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Lessons from My AlphaLab Experience

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Re: Lessons from My AlphaLab Experience

#11

Post by akkartik »

dcharlton wrote: post #8
akkartik wrote: post #6

Is it possible you need business founders more when building something people have to pay for, and tech founders more when building 'consumer web' stuff? If so, that explains several observations: the anecdote-based disagreements that keep coming up about the need for business folks, the general bias of YC for consumer web startups in the early years (I think they tended to fund all-programmer teams more so than they…

I think the key point is nothing happens in the beginning with our great technical people. You will always need great business people in the end to drive the business (Google). But we're talking about startup programs where there is little capital and little time.

Yes of course, I'm focusing on the beginning.

Re: Lessons from My AlphaLab Experience

#12

Post by philwelch »

F_J_H wrote: post #7

Re: Lesson #3. And where is Woz now? I would be reluctant to put forward that Woz was more important to Apple’s overall success than Jobs or vice versa. Truth is, they were both important and (assuming the author is suggesting Jobs was the 'business' guy and Woz was the 'programmer') Apple would not be what it is today if one or the other didn’t play a role. One of the most important lessons I learned at my startup a…

What a lot of people forget is that Steve Jobs was into electronics too--that's how he met Woz. He wasn't nearly as talented as Woz, who single-handedly designed the Apple I and Apple II, but the best analogy to Jobs isn't a "business guy", it's a technical guy who does business.

Re: Lessons from My AlphaLab Experience

#13

Post by bretpiatt »

The ideal team is probably 3 founders, one being a business guy with product development experience. One reason behind this is an all technical team will more often become obsessed about the technical widgets and features that aren't needed for a minimum viable product.

Technical teams are also more likely to try and do everything themselves when you may be better off partnering for a technology rather than building it. Often certain components of a given solution may be the entire focus of other companies and many companies are very willing to license technology with no upfront costs rapidly speeding up development -- one business deal could equal months of coding.

Can technical people go out and do these deals? Sure just like the business guy can pickup "How to code HTML" book and start to make a website -- neither will know what they don't know until it is too late. Also from PG's "Managers vs. Makers" schedule piece it is very clear that for a maker trying to do a deal could completely derail their ability to build with the distractions.

Re: Lessons from My AlphaLab Experience

#14

Post by daeken »

I couldn't agree more with #7. In my experience, once an idea takes on a life of its own, it's very difficult to not execute on it. Some ideas are different than others, but at some point it clicks, and it's like trying to hold back an avalanche. You just have to roll with it.

Re: Lessons from My AlphaLab Experience

#15

Post by iamwil »

F_J_H wrote: post #10
dcharlton wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed 100%. Again, we are talking about startups in incubator programs. A team with three MBAs is a recipe for disaster in that scenario—or at least lesser odds of success.

Yeah, I understand and ultimately agree with you with respect to startup programs. My rant stems from a general theme that seems to come across in comments on this site that business people and managers are idiots, and programmers are gods. I know that is not the point you were intending to make.

That sentiment probably is a reaction from seeing the opposite sentiments in the world.

Re: Lessons from My AlphaLab Experience

#17

Post by jimbokun »

F_J_H wrote: post #7

Re: Lesson #3. And where is Woz now? I would be reluctant to put forward that Woz was more important to Apple’s overall success than Jobs or vice versa. Truth is, they were both important and (assuming the author is suggesting Jobs was the 'business' guy and Woz was the 'programmer') Apple would not be what it is today if one or the other didn’t play a role. One of the most important lessons I learned at my startup a…

"And where is Woz now?"

Exactly where he wants to be, best I can tell.

Re: Lessons from My AlphaLab Experience

#18

Post by jimbokun »

philwelch wrote: post #12
F_J_H wrote: post #7

Re: Lesson #3. And where is Woz now? I would be reluctant to put forward that Woz was more important to Apple’s overall success than Jobs or vice versa. Truth is, they were both important and (assuming the author is suggesting Jobs was the 'business' guy and Woz was the 'programmer') Apple would not be what it is today if one or the other didn’t play a role. One of the most important lessons I learned at my startup a…

What a lot of people forget is that Steve Jobs was into electronics too--that's how he met Woz. He wasn't nearly as talented as Woz, who single-handedly designed the Apple I and Apple II, but the best analogy to Jobs isn't a "business guy", it's a technical guy who does business.

My take is that Jobs is a business guy with an unmatched talent for motivating technical guys.
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