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To be honest, both the TC blog and Crunchbase aren't that complicated to do. Arrington could theoretically hire contract programmers to do upgrades to the softw

To be honest, both the TC blog and Crunchbase aren't that complicated to do. Arrington could theoretically hire contract programmers to do upgrades to the software if and when they need them. Perhaps what Arrington means is that it's really hard to find programmers willing to work on these two products for the long term. It is a blog and a database, after all, and the nature of the software doesn't make for terribly exciting work.

pavs 16y ago
Thats exactly what I was thinking, besides independent contact workers (in my experience) doesn't care much if the work is boring as long as they are getting paid. Thats why to me the excuse seemed empty and makes no sense.
- roel_v 16y ago
  But you always need someone who cares. Someone who pulls everything together, not technically, but who thinks of how things should work, what's best for the users or business goals. This you cannot subcontract because subcontractors don't care. They will do whatever you tell them to, to spec. You need someone with a connection to the company to make great things, someone who values the long-term benefits, not just the amount he's paid this week. Day-laborer programmers are easy to find, rent-a-code is full of them. But while you can use them to do menial tasks, or specialized ones, or absorb a demand spike, you can't count on them to drive your business. Sounds like that came all on him, he didn't want to do that anymore. Same is true for other industries btw. I'm living through this in the real estate sector right now and sometimes I want to punch people in the face for not just thinking for one freaking second before blindly doing what some other non-invested person wrote on a spec sheet or plan, but then I remind myself that they're all mercenaries who just do what I (directly or indirectly) tell them, and that I need to be on top of every little detail and double- and triple check everything. That's what driving (not just running) a business is about.
brandnewlow 16y ago
I think your second point is exactly what he means. He needed a CTO but no one good wanted to be a CTO for a company focused on writers rather than engineers.
enjo 16y ago
It's never as easy as "hire some contract programmers to [insert thing here]." Management is a pain in the ass. Finding talented contractors is hard. Finding one's whole be available past that one feature you need is harder. Finding folks who will deliver when they say they will is even harder than that. Making sure that the 3 guys working together are actually working ltogether is tough. Then you deal with schedules, deployments, personality conflicts, and the whole thing. Managing things is a profession unto itself. My guess is Arrington doesn't like doing it.
- randallsquared 16y ago
  Finding one's whole be available past that one feature you need is harder. It took me a while to parse this as "Finding ones who'll be available after finishing that one feature you need is harder." :)
roel_v 16y ago
"To be honest, both the TC blog and Crunchbase aren't that complicated to do. Arrington could theoretically hire contract programmers to do upgrades to the software if and when they need them." No offense but his sounds so incredibly naive it's not even funny.
- shadowsun7 16y ago
  None taken. That said: http://sivers.org/how2hire http://sivers.org/how2hire
  - roel_v 16y ago
    That article makes my point exactly. It basically says 'spell out every detail and make sure the programmer doesn't have to think about the bigger picture, and can focus purely on the coding'. For example, from the article, "Leave off all details that the programmer doesn't need to know.", "Write a detailed walk-through of every click.", "In a text file, write down every thing you know this Version 1.0 needs to do. Every click. Every action. A long list of small simple things.", ... From the post I take it that is is exactly what Arrington didn't want to do any more. The article you linked to basically says 'to make your idea a success, you treat the programmer in detail, and let him focus solely on the technical aspects of the software.'.

pavs 16y ago

Thats exactly what I was thinking, besides independent contact workers (in my experience) doesn't care much if the work is boring as long as they are getting paid. Thats why to me the excuse seemed empty and makes no sense.

roel_v 16y ago
But you always need someone who cares. Someone who pulls everything together, not technically, but who thinks of how things should work, what's best for the users or business goals. This you cannot subcontract because subcontractors don't care. They will do whatever you tell them to, to spec. You need someone with a connection to the company to make great things, someone who values the long-term benefits, not just the amount he's paid this week. Day-laborer programmers are easy to find, rent-a-code is full of them. But while you can use them to do menial tasks, or specialized ones, or absorb a demand spike, you can't count on them to drive your business. Sounds like that came all on him, he didn't want to do that anymore. Same is true for other industries btw. I'm living through this in the real estate sector right now and sometimes I want to punch people in the face for not just thinking for one freaking second before blindly doing what some other non-invested person wrote on a spec sheet or plan, but then I remind myself that they're all mercenaries who just do what I (directly or indirectly) tell them, and that I need to be on top of every little detail and double- and triple check everything. That's what driving (not just running) a business is about.

brandnewlow 16y ago

I think your second point is exactly what he means. He needed a CTO but no one good wanted to be a CTO for a company focused on writers rather than engineers.

enjo 16y ago

It's never as easy as "hire some contract programmers to [insert thing here]." Management is a pain in the ass. Finding talented contractors is hard. Finding one's whole be available past that one feature you need is harder. Finding folks who will deliver when they say they will is even harder than that. Making sure that the 3 guys working together are actually working ltogether is tough. Then you deal with schedules, deployments, personality conflicts, and the whole thing. Managing things is a profession unto itself. My guess is Arrington doesn't like doing it.

randallsquared 16y ago
Finding one's whole be available past that one feature you need is harder. It took me a while to parse this as "Finding ones who'll be available after finishing that one feature you need is harder." :)

roel_v 16y ago

"To be honest, both the TC blog and Crunchbase aren't that complicated to do. Arrington could theoretically hire contract programmers to do upgrades to the software if and when they need them." No offense but his sounds so incredibly naive it's not even funny.

shadowsun7 16y ago
None taken. That said: http://sivers.org/how2hire http://sivers.org/how2hire
- roel_v 16y ago
  That article makes my point exactly. It basically says 'spell out every detail and make sure the programmer doesn't have to think about the bigger picture, and can focus purely on the coding'. For example, from the article, "Leave off all details that the programmer doesn't need to know.", "Write a detailed walk-through of every click.", "In a text file, write down every thing you know this Version 1.0 needs to do. Every click. Every action. A long list of small simple things.", ... From the post I take it that is is exactly what Arrington didn't want to do any more. The article you linked to basically says 'to make your idea a success, you treat the programmer in detail, and let him focus solely on the technical aspects of the software.'.