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Honestly, I don't think "Learn how to do it yourself" is a viable option for non-technical entrepreneurs looking to start a company. It takes years to become e

Honestly, I don't think "Learn how to do it yourself" is a viable option for non-technical entrepreneurs looking to start a company. It takes years to become even competent at programming, and longer to be able to design a scalable web application proficiently. Besides, you probably want to spend your time doing the non-technical tasks that you're already good at - there will be plenty of that work to be done while you're getting your company off the ground.

thefool 16y ago
I think that having a general sense of how the web is put together will make any business person more effective in what they are doing, even if they cannot write any code. Taking a few months to get educated before committing to build something would probably pay off in spades in the long run.
dkokelley 16y ago
Learning to do it yourself, or even code pays dividends beyond the ability to go solo. You can now communicate more effectively with a technical cofounder, get a deeper understanding of the problem space and competitors products, and finally, earn a bit of respect from the technical people who will be on your team.
- te_chris 16y ago
  absolutely agree with this. in a small organisation the ability to communicate efficiently is paramount and that includes the founder having an understanding of technical constraints. not to mention that, if development works with their mindset and they can't get funding (like most people outside of the valley/US where the angel and VC sectors are a lot less developed) contracting is pretty good money.
- roel_v 16y ago
  True, but there's 'learning fundamentals to know what the tech guys are talking about' and there's 'learning all the details and fundamentals and tools and techniques to be able to actually build a real-world live version'; and about 10 years between them (maybe 5 years if it's full time deliberate study and practice).

thefool 16y ago

I think that having a general sense of how the web is put together will make any business person more effective in what they are doing, even if they cannot write any code. Taking a few months to get educated before committing to build something would probably pay off in spades in the long run.

dkokelley 16y ago

Learning to do it yourself, or even code pays dividends beyond the ability to go solo. You can now communicate more effectively with a technical cofounder, get a deeper understanding of the problem space and competitors products, and finally, earn a bit of respect from the technical people who will be on your team.

te_chris 16y ago
absolutely agree with this. in a small organisation the ability to communicate efficiently is paramount and that includes the founder having an understanding of technical constraints. not to mention that, if development works with their mindset and they can't get funding (like most people outside of the valley/US where the angel and VC sectors are a lot less developed) contracting is pretty good money.
roel_v 16y ago
True, but there's 'learning fundamentals to know what the tech guys are talking about' and there's 'learning all the details and fundamentals and tools and techniques to be able to actually build a real-world live version'; and about 10 years between them (maybe 5 years if it's full time deliberate study and practice).