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I thought this was a good article but one of your points touches on one of the reasons why purely engineer-driven start-ups fail: no business sense. I agree th

I thought this was a good article but one of your points touches on one of the reasons why purely engineer-driven start-ups fail: no business sense. I agree that the MBA-types need to stay away from the engineers on a day-to-day basis, but I've seen too many start-ups shoot themselves in the foot because they launch a product without any market research and no understanding of how to make partnerships that will help them scale. Good luck with whatever you do next.

staunch 19y ago
...why purely engineer-driven start-ups fail: no business sense. I'm not sure how you managed to draw that conclusion. His bonus point is that the CTO didn't even do work, that's hardly engineer-driven. And they had a Stanford MBA, who was apparently a drain during product development. Most successful technology startups are engineer-driven. Google is the ultimate example of just how far a couple engineers can go without any "business sense".
- especkman 19y ago
  Who was it at Google who had the sense to clone Overture's business model, I wonder.
  - albrecht 19y ago
    An MBA. The average MBA isn't the kind of person you want, but a really bright MBA can be a game changer if they stay out of your hair.
    - paul 19y ago
      Nope. Also, it's not a clone in any meaningful sense.
      - far33d 19y ago
        AdWords was invented by Eric Veach, formerly of Pixar, wasn't it?
        paul 19y ago
        What does it mean to invent a product? Adwords is just a name. The actual system was built and rebuilt and improved many times. Eric did do a lot to make it a success though -- he's part of the reason why Google makes so much more money than Yahoo.
        far33d 19y ago
        I guess I was saying invent as in "came up with the thing that differentiates it from everything else out there" - in this case, the auction system.
  - nickb 19y ago
    It was Omid. He put his job on the line and the company when he bet on AdWords. http://www.google.com/corporate/execs.html#omid http://www.google.com/corporate/execs.html#omid

staunch 19y ago

...why purely engineer-driven start-ups fail: no business sense. I'm not sure how you managed to draw that conclusion. His bonus point is that the CTO didn't even do work, that's hardly engineer-driven. And they had a Stanford MBA, who was apparently a drain during product development. Most successful technology startups are engineer-driven. Google is the ultimate example of just how far a couple engineers can go without any "business sense".

especkman 19y ago
Who was it at Google who had the sense to clone Overture's business model, I wonder.
- albrecht 19y ago
  An MBA. The average MBA isn't the kind of person you want, but a really bright MBA can be a game changer if they stay out of your hair.
  - paul 19y ago
    Nope. Also, it's not a clone in any meaningful sense.
    - far33d 19y ago
      AdWords was invented by Eric Veach, formerly of Pixar, wasn't it?
      - paul 19y ago
        What does it mean to invent a product? Adwords is just a name. The actual system was built and rebuilt and improved many times. Eric did do a lot to make it a success though -- he's part of the reason why Google makes so much more money than Yahoo.
        far33d 19y ago
        I guess I was saying invent as in "came up with the thing that differentiates it from everything else out there" - in this case, the auction system.
- nickb 19y ago
  It was Omid. He put his job on the line and the company when he bet on AdWords. http://www.google.com/corporate/execs.html#omid http://www.google.com/corporate/execs.html#omid