11–20 of 159 posts
> Today’s full-stack engineers have replaced yesterday’s sysadmins, DBAs, and webdevs altogether. Seriously, when is this "full-stack" nonsense going to stop? With the exception of a few geniuses, "full-stack" is just shorthand for "less than mediocre at a lot of different things".
"If you’re unable to convince friends to start a business with you, PG says it’s a vote of no confidence. But, what if you’re like me and you don’t have a lot of entrepreneurial friends? Or, maybe you do, but they don’t want to work on your ideas? It doesn’t really matter what your friends think of your ideas or you in regards to starting a business–the votes that count come in the form of paying customers. Since it’…
I say it with first-hand experience. I spent a few months going to every possible tech event in my city and had no luck. Finding a good co-founder is not easy. It's almost like trying to find a partner to marry but every second is time against you because no real work getting done.
I'd rather build and get enough traction to the point where you can hire/attract some talent.
"If you’re unable to convince friends to start a business with you, PG says it’s a vote of no confidence. But, what if you’re like me and you don’t have a lot of entrepreneurial friends? Or, maybe you do, but they don’t want to work on your ideas? It doesn’t really matter what your friends think of your ideas or you in regards to starting a business–the votes that count come in the form of paying customers. Since it’…
It was probably harder for 2 people to start a "growth" business in 2006 than it is for 1 person today.
"If you’re unable to convince friends to start a business with you, PG says it’s a vote of no confidence. But, what if you’re like me and you don’t have a lot of entrepreneurial friends? Or, maybe you do, but they don’t want to work on your ideas? It doesn’t really matter what your friends think of your ideas or you in regards to starting a business–the votes that count come in the form of paying customers. Since it’…
I have a lot of tech friends who are busy doing their own things. I set up an informal board of directors and I consult them on ideas, tech problems etc. I feel no need to have them as partners. They pick me up when I'm down, give me advice, help with direction, keep me focused.
http://www.amazon.com/Start-Small-Stay-Developers-Launching-...
Two things I've seen kill startups are bad cofounder relationships, and Venture Capitalists. Almost 50-50, with VCs in the lead because they cause a lot of the bad co-founder relationships.
The person you are likely to make your cofounder should probably be your first employee. Make them significant, give them a VP title or whatever, get feedback from them, pay them in equity. But don't let them be in a position where leaving or failing to pull their weight would doom the company.
Finding a good cofounder is nearly impossible for many people for many reasons. If you are a group of people who know each other already and want to start a company-- great.
But cofounder dating is a bad, bad idea. Couples live together for years before getting married, yet co founders want to "get married" within days or months? Even if you choose well on a number of areas, you simply can't know your cofounder well enough.
> Today’s full-stack engineers have replaced yesterday’s sysadmins, DBAs, and webdevs altogether. Seriously, when is this "full-stack" nonsense going to stop? With the exception of a few geniuses, "full-stack" is just shorthand for "less than mediocre at a lot of different things".
But what will replace the ninjas and the rock stars?