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Why not start solo? You can found a 1 man SaaS app... burn is halfed, and your code per day rate is about the same as a pair with a business guy. If you find

Why not start solo? You can found a 1 man SaaS app... burn is halfed, and your code per day rate is about the same as a pair with a business guy. If you find business lacking down the road, you are in a position of power to pull someone in.

tootie 8y ago
I could crank out a SaaS product or whatever pretty confidently, but without a marketing/sales expert I'd be spitting in the wind.
- ian0 8y ago
  Marketing and sales can be learned. Seriously. As long as you are able to validate that people have this problem and solve it in a way that makes sense the rest can be googled. If it kicks off, you can hire people with expertise to help. Along the way for sales you'll have to learn how to put yourself out there, which can be challenging (it was for me). But its like speaking in front of people. If you do it enough times you learn to get by. If your a founder, regardless of whether you the "tech person" or not, you'll probably have to learn all of this anyway. Id second the "dont do it alone" part if its a full-time startup. Its tough going and having someone to share the burden in incredibly helpful.
- geedy 8y ago
  I don't agree. Unless you literally don't want to learn it or don't enjoy it, there are lots of business/marketting resources for technical founders. Lots of business people don't really know what they are doing, either, and more experienced people are often willing to help!
- ctvo 8y ago
  This is such a weird attitude to have when actively trying to start a startup. Both the over confidence in your technical ability to deliver something people actually want and the self-defeated attitude.
- brianwawok 8y ago
  If you solve a problem well, and it is a problem worth money to people - you can throw out some links on a forum or buy $100 in adwords and get a user or two. A good advertising or marketing guy will help you go from 100 users to 1000 users, but you shouldn't need them in most cases to get a few users and start the path. Adwords isn't rocket science. Now obviously there are exceptions, say if you are trying to create a 2 sided marketplace it's not so easy to just slow roll your product... but I think that is a fairly low % of total products.
chillydawg 8y ago
My main argument for 1 person startups would be you need someone to call you on your BS. It's incredibly easy to pretend a problem isn't a problem or a solution is a good one when it really isn't. It depends on the area of business, of course, but in my particular field, rolling solo would be very dangerous.
- brianwawok 8y ago
  What field is that? You can have mentors and friends to help with BS calling if you are willing to listen. But ultimately they will not always be right, so you risk not following a valid idea far enough.

tootie 8y ago

I could crank out a SaaS product or whatever pretty confidently, but without a marketing/sales expert I'd be spitting in the wind.

ian0 8y ago
Marketing and sales can be learned. Seriously. As long as you are able to validate that people have this problem and solve it in a way that makes sense the rest can be googled. If it kicks off, you can hire people with expertise to help. Along the way for sales you'll have to learn how to put yourself out there, which can be challenging (it was for me). But its like speaking in front of people. If you do it enough times you learn to get by. If your a founder, regardless of whether you the "tech person" or not, you'll probably have to learn all of this anyway. Id second the "dont do it alone" part if its a full-time startup. Its tough going and having someone to share the burden in incredibly helpful.
geedy 8y ago
I don't agree. Unless you literally don't want to learn it or don't enjoy it, there are lots of business/marketting resources for technical founders. Lots of business people don't really know what they are doing, either, and more experienced people are often willing to help!
ctvo 8y ago
This is such a weird attitude to have when actively trying to start a startup. Both the over confidence in your technical ability to deliver something people actually want and the self-defeated attitude.
brianwawok 8y ago
If you solve a problem well, and it is a problem worth money to people - you can throw out some links on a forum or buy $100 in adwords and get a user or two. A good advertising or marketing guy will help you go from 100 users to 1000 users, but you shouldn't need them in most cases to get a few users and start the path. Adwords isn't rocket science. Now obviously there are exceptions, say if you are trying to create a 2 sided marketplace it's not so easy to just slow roll your product... but I think that is a fairly low % of total products.

chillydawg 8y ago

My main argument for 1 person startups would be you need someone to call you on your BS. It's incredibly easy to pretend a problem isn't a problem or a solution is a good one when it really isn't. It depends on the area of business, of course, but in my particular field, rolling solo would be very dangerous.

brianwawok 8y ago
What field is that? You can have mentors and friends to help with BS calling if you are willing to listen. But ultimately they will not always be right, so you risk not following a valid idea far enough.