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Dear Programmer, I have an idea

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Re: Dear Programmer, I have an idea

#31

Post by SoftwareMaven »

TomGullen wrote: post #24
jiggy2011 wrote: post #22

To be honest I might consider some sort of profit/equity split with somebody who had a really good idea (and had done the research to prove it). Sometimes between reading stuff like HN and working on code all day I feel like I'm a bit too close to everything to really evaluate ideas rationally. Every time I've had I can usually think of 100 reasons to shoot it down and make it seem like more effort than it's worth. T…

> To be honest I might consider some sort of profit/equity split with somebody who had a really good idea (and had done the research to prove it). Why wouldn't you just take the idea and execute it yourself with 100% equity? The guy with the idea needs to bring something else to the table, whether it's a particular skill set or something crucial to the deployment of said idea such as a patent.

1. Because that research has value, so it would be unethical.

2. It takes more than code to make a business.

3. A partnership will be more fun and less likely to suffer from technology myopia.

Re: Dear Programmer, I have an idea

#32

Post by TomGullen »

SoftwareMaven wrote: post #31
TomGullen wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> To be honest I might consider some sort of profit/equity split with somebody who had a really good idea (and had done the research to prove it). Why wouldn't you just take the idea and execute it yourself with 100% equity? The guy with the idea needs to bring something else to the table, whether it's a particular skill set or something crucial to the deployment of said idea such as a patent.

1. Because that research has value, so it would be unethical. 2. It takes more than code to make a business. 3. A partnership will be more fun and less likely to suffer from technology myopia.

Some of those points are valid (#1 especially). But when you run a business it's important that all parties are happy and feel like they have a fair deal.

You need to ask yourself that 6 months down the line, when the other person really isn't contributing much because they can't, and you're working long days sweating, working hard and putting a career on hold, and you've got 50% equity, are you going to be happy? It's not going to be a sustainable relationship for very long and has a good chance of being doomed to fail before you've written any code.

Re: Dear Programmer, I have an idea

#33

Post by [deleted] »

padobson wrote: post #30

I'm always looking for a co-founder, whether I'm the geek or the suit. When a suit approaches me to be the geek for their idea, I usually give them some simple technical task to do - like setup a Tumblr or a Twitter account for the idea. Then I'll often ask for something businessy - form a C-corp for the idea or file a provisional patent. Finally, before I even consider opening my laptop to code their idea, I want so…

[deleted]

Re: Dear Programmer, I have an idea

#34

Post by clavalle »

mbesto wrote: post #27
TomGullen wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> To be honest I might consider some sort of profit/equity split with somebody who had a really good idea (and had done the research to prove it). Why wouldn't you just take the idea and execute it yourself with 100% equity? The guy with the idea needs to bring something else to the table, whether it's a particular skill set or something crucial to the deployment of said idea such as a patent.

Good point. Just to addd to this - I find most "hacker" types don't realize how much work goes into building a business. Execution is much more than just product build (but can, or cannot be a large part of it).

I find a lot of "idea" types don't realize how much work goes into building a business.

In their mind, they are already running a successful business where they just come up with ideas and delegate anything that resembles work. And everything everyone else does is "easy".

Re: Dear Programmer, I have an idea

#35

Post by MortenK »

webjunkie wrote: post #6
Joeboy wrote: post #5

I don't think I've ever received the kind of email the poster is talking about. Is there something wrong with me? Edit: I do get a reasonable number of cold(ish) recruitment emails, but they mostly seem to be for real jobs. I'm not seriously worried about not receiving lame proposals, although I appreciate the sympathetic thoughts :-)

Probably. Everyone gets them.

The people inhabiting your part of the world is not everyone.

Re: Dear Programmer, I have an idea

#36

Post by Swizec »

padobson wrote: post #30

I'm always looking for a co-founder, whether I'm the geek or the suit. When a suit approaches me to be the geek for their idea, I usually give them some simple technical task to do - like setup a Tumblr or a Twitter account for the idea. Then I'll often ask for something businessy - form a C-corp for the idea or file a provisional patent. Finally, before I even consider opening my laptop to code their idea, I want so…

Isn't 5000 emails a bit steep to ask for in a day or even a week?

A conversion rate of 5% is pretty respectable, that means the landing page needs to be seen by 100k people to collect 5000 emails.

That's quite a bit for having nothing more than a landing page to offer, I can see that happening for a MVP, but not for just a landing page.

Re: Dear Programmer, I have an idea

#37

Post by daemon13 »

padobson wrote: post #30

I'm always looking for a co-founder, whether I'm the geek or the suit. When a suit approaches me to be the geek for their idea, I usually give them some simple technical task to do - like setup a Tumblr or a Twitter account for the idea. Then I'll often ask for something businessy - form a C-corp for the idea or file a provisional patent. Finally, before I even consider opening my laptop to code their idea, I want so…

Why spent everyone's time?

Usually it is clear from the beginning what people are made of and the quality of their thinking. Just say "No, thanks, good luck" and in 99,999% cases your decision will be the right one.

Re: Dear Programmer, I have an idea

#38

Post by Domenic_S »

TomGullen wrote: post #32
SoftwareMaven wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1. Because that research has value, so it would be unethical. 2. It takes more than code to make a business. 3. A partnership will be more fun and less likely to suffer from technology myopia.

Some of those points are valid (#1 especially). But when you run a business it's important that all parties are happy and feel like they have a fair deal. You need to ask yourself that 6 months down the line, when the other person really isn't contributing much because they can't, and you're working long days sweating, working hard and putting a career on hold, and you've got 50% equity, are you going to be happy? It…

Hence,

> 2. It takes more than code to make a business.

Like culture, marketing, market validation, generating press buzz, interviews, recruiting, and so forth. If the idea guy can't do a lot of those business-y things, you don't have a business so the 6-month question is premature.

Re: Dear Programmer, I have an idea

#39

Post by ZanderEarth32 »

Wasn't this just an intro email? I occasionally get emails from friends or friends of friends who are looking for marketing advice and while most of the projects don't interest me, I at least send back another email asking a few questions before rejecting them.

Re: Dear Programmer, I have an idea

#40

Post by mijail »

Pitching to a programmer is the best from of natural selection. Someone should make a webform that directs non programmers through The Wax on Wax Off of being an effective non programmer. There is equal contribution that can occur with non programmers but it takes quiet a bit more effort than most non techs think.
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