Idea Guy Looking for Developer • Hacker News Board

Re: Idea Guy Looking for Developer

#51

Post by zeemonkee » Tue, May 24, 2011, 5:01 PM UTC

flyosity wrote: post #19

The thing that always gets me is that "idea guys" seem to assume that "developers" can't get ideas, like it's a skill that only a select few can possess. Guess what? Everyone has ideas, and being a developer is great because we can actually build our ideas.

A "business person" may be a domain expert in a vertical market. They may have an idea that requires an insight that only comes from years of working inside an industry that a developer, unless they have also worked in that industry, will simply not have. Furthermore the "business person" will be able to network in that industry.

Re: Idea Guy Looking for Developer

#52

Post by pavel_lishin » Tue, May 24, 2011, 5:08 PM UTC

> Second, why not learn to make it yourselves? Without knowing what you want to do I can’t say how hard it’d be, but often it’s a lot easier than you might think.

Yup, because four years of school and five years of professional experience can easily be replaced with an O'Reilly book and a weekend in front of a monitor.

Yes, idea folks should know something about technology, but this is akin to suggesting that the next time my tooth hurts, I ought to just read a book and go to town with a mirror and a Dremel tool.

Re: Idea Guy Looking for Developer

#53

Post by truthseeker » Tue, May 24, 2011, 5:25 PM UTC

Travis wrote: post #46

raganwald wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I may be the lone dissenter... Could it be that there are many business people, some of who have ideas but no ability to execute, some of who can execute but have no ideas, and a very few who have ideas and can execute on them? And like wise could it be that there are many developers, some of whom have ideas but cannot build their dreams, some of whom can build but have no ideas, and a very select few that have id…

I don't disagree with your statements -- their is definitely a spectrum of each type of cofounder. However, out of the spectrum of idea guys, one signal I look for is their desire to pursue their idea. One great way to do that -- teach themselves to code. It doesn't mean that their ideas aren't any good. But at a glance, if someone has an idea that they believe in enough to teach themselves basic skils... well, then…

Absolutely correct. As a developer, I am willing to work with idea guys as long as they can show their previous work. Success or failure, it doesn't matter as long as they hustled enough to get something done. Just like I am willing to show my technical skills with a portfolio, projects etc.

Re: Idea Guy Looking for Developer

#54

Post by rcavezza » Tue, May 24, 2011, 5:29 PM UTC

I personally think you are an "idea guy" until you finally pursue your first startup, then your perspective changes when you see the actual process.

I like how customer development is helping idea guys prove their worth. If more "idea guys" would take a few extra initial steps towards social proof, traction, etc... they would get much more respective from potential cofounders.

Re: Idea Guy Looking for Developer

#55

Post by code_duck » Tue, May 24, 2011, 5:30 PM UTC

The other parts are hard - getting and making best use of contacts, marketing, scheming - and 'idea people' often tend to be better that than developers.

Re: Idea Guy Looking for Developer

#56

Post by sledmonkey » Tue, May 24, 2011, 5:34 PM UTC

esmevane wrote: post #24

There's also the (insulting) concept that many of these folks seem to have, which is: Did it never cross your mind that a lot of us spend the bulk of our free time developing our own ideas? For the majority of Idea Man pitches I've spent time with, there's been a ridiculous amount of assumption involved. These folks are so excited by their own idea, they can't wait to tell me about it. Then what? Do they want to help…

I just had an idea man want to pitch something to me but he wanted me to sign an nda before he would even tell me anything about it. Sorry, i'm not going to put my projects at risk just to hear it.

Re: Idea Guy Looking for Developer

#57

Post by btilly » Tue, May 24, 2011, 5:39 PM UTC

zeemonkee wrote: post #51

flyosity wrote: post #19

The thing that always gets me is that "idea guys" seem to assume that "developers" can't get ideas, like it's a skill that only a select few can possess. Guess what? Everyone has ideas, and being a developer is great because we can actually build our ideas.

A "business person" may be a domain expert in a vertical market. They may have an idea that requires an insight that only comes from years of working inside an industry that a developer, unless they have also worked in that industry, will simply not have. Furthermore the "business person" will be able to network in that industry.

I've seen this happen.

I've seen people claim that this will happen.

Based on what I've seen, the odds that the claim is accurate in any particular case are very low.

Re: Idea Guy Looking for Developer

#58

Post by saraid216 » Tue, May 24, 2011, 5:40 PM UTC

thetrumanshow wrote: post #2

"They both think that less skill is required (so the programmer doesn’t deserve much compensation) and that less time is required (effectively creating a very low hourly rate for the programmer, given the flat rates that are often proposed)." I find it ironic how he points out that idea guys tend to undervalue the hard work of the programmer and then at the end he suggests that the idea guy should implement it himsel…

It’s both. The idea guy’s belief is twofold: (1) that a developer can do it easily and (2) that they can’t possibly do it. The difficulty of the idea isn’t an issue. It’s the extremity of the idea guy’s beliefs about the difficulty. This article is about pulling both sides of those extremities into a sane middle.

Re: Idea Guy Looking for Developer

#59

Post by saraid216 » Tue, May 24, 2011, 5:42 PM UTC

pavel_lishin wrote: post #52

> Second, why not learn to make it yourselves? Without knowing what you want to do I can’t say how hard it’d be, but often it’s a lot easier than you might think. Yup, because four years of school and five years of professional experience can easily be replaced with an O'Reilly book and a weekend in front of a monitor. Yes, idea folks should know something about technology, but this is akin to suggesting that the nex…

Dentists don't work on themselves, either. The first step to getting contributors to your project is to start coding the project and showing it off. If your prototype code is crap, at least it still demonstrates your idea in a concrete way and gets people viscerally excited about it.

Re: Idea Guy Looking for Developer

#60

Post by geebee » Tue, May 24, 2011, 5:55 PM UTC

There was such a great hn post about this a while back, wish I could remember where...

The gist was, if you're a "business guy", I need you. Ok, you can't code, so here are some other ways you can contribute: you can tap into an impressive network to set up meetings with vcs, negotiate favorable terms, successfully navigate the legal system, get my product into the press, massively expand the user base, make sales, and convince people to hand over money....

...but if you think you're a "business guy" because you think up nifty ideas for computer applications but can't code or do any of the above, you aren't useful to me as a cofounder.