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One valuable asset for a startup is domain expertise. There are two kinds of domain expertise: academic knowledge, and experience in the field. You can get ac
by japhyr 15y ago
One valuable asset for a startup is domain expertise. There are two kinds of domain expertise: academic knowledge, and experience in the field. You can get academic knowledge when you are young, but experience takes time.
I've only been to one tech conference, but it made me feel better about just getting into the startup world in my late 30's. One demographic I saw at the conference was a whole bunch of young, really smart developers who had no idea what to focus their skills on.
People with strong experience in a particular field can have a valuable perspective on what kinds of problems are worth solving in their field. They also know what solutions have been attempted in the past, and why those solutions were not ideal. This kind of knowledge can help a startup avoid the mistakes people have made in the past, and create a more effective product or service.
- keeptrying 15y agoGood in theory but in practice perseverance seems to win over anything else from what I've seen.
- sks 15y agoYes, you are correct but you dont want to persevere to solve problems that are not important. From what I understand japhyr is saying that experience helps you choose these important problems from a set of all possible problems you can solve.
- kstenerud 15y agoYES! Tenacity is THE biggest contributor to success, along with the ability to learn the lessons failure teaches. Domain expertise and a strong academic foundation can give you a massive edge, but alone they are not enough.
- JoeAltmaier 15y agoHm. Young people are not known for tenacity. In fact, no one is. Its rare. And I'd hazard, uncorrelated with age.
- japhyr 15y agoI didn't mention perseverance because that seems like a given for a startup to be successful. I sure wasn't claiming that domain expertise allows you to be half-hearted in your efforts. Perseverance is necessary, but not sufficient. Perseverance and technical excellence, without domain expertise, seems like a road to failure.