4 ms·
I'm sure I'm not that rare in my dreams. They might be unusual but I'm certain others share similar hopes. I have an idea for an internet based service and a fa
by rich124 18y ago
I'm sure I'm not that rare in my dreams. They might be unusual but I'm certain others share similar hopes. I have an idea for an internet based service and a faith that in its originality and focus that it could have real value, especially within organizations, corporate or otherwise.
The plea comes from a sense of helplessness. I haven't programmed seriously in 30 years. My old skills with 360 assembler mock my ambitions. I have only a general idea of what frameworks and binding types do and couldn't tell a block or singleton method from a hole in the head. I'm not involved in the industry and am as unconnected as they come.
I follow with desperate hope TechCrunch reviews of companies offering "anyone can build" tool sets for web development only to lose hope at the limitations of rich media presentation tools and form/database creators. I need rule/logic driven input, association, display and export functionality along with the identity, security and database functionality that frameworks might provide (i.e. the equivalent complexity of a Digg 1.0).
I have a life with family, job and community responsibilities that make the learning curve of modern internet development beyond what I alone can achieve. I need a place to go with my concept that, accepting its value and in exchange for a fair part of its potential, might work with me to fulfill my vision.
I need Y Combinator Plus. Help!
- olefoo 18y agoCan you come up with a a one page description of the service/software that you want to build; describing in detail what it does so that someone else can implement it? Can you afford to pay someone skilled to develop it for you? If you are going to play the role of the idea guy, you had better be able to bring more resources than the idea itself if you want to be successful.
- rich124 18y agoI could provide a one page combination business objectives statement and high level requirement specification, but a detailed spec would necessarily be longer and more complex in format. No, I can't fund the development effort. If I could I wouldn't need a Y Combinator Plus. I appreciate your observation about the seemingly limited value of just "the idea itself", but that's just the issue I was raising. The clear vision of why, what and how is indeed all I have to bring to the table.
- olefoo 18y agoHere's the deal, if you can come up with a document that has sufficient detail for someone else to implement the idea, then you could potentially implement it yourself. Modern web development is not a mysterious form of magic, it's most comparable to a genre of theatre that relies on some very literal actors who will stick to the script exactly. I've seen people with no more than a community college class in web design build profitable businesses online. That's one of the great things about the current state of the art, you don't need to be a graduate of the right school, or have the right background, you just need to be willing to put in a lot of work and skull sweat.
- rich124 18y agoGiven your faith in the current state of the art, what tools would you use/recommend to build either a simple Digg-like service or a threaded discussion board.
- olefoo 18y agoThis week; I'd just grab the reddit download and start from there. If I wanted to do something that was a bit more complex I'd start with Django and use the comments application that comes bundled with as a base for the functionality i actually needed. But if all you need is a threaded forum you're better off with a hosted solution like http://slinkset.com/ http://slinkset.com/ If you're starting from zero, pick up a programming language, and go to it. Make mistakes now so that you can put them behind you.
- Robleh 18y agoHire a developer. It's what Kevin Rose did and he's just about to sell out to Goog for $200m.