Whistling Into a Tape Recorder: What the East Coast Doesn't Get About Startups

This piece very easily could have been titled "Whistling Into a Tap Recorder" and had sent the same message (and a worthy message at that). After all, neither New York not the East Coast are mentioned until 90% through the article. But then again that title likely wouldn't have gotten as many upvotes on HN b/c apparently everybody likes a rivalry.

Re: Whistling Into a Tape Recorder: What the East Coast Doesn't Get About Startups

#7

Post by 3am » Wed, May 30, 2012, 7:19 PM UTC

boredguy8 wrote: post #4

[edit: content removed as the site is back up] HNed, it appears. Google's Cache: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://...

It's perpetually annoying that people make this an East Coast/West Coast thing (as if "East Coast" can even be generalized about... I'm sure Atlanta has a much in common with NYC as Mountain View has with Eugene). It's very small sample set of people to make any kind of good judgement, and seems to just be catering to stereotypes.

Re: Whistling Into a Tape Recorder: What the East Coast Doesn't Get About Startups

#8

Post by its_so_on » Wed, May 30, 2012, 7:21 PM UTC

dangrover wrote: post #5

mck- wrote: post #3

too much traffic?

Trying to get the server back up. Geeez.

interested in the numbers

Re: Whistling Into a Tape Recorder: What the East Coast Doesn't Get About Startups

#9

Post by krschultz » Wed, May 30, 2012, 7:35 PM UTC

Is it just me or does the non-technical co-founder really get killed by most blogs?

I have been approached a couple of times by friends with 'ideas', they just need a programmer to build it for them. I respectfully declined each time and remain friends with these people.

None of them ever got anywhere with their ideas. They never quit their day jobs, they never read the right blogs and books (even if I suggested, and in some cases bought copies of the books for them), they never raised funding, they never talked to customers, and they never found another programmer. They had absolutely no idea where to even begin on the business side of things, much less the engineering side.

I think programmers get all hot and bothered by the idea of a 'non-technical' co-founder undervaluing their contribution and so we all love these posts. But really, most of the people saying they are 'looking for a technical co-founder' aren't just lacking the ability to code. They are lacking the ability to do a startup.

Calling them 'non-technical co-founders' really is giving them a free pass. Most aren't ready to be co-founders, technical or not.

It also really belittles a good business cofounder (lets not term it around what they can't do, but what they can do). A good business cofounder goes out and talks to customers, has a handle on the market, probably has a contact list full of potential partners or employees, can pitch, do some PR, and hopefully secure some funding. That is very valuable to a young startup, and most of the people with an idea and no coder aren't up to that level.

Re: Whistling Into a Tape Recorder: What the East Coast Doesn't Get About Startups

#10

Post by vibrunazo » Wed, May 30, 2012, 7:36 PM UTC

boredguy8 wrote: post #4

[edit: content removed as the site is back up] HNed, it appears. Google's Cache: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://...

> This is why it irks me when people try to sort others into "technical" and "non-technical". Being technical isn't about technology, it's about technique. Techné. Skill in something.

This line should be taught and repeated many times in every startup book, school or accelerator. It's amazing how many people don't understand this.

It's widely accepted that you probably shouldn't be trying to build a new food company when you know nothing about food. Why do some people think it's a good idea to build a new technology when you know absolutely nothing about technology? It's not that technology itself has something magically exclusive in it. It's just that you're choosing to build something that highly depends on understanding technology to make business decisions. So it's just smart to understand technology to be able to make smart business decisions.

I can't count how many times I've heard "but it's just not my area, I'm a business/marketing/idea guy". Well, guess what, 90% of the things that are crucial for the success of your startup are not any one single person's area. You could either choose to not care and hope you're lucky, or you could actually get out of your comfort zone and do some learning like we all do.

If you're a pure hacker starting a company that highly depends on a good sales team, you should probably go learn something about sales. If you're a salesman starting an education startup, you should probably go look to learn something about education. If you're whatever and you're looking to build a tech startup, it's probably a good idea to look to learn technology. It's that simple. You have to realize that no matter what area you are on, if you're starting a new company, you are probably gonna have to do a lot of learning of new things that are completely out of your comfort zone.