How many people on here are non-tech founders?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1373002

by cme • 16 years ago

16 8 16 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I'm a non technical founder, started my own company (Around a web based app) a couple of months ago. I am just wondering if there were any other non technical founders on here..and if so what kind of challenges you are facing?

coryl• 16 years ago

I'm semi-technical, in that I can't code anything functional from scratch, but I can do a bunch of development related tasks, including write CSS, manage the server (SSH, virtualmin, whatever), poke around the SQL database to add/edit fields and rows, create graphics/icons/logos, etc.

I also take care of most of the business, promotional, "everything else" issues. I would say part of my job is being the coder's lackey, if my partner needs php libraries installed, I'll ticket our server admin. If he needs a feature tested and broken in 5 browsers, that'll be me. I suppose my job is to help make it easier for him to put out code at a higher productivity rate.

A challenge I would say is not having anything to do while he hacks away, which is a lot of the time for early startups. Can't really start promoting or start new initiatives, but theres always something to do, its just a matter of figuring out what.

randfish• 16 years ago

I'm largely non-technical. Written maybe a total of 50 lines of PHP and consider myself knowledgeable about but unable to personally execute 90%+ of engineering/development work.

The challenge was primarily that I had an underperforming technical/engineering team until we hired a professional, experienced VP of Engineering last year (which has made a huge difference).

My advice - get a technical co-founder or early CTO/VP Eng that is immensely technical and totally dedicated. Many on here have described the weakness of having great code and great software with no marketing channel - the other side is just as painful.

rue• 16 years ago

Thought you meant founders with a non-tech product/service/field, which might also be an interesting survey.

holaamigos• 16 years ago

I was a management accountant prior to starting my company - as non-tech as you could get.

I co-founded with an engineer, so it was always a clear cut - I did sales, marketing, finance, he did engineering, we both did product.

No huge issues, I rely on engineering, but I now rely on sales and marketing, and all the other functions.

I considered learning to code at the start, but really you need divide the tasks and stick with what you are good at.

SaasDeveloper• 16 years ago

There are plenty of successful non-technical founders but almost all of them have a technical co-founder or partner. If you don't have one today, the sooner you can find a good technical partner with a vested interest in your company the better off you will be.

shawnhickman• 16 years ago

I'm non technical, but I am a designer, so I can definitely hold my own. I am finding it pretty difficult to find a technical cofounder.

jeffepp• 16 years ago

I'm a non technical founder and its a huge challenge. I think the biggest issue was finding a programmer as dedicated as I was. The internet doesn't close on weekends, if issues come up, we need to respond asap!

For my latest startup, I teamed up with a programmer. It is super-tough to have a software app without a technical co-founder.

lean_startup• 16 years ago

I was computer science major in college, but now I can hack but not code. My main role is product development, so a coding background is helpful. I know enough to attract good tech talent -- which is critical. Good luck!

How many people on here are non-tech founders?

Related Stories