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Idea guy needs help

5 points by gsterer 16y ago

Hi all. Does anyone have suggestions for what a "non-computer" person should do with promising ideas that need tech people for implementation (i.e. where and how to find them)? I'm an English major who's realized concepting, no matter how brilliant, cannot advance without code.

deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
kingsidharth 16y ago
You can always get someone to help you out. Or you could hire someone. BUT you NEED to have your own skin in the game. Otherwise, it won't work. Ideas don't matter. Execution does. Ship something? You are an English major - build a history of shipping and credibility by blogging?
CyberFonic 16y ago
Think of ideas as the spark of creativity. It's what gets the ball rolling. The next step is to get the customer development process happening. Steve Blanks has some great posts on this and a book. "No idea survives first contact with customers". But that feedback is critical in making sure you implement the idea that has a market. Now for implementation. You really need to create a team and that team should include people who can implement the idea and others who can ship and support. Your role would be to evangalize, read some of Guy Kawasaki's stuff if that's a new concept for you. If you are looking for investors, having an idea, early prospective customers and a prototype might be enough to get the ball rolling.
andrewstuart 16y ago
Learn to program.
malandrew 16y ago
Learn to Program. More specifically, learn HTML5 and CSS3. You need to know enough to be able to prototype your concept. Once you know enough to prototype the visual design, learn just enough javascript to make the front end behave the way it would for the end user. My suggestion is to start with "Designing with Web Standards, 3rd Edition" by Jeffrey Zeldman, then move on to a more complete HTML/CSS book like the Head First book on the topic. Finally, pick up the book DOM Scripting by Jeremy Keith. Ideas are worthless without execution. Being able to prototype and model how the app will work in the hands of users is the kind of execution you should be capable of to create a minimum viable product. If you can do that and you can sell your vision, you should be able to attract a decent technical co-founder or at least one who can create your MVP.
gsterer 16y ago
Thanks all.
sz 16y ago
No matter what you need to be able to produce something valuable, if only to be a good potential partner for a tech person. The most straightforward valuable thing to produce is code. Without that you may find good contractors but probably not someone that will stick around. Tech-enabled startup people tend to have scorn for people with ideas but little else.
rubinelli 16y ago
With Adwords and a WordPress theme, you can test your idea with a $200 dry-run. If it still looks promising, you can pay $5,000~10,000 to get your first version online. Tim Ferris and Rob Walling can show you the way, google for them.
stephenou 16y ago
Learn how to code. It is really not hard. People who said they can't code are at a mindset of not wanting to learn/don't have enough time to learn/can have other people to code, etc. Commit yourself. Think about it this way: If I can code, I can turn my brilliant idea into reality in a week, whereas it might take 3 months if I need a dev to code and what the dev (that I pay $10000 for) makes aren't even satisfying.

Idea guy needs help

5 points by gsterer 16y ago

deleted 16y ago

[deleted]

kingsidharth 16y ago

You can always get someone to help you out. Or you could hire someone. BUT you NEED to have your own skin in the game. Otherwise, it won't work. Ideas don't matter. Execution does. Ship something? You are an English major - build a history of shipping and credibility by blogging?

CyberFonic 16y ago

Think of ideas as the spark of creativity. It's what gets the ball rolling. The next step is to get the customer development process happening. Steve Blanks has some great posts on this and a book. "No idea survives first contact with customers". But that feedback is critical in making sure you implement the idea that has a market. Now for implementation. You really need to create a team and that team should include people who can implement the idea and others who can ship and support. Your role would be to evangalize, read some of Guy Kawasaki's stuff if that's a new concept for you. If you are looking for investors, having an idea, early prospective customers and a prototype might be enough to get the ball rolling.

andrewstuart 16y ago

Learn to program.

malandrew 16y ago

Learn to Program. More specifically, learn HTML5 and CSS3. You need to know enough to be able to prototype your concept. Once you know enough to prototype the visual design, learn just enough javascript to make the front end behave the way it would for the end user. My suggestion is to start with "Designing with Web Standards, 3rd Edition" by Jeffrey Zeldman, then move on to a more complete HTML/CSS book like the Head First book on the topic. Finally, pick up the book DOM Scripting by Jeremy Keith. Ideas are worthless without execution. Being able to prototype and model how the app will work in the hands of users is the kind of execution you should be capable of to create a minimum viable product. If you can do that and you can sell your vision, you should be able to attract a decent technical co-founder or at least one who can create your MVP.

gsterer 16y ago

Thanks all.

sz 16y ago

No matter what you need to be able to produce something valuable, if only to be a good potential partner for a tech person. The most straightforward valuable thing to produce is code. Without that you may find good contractors but probably not someone that will stick around. Tech-enabled startup people tend to have scorn for people with ideas but little else.

rubinelli 16y ago

With Adwords and a WordPress theme, you can test your idea with a $200 dry-run. If it still looks promising, you can pay $5,000~10,000 to get your first version online. Tim Ferris and Rob Walling can show you the way, google for them.

stephenou 16y ago

Learn how to code. It is really not hard. People who said they can't code are at a mindset of not wanting to learn/don't have enough time to learn/can have other people to code, etc. Commit yourself. Think about it this way: If I can code, I can turn my brilliant idea into reality in a week, whereas it might take 3 months if I need a dev to code and what the dev (that I pay $10000 for) makes aren't even satisfying.