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What are considered to be the best guides for finding a non-technical cofounder as a teachnical person? Almost every guide I've read seems to treat this as easy

by piato 10y ago

What are considered to be the best guides for finding a non-technical cofounder as a teachnical person? Almost every guide I've read seems to treat this as easy, yet I found it almost impossible when I tried.

mildbow 10y ago
Yup: it's easy to find a business-y co-founder, but it's hard to figure out if they are going to be a great one. At the end of the day, the only real way is that you've actually worked with them in the past. How about bringing in co-founders[0], but at the project level with a cliff etc? It will be obvious by 6 months as to who's cutting it and the group will self-select to stay on. That should minimize the risk. [0] multiple people with staggered start dates
paulsutter 10y ago
Why do you think you need one? http://paulgraham.com/bronze.html http://paulgraham.com/bronze.html "Hackers are perfectly capable of hearing the voice of the customer without a business person to amplify the signal for them. Larry Page and Sergey Brin were grad students in computer science, which presumably makes them "engineers." Do you suppose Google is only good because they had some business guy whispering in their ears what customers wanted? It seems to me the business guys who did the most for Google were the ones who obligingly flew Altavista into a hillside just as Google was getting started. ... And compared to the sort of problems hackers are used to solving, giving customers what they want is easy. Anyone who can write an optimizing compiler can design a UI that doesn't confuse users, once they choose to focus on that problem. And once you apply that kind of brain power to petty but profitable questions, you can create wealth very rapidly"
- dragonwriter 10y ago
  Business isn't UI design, and while it may be a domain that engineers can learn, it's often one that they aren't interested in learning, and, even if they are, the time they spend on the learning curve is a disadvantage to the venture.
  - paulsutter 10y ago
    Read the whole essay. Also, engineers who aren't interested in learning what customers need shouldn't be starting a company. "Hackers are perfectly capable of hearing the voice of the customer without a business person to amplify the signal for them. Larry Page and Sergey Brin were grad students in computer science, which presumably makes them "engineers." Do you suppose Google is only good because they had some business guy whispering in their ears what customers wanted? It seems to me the business guys who did the most for Google were the ones who obligingly flew Altavista into a hillside just as Google was getting started." (side note: I was at Altavista at the time after an acquisition, and that is exactly what happened)
- BatFastard 10y ago
  Don't be arrogant! Its a different set of skills, maybe you can learn them, maybe not. And even if you learn them, will you be as good as the person who has been honing them for years? Sure I can sell, but it does NOT excite me. And life's too short to do things you dislike. Warning: I have been screwed by non-technical "late" founders. People who have not been there since the beginning but do see the potential of what I have created. One cost me 10's of millions, but que sera sera.
sanderjd 10y ago
One approach is to look for a market that you're bullish on or interested in, and find some blogs or conferences or meetups for that industry, or find some businesses competing in it, identify people involved who seem to have good ideas, and start networking with them.

by piato 10y ago

mildbow 10y ago

Yup: it's easy to find a business-y co-founder, but it's hard to figure out if they are going to be a great one. At the end of the day, the only real way is that you've actually worked with them in the past. How about bringing in co-founders[0], but at the project level with a cliff etc? It will be obvious by 6 months as to who's cutting it and the group will self-select to stay on. That should minimize the risk. [0] multiple people with staggered start dates

paulsutter 10y ago

Why do you think you need one? http://paulgraham.com/bronze.html http://paulgraham.com/bronze.html "Hackers are perfectly capable of hearing the voice of the customer without a business person to amplify the signal for them. Larry Page and Sergey Brin were grad students in computer science, which presumably makes them "engineers." Do you suppose Google is only good because they had some business guy whispering in their ears what customers wanted? It seems to me the business guys who did the most for Google were the ones who obligingly flew Altavista into a hillside just as Google was getting started. ... And compared to the sort of problems hackers are used to solving, giving customers what they want is easy. Anyone who can write an optimizing compiler can design a UI that doesn't confuse users, once they choose to focus on that problem. And once you apply that kind of brain power to petty but profitable questions, you can create wealth very rapidly"

dragonwriter 10y ago
Business isn't UI design, and while it may be a domain that engineers can learn, it's often one that they aren't interested in learning, and, even if they are, the time they spend on the learning curve is a disadvantage to the venture.
- paulsutter 10y ago
  Read the whole essay. Also, engineers who aren't interested in learning what customers need shouldn't be starting a company. "Hackers are perfectly capable of hearing the voice of the customer without a business person to amplify the signal for them. Larry Page and Sergey Brin were grad students in computer science, which presumably makes them "engineers." Do you suppose Google is only good because they had some business guy whispering in their ears what customers wanted? It seems to me the business guys who did the most for Google were the ones who obligingly flew Altavista into a hillside just as Google was getting started." (side note: I was at Altavista at the time after an acquisition, and that is exactly what happened)
BatFastard 10y ago
Don't be arrogant! Its a different set of skills, maybe you can learn them, maybe not. And even if you learn them, will you be as good as the person who has been honing them for years? Sure I can sell, but it does NOT excite me. And life's too short to do things you dislike. Warning: I have been screwed by non-technical "late" founders. People who have not been there since the beginning but do see the potential of what I have created. One cost me 10's of millions, but que sera sera.

sanderjd 10y ago

One approach is to look for a market that you're bullish on or interested in, and find some blogs or conferences or meetups for that industry, or find some businesses competing in it, identify people involved who seem to have good ideas, and start networking with them.