Ask HN: What advice would you give a non-tech person seeking a tech co-founder?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4286889

by mikepk • 14 years ago

3 7 14 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

In a couple of weeks I'm going to be teaching a class at at http://intelligent.ly in Boston titled: "How to find a technical co-founder". I get asked the question about finding tech co-founders a lot and thought it would be fun / useful to provide my usual guidance and response in a class form.

The class I have in mind is based on my own experiences (as the tech guy) choosing partners to build companies with in the past. It's also based on my experiences and observations working with non-tech co-founders over the years.

I thought it might be useful to open this question up to the HN community to see what you think. What would make you decide to join someone in a new venture (as the tech person)? Do you think you need a non-tech founder? What do you see non-tech people doing 'wrong' when engagine with tech people (and vice versa)?

mikepk3• 14 years ago

Response via twitter "@codemokeyism @mikepk Learn writing code"

The8thDwarf• 14 years ago

Introduce the prospective technical cofounder to 10 potential customers, who can clearly and persuasively articulate (a) the pain they currently experience and (b) the bliss they would experience if the proposed company would talke off.

mikepk3• 14 years ago

Thanks, this is similar in spirit to my thinking. Honestly I expected more of the 'learn to code' kind of sentiment that I got over twitter. :)

jtchang• 14 years ago

Whether you need a non technical founder is the wrong question to ask. Ask yourself what your business needs to succeed:

- Is it a developer or designer?

- A marketing genius?

Most businesses need some soft skills. This is where I see the non technical person coming in.

When it comes down to finding that tech person all you need to be able to do is show value. How do you demonstrate value?

* Understanding the market and problem

* Executing on previous ventures

* Connections

* Anything else that makes you stand out

Learning to code shows commitment but in general it isn't the only thing.

mikepk3• 14 years ago

I add to the list "actually doing stuff". I meet so many want-to-be-entrepreneurs saying they just need a tech co-founder, but other than thinking really hard, that's all they're currently doing to make the venture happen. Somehow it's almost as if they think their job is managing when there's nothing yet to manage. They don't realize that their job is making the venture real, any way they can.

orangethirty• 14 years ago

Send me an email. Address in profile. I'd like to talk to you about this in more depth and in private.

helen842000• 14 years ago

Teach them just how far they can get on their own with their idea before they even need to consider a tech co-founder or outsourcing.

There is naming, branding, research, competitor analysis, writing copy, storyboarding (if it's an app) wireframes, mock-ups, drawing up contact lists, talking to potential customers - which is an extremely important point.

They need to also show willing to learn even some basic technical skills else they just sound lazy. This doesn't have to include development, there's lots of other computer based tasks that need doing.

Their project needs to be at a point where a decent tech person would say "hey this is pretty interesting, the next big step you're struggling on is something I'd find really easy to implement"

A non-technical co-founder has to have the hustle to build a foundation to even get a tech person interested in talking about it, never mind contributing.

I'd suggest teaching them that if they say "I have X number of people committed to buying this - if only I could build it" is far more compelling to a developer than "I have an idea in my head but I've not acted on it yet"

Ask HN: What advice would you give a non-tech person seeking a tech co-founder?

Related Stories