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My opinion is that if you're going to build a technical company you need a technical co-founder. Would you start a construction company without a technical co-

My opinion is that if you're going to build a technical company you need a technical co-founder. Would you start a construction company without a technical co-founder, and just hire freelance carpenters to build the first few houses?

galfarragem 8y ago
> Would you start a construction company without a technical co-founder, and just hire freelance carpenters to build the first few houses? I personally know cases like this. If you are an amazing seller this is viable.
- deleted 8y ago
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syedkarim 8y ago
I recently had a house built, which exposed me to a dozen general contractors (people/companies referred to as builders). Not a single one of these small shops had a carpenter on staff. They were all basically project managers that subcontract all labor and earn their fee by adding 20% to however much is spent.
- brentonator 8y ago
  I wouldn't call GC's non-technical. They know all of the pieces that it takes to get the thing built and the community of construction workers have multiple general skill-sets. The best part about your GC might be that he knows how to hire the right people.
sokoloff 8y ago
I agree with the first part, but your second example is pretty much exactly how the residential construction process works (and likely the commercial sector as well, but I have no direct experience there). The general contractor hires local subcontractors (roofers, electricians, plumbers, rough carpentry, finish carpentry, drywall/plasterers, painters, tilers, etc), manages the overall project timeline and budget, and pays the subs. Bringing it back to OP's question, the comparison might be: many companies use technology (have a website, maybe even sell online) but are not technology companies at their core. Other companies that seem tech-light might have amazingly deep tech underlying the business. If OP is founding a company that is going to happen to sell some things on a Shopify site, or create some gadget that has a few blinky lights on it, it could be perfectly reasonable to outsource the tech. (100% agree that if there's deep tech involved, that you need a tech-savvy founder or an amazingly committed tech advisor at a bare minimum.)
spork12 8y ago
you need an HR department too! very important also you will need lots of project manager's and maybe 1 or 2 full time developers

galfarragem 8y ago

> Would you start a construction company without a technical co-founder, and just hire freelance carpenters to build the first few houses? I personally know cases like this. If you are an amazing seller this is viable.

deleted 8y ago
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syedkarim 8y ago

I recently had a house built, which exposed me to a dozen general contractors (people/companies referred to as builders). Not a single one of these small shops had a carpenter on staff. They were all basically project managers that subcontract all labor and earn their fee by adding 20% to however much is spent.

brentonator 8y ago
I wouldn't call GC's non-technical. They know all of the pieces that it takes to get the thing built and the community of construction workers have multiple general skill-sets. The best part about your GC might be that he knows how to hire the right people.

sokoloff 8y ago

I agree with the first part, but your second example is pretty much exactly how the residential construction process works (and likely the commercial sector as well, but I have no direct experience there). The general contractor hires local subcontractors (roofers, electricians, plumbers, rough carpentry, finish carpentry, drywall/plasterers, painters, tilers, etc), manages the overall project timeline and budget, and pays the subs. Bringing it back to OP's question, the comparison might be: many companies use technology (have a website, maybe even sell online) but are not technology companies at their core. Other companies that seem tech-light might have amazingly deep tech underlying the business. If OP is founding a company that is going to happen to sell some things on a Shopify site, or create some gadget that has a few blinky lights on it, it could be perfectly reasonable to outsource the tech. (100% agree that if there's deep tech involved, that you need a tech-savvy founder or an amazingly committed tech advisor at a bare minimum.)

spork12 8y ago

you need an HR department too! very important also you will need lots of project manager's and maybe 1 or 2 full time developers