Why Startups Could Use .NET, But Don’t

Purchasing/licensing software is always a hassle. Even aside from the monetary cost, you need to decide which to buy, go through the purchase process, and sometimes you also have some activation hassle.

With open source software, you just download it and use it. If you decide to change to another version of the software or different software entirely, you just do that.

Startups are hard, removing anything that takes time or effort is a good thing.

But even with this, cost is still an issue. Yes, salaries are the biggest cost, but in a startup, you might be working for yourself, so no salaries are being paid. Having to shell out any money at all becomes something you avoid. (Yes, there are Microsoft programs to give you Microsoft software at very low prices. But the procedure for those programs is always more complicated than "download and run".)

If you ask me, customers don't care what you code in. Only that you solve a need they have.

Most languages are capable.

Most languages have capable frameworks.

Most have open source options.

If a Language+Framework saves you time in one way, it will probably take up some more time in some other place. You can find such examples in probably everything. Assuming reasonably equal developers in any language, choice of Language+Framework is generally preference and opinion.

Any capable developer can learn any Language+Framework. Some are quicker to pick up in the beginning. Some catch you long term if you don't learn them deep.

Very few startups are technically complex enough to benefit from a specific feature of just one platform, to justify that platform alone. Such technically complex enough startups typically use a number of technologies/languages together.

An interesting trend I've noticed is how so many culturally popular rapid development languages (Ruby, Python, Scala, etc.) are becoming a part of the polyglot world through the JVM (JRuby, Jython, etc.).

What would there be left to distract ourselves with from building a startup if Language+Framework was no longer something for us developers to keep ourselves busy with?

Umm.... it just delays the cost. That's like saying putting something on a credit card is the same as getting something for free because both "cost" $0. You will end up paying to keep using those tools later on, but the thought is that in 3 years you'll be making enough that it won't matter. And that's probably a reasonable assumption, but it's now yet one more thing that you have to keep track of.

And... true, the cost is somewhat cheaper, but not everyone can take advantage of Bizspark in the first place. So... apply and wait, justify yourself, and perhaps get a pretty good deal on some MS software, or... just go use what a lot of other people are already using for free. It's not hard to see why open source tools win in a lot of situations.

But this blog post is just rambling... Why isn't .NET used? Non-techies making technical decisions, or they're hipsters and want to join the PHP or Ruby pain train.

The fact is, .NET can allow you to develop faster than anything else, so these folks are casting about for excuses.

The alternative? Try CodeIgniter for PHP... that's a decent framework!

This. Navigating MS licensing is an absolute headache inducing time vampire for smaller organizations.