with one of the valley hottest start ups. The other decided his own project took precedence, for good measure..its a good one.

But there I sat. Idea fleshed out..and I was ready ready to sell it.

I finally finally took option 2. I understand code and can manipulate wordpress enough to get by, but it certainly isn't my strength. I searched forums and reached out the top commenters and contributors of one in particular. Out of the 3 folks I connected with 1 was a fit. In four hours, he had the previously crafted code live on the net for us to refine.

I plan to be to market in a couple months and could not be happier. I enjoy paying my developer exactly what he wants and look forward to making him a partner sooner than later, if he wants.

The proof is in the pudding.