On the one hand, I would say don't bother. Just chop up the task into small bits and outsource them. There are programming equivalents of the logo design cont

On the one hand, I would say don't bother. Just chop up the task into small bits and outsource them. There are programming equivalents of the logo design contests, you can get the programming done very cheaply, and there are business oriented non-programming guys having a lot of success doing this in the mobile app space at the moment. On the other hand, I imagine you building the next big thing as a social webservice. You won't understand security, you won't know why it is important, you won't know why it is hard... this worries me. Even big supposedly tech savvy companies (Google being a prime example) get this wrong (when it comes to my data PRIVATE IS THE DEFAULT dammit, not public!!!) On the gripping hand, you can treat programming like any other kind of artistic talent. You say you need to understand every aspect of the company... well, will you have art? Will you have splash screens and icons? Does that mean you will go to art school as well as learning to be a programmer? Maybe you need some sound, will you spend 10 years trying to become a concert pianist?