How a non-tech, thirty-something with kids started his company

I really wish we knew what the site was and it wasn't anonymous. Maybe the post was premature because the author still needs to "fake it till they make it" - but I would imagine that it would be a little bit of good press if nothing else.

Without knowing what the product is though it is hard for folks to compare where they are with this narrative.

For what it's worth I am in almost the exact situation, only I have a product, but its one of those bleeding edge situations that requires a lot of up-front work. So this is a topic very close to home. I just wish I could figure out how similar it is.

I'm in the same boat: 30-plus... bleeding edge tech in an industry dying to be disrupted...high capital requirements. Unlike the author (yet to be named), I've been working on being a good programmer -- first -- so that I can provide an adequate proof of concept and then seek a CTO as well as an industry cofounder. I guess I've been doing it backwards (?)...except, what was it that he built?

Without the context of what the product was all the advice he gave is just common sense. The quote below would be spectacular if there were more specifics on how he got featured on USA Today. Did he have a Powerpoint he used to generate interest, did his simple website do the trick, was it the write-ups from the less known bloggers, was it social media campaigns? It sure wasn't a proof of concept since not a single line of code was written. See why knowing the product would help a lot in understanding this post better?

"The results of those efforts were nothing but spectacular. Inside of three months, while still working full-time, we were able to attract nearly 20k sign-ups. Not only that, but we had been featured in everything from Thrillist to USA Today. And, we were finally having discussions with investors. This, mind you, was all before we even had a single line of code — not one."

> Bugged the shit out of those friends until they were convinced of the idea and willing to help.

What a nasty attitude and bad advice. Yes this guy ended up with a great company, but many people in the same boat won't. They'll have burnt a bridge and possibly lost a friend.

It's only worthless if it's not true to possible positive outcomes for the reader. Whether or not it is an actual past experience of the 'author' or not, it can still serve its purpose (that's what myths are). In fact, you could argue that its anonymity increases its efficacy.