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This type of stuff happens all the time. It is the result of completely depending on a technical cofounder. Never, ever do that. This happened to me with one o

This type of stuff happens all the time. It is the result of completely depending on a technical cofounder. Never, ever do that. This happened to me with one of my products. I am a hacker but the level of expertise the product needed was beyond what I had to offer. After a certain point in the development process, I was completely dependent on my partner. He never delivered anything on time and finally just stopped working on it when a paying client came around (although I offered to pay him many times). Now, when I pursue something new, I make sure I can build it myself even if I do find someone I want to work with.

joshwprinceton 15y ago
Totally with you Matthew. That was one of my main concerns going into the project -- that we were getting in a little over our head with the tech. We were building on top of another API which was supposed to be relatively plug and play, but turns out we spent almost all of our time (about 6 months) working with them to fix it...that's when I realized that we needed a superstar...lesson learned == exactly what you said, though, thanks for the comment!
- MatthewB 15y ago
  Josh - the part that resonated with me the most is your developer keeping you waiting and pushing back deadlines with poor excuses. Like you said, these are big red flags. You mentioned getting sidetracked by learning rails instead of meeting more people, but I disagree with you on that. You should have kept at it learning rails! Developers want to work with other developers, so just by showing you have the drive to learn coding AND have the business skills needed for a startup proves a lot about your personality to potential tech cofounders. Edit: you should have stayed in the valley. You'd be surprised how quickly you would be right back in the saddle of pushing your startup. I moved here 3 months ago and it was the best decision of my life, I just wish I made the decision sooner. Come on back when you're ready.
  - joshwprinceton 15y ago
    True true, I wouldn't say sidetracked, my rails is decent enough, I was just in a very confused state. I think you make a perfectly valid point about Palo Alto - Davis/my support network is here for the current venture, but I wouldn't be opposed to heading back out there. Congrats on heading out there and making the jump :)
deepakINdc 15y ago
To develop any product (tangible or virtual) you need manpower. You could code all you want and never complete the product. In order to execute an idea you need help and in order to execute big ideas, you need help from people with diverse skill sets. Its unlikely that you are going to be able to run the whole show and/or control everything. Something that we never seem to learn (me included) -- You will get burned by implicitly trusting people. To succeed, make sure you put the trust in the right people. Josh, you had it right --- go with your gut, listen to that voice in the back of your head that is giving you hints that this person might not be the right guy even though he presents as a "superstar".
- joshwprinceton 15y ago
  Good calls all around -- team is really what's important.
  - deepakINdc 15y ago
    Exactly -- this is ehy an "A team" with a "B idea" often succeeds over a shit team that f's up a great idea. Glad things are moving forward for you Josh. Take your licks.. learn your lessons and remember them for the future
    - joshwprinceton 15y ago
      Thanks man -- reminds me of what Derek Sivers said: http://sivers.org/multiply http://sivers.org/multiply
durga 15y ago
:%s/Hacker/regular_programmer/g
jdunck 15y ago
"It is the result of completely depending on a technical cofounder. Never, ever do that." So hang on a sec. You guys were both doing tech-driven products, agree that you needed a solid person to deliver, and the lesson you draw is "don't depend on tech guys"? The lesson I'd draw is, don't cofound with people you don't know and trust. And yes, if you don't know people who are required to deliver the goal, perhaps you should change your goal. Seriously, 2 years trying to find a tech cofounder? 1) What would have happened if you used that time to learn to code and get going yourself? 2) Did it ever occur to you that you may have a problem with the pitch? Did you ever get candid feedback on all those awesome people who passed on your golden opportunity? Co-founding is like getting married. If you have marriage material, the right way to think is: what do we care about, and how can we play to our strengths? You absolutely must not approach it with "I really want to do X, now I just need to find someone to do it."

joshwprinceton 15y ago

Totally with you Matthew. That was one of my main concerns going into the project -- that we were getting in a little over our head with the tech. We were building on top of another API which was supposed to be relatively plug and play, but turns out we spent almost all of our time (about 6 months) working with them to fix it...that's when I realized that we needed a superstar...lesson learned == exactly what you said, though, thanks for the comment!

MatthewB 15y ago
Josh - the part that resonated with me the most is your developer keeping you waiting and pushing back deadlines with poor excuses. Like you said, these are big red flags. You mentioned getting sidetracked by learning rails instead of meeting more people, but I disagree with you on that. You should have kept at it learning rails! Developers want to work with other developers, so just by showing you have the drive to learn coding AND have the business skills needed for a startup proves a lot about your personality to potential tech cofounders. Edit: you should have stayed in the valley. You'd be surprised how quickly you would be right back in the saddle of pushing your startup. I moved here 3 months ago and it was the best decision of my life, I just wish I made the decision sooner. Come on back when you're ready.
- joshwprinceton 15y ago
  True true, I wouldn't say sidetracked, my rails is decent enough, I was just in a very confused state. I think you make a perfectly valid point about Palo Alto - Davis/my support network is here for the current venture, but I wouldn't be opposed to heading back out there. Congrats on heading out there and making the jump :)

deepakINdc 15y ago

To develop any product (tangible or virtual) you need manpower. You could code all you want and never complete the product. In order to execute an idea you need help and in order to execute big ideas, you need help from people with diverse skill sets. Its unlikely that you are going to be able to run the whole show and/or control everything. Something that we never seem to learn (me included) -- You will get burned by implicitly trusting people. To succeed, make sure you put the trust in the right people. Josh, you had it right --- go with your gut, listen to that voice in the back of your head that is giving you hints that this person might not be the right guy even though he presents as a "superstar".

joshwprinceton 15y ago
Good calls all around -- team is really what's important.
- deepakINdc 15y ago
  Exactly -- this is ehy an "A team" with a "B idea" often succeeds over a shit team that f's up a great idea. Glad things are moving forward for you Josh. Take your licks.. learn your lessons and remember them for the future
  - joshwprinceton 15y ago
    Thanks man -- reminds me of what Derek Sivers said: http://sivers.org/multiply http://sivers.org/multiply

durga 15y ago

:%s/Hacker/regular_programmer/g

jdunck 15y ago

"It is the result of completely depending on a technical cofounder. Never, ever do that." So hang on a sec. You guys were both doing tech-driven products, agree that you needed a solid person to deliver, and the lesson you draw is "don't depend on tech guys"? The lesson I'd draw is, don't cofound with people you don't know and trust. And yes, if you don't know people who are required to deliver the goal, perhaps you should change your goal. Seriously, 2 years trying to find a tech cofounder? 1) What would have happened if you used that time to learn to code and get going yourself? 2) Did it ever occur to you that you may have a problem with the pitch? Did you ever get candid feedback on all those awesome people who passed on your golden opportunity? Co-founding is like getting married. If you have marriage material, the right way to think is: what do we care about, and how can we play to our strengths? You absolutely must not approach it with "I really want to do X, now I just need to find someone to do it."