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Keep in mind that a team of hybrid code/business people would destroy a team of pure coders and pure business people any day. It's fine to specialize, but a st

Keep in mind that a team of hybrid code/business people would destroy a team of pure coders and pure business people any day. It's fine to specialize, but a startup requires all of those skills collected in as few people as possible so that decisions can be made quickly and there's no miscommunication because less communication is necessary.

fallentimes 18y ago
We agree.
indiejade 18y ago
So why do you think that I am having such a hard finding gainful employment myself as a hybrid business/code person? BTW, when I said I consider zentu.net to be "successful," I just meant that it works, has decent Alexa rank, I get lots of thank you emails, it produces slightly more income than cost of running, etc (we're talking strict hosting costs here, assuming I've been working for "free" for myself on it). It's not like I actually attempted to get actual VC or anything like that.
- notauser 18y ago
  Because in a larger team (anywhere that is hiring, as opposed to two people in a garage) comparative advantage starts to kick in. Even if there are only two of us, and I am slight better at A while you are slightly better at B, the most efficient distribution of labour is that I do A and you do B, despite the fact that we can both do either. This gets more true the larger the team, because as the team (and the work) grows it is more likely that you have enough work to keep a specialist busy. A startup needs perhaps 1.5 coders and 0.5 business people, so two hybrids is more efficient than the specialist minimum of 2 coders and a business guy. But a larger business might need 5 coders and 2 business guys, so you are better off with 5 pure coders and 2 pure business guys because they will be more experienced in their specialty (and therefore probably better) than 7 hybrid types.
  - rantfoil 18y ago
    This is a great explanation of why it's hard to find a job as a hybrid jack of all trades. Founders/owners don't really want hybrids because they're harder to manage, and often have a harder time proving to the world that they're better than the pure hacker or the pure business guy. So find smaller, earlier-stage startups and you'll find people who are clamoring for what you offer.
- trevelyan 18y ago
  I checked it out and don't see how you are generating income with the project. Will probably submit a project though, all the Pagerank helps! :) It takes a smart person to look for a developer with vision, and a smarter one to keep them on-board. The tough thing is finding a business model that can be used to bootstrap profitably, but that will also scale.

fallentimes 18y ago

We agree.

indiejade 18y ago

So why do you think that I am having such a hard finding gainful employment myself as a hybrid business/code person? BTW, when I said I consider zentu.net to be "successful," I just meant that it works, has decent Alexa rank, I get lots of thank you emails, it produces slightly more income than cost of running, etc (we're talking strict hosting costs here, assuming I've been working for "free" for myself on it). It's not like I actually attempted to get actual VC or anything like that.

notauser 18y ago
Because in a larger team (anywhere that is hiring, as opposed to two people in a garage) comparative advantage starts to kick in. Even if there are only two of us, and I am slight better at A while you are slightly better at B, the most efficient distribution of labour is that I do A and you do B, despite the fact that we can both do either. This gets more true the larger the team, because as the team (and the work) grows it is more likely that you have enough work to keep a specialist busy. A startup needs perhaps 1.5 coders and 0.5 business people, so two hybrids is more efficient than the specialist minimum of 2 coders and a business guy. But a larger business might need 5 coders and 2 business guys, so you are better off with 5 pure coders and 2 pure business guys because they will be more experienced in their specialty (and therefore probably better) than 7 hybrid types.
- rantfoil 18y ago
  This is a great explanation of why it's hard to find a job as a hybrid jack of all trades. Founders/owners don't really want hybrids because they're harder to manage, and often have a harder time proving to the world that they're better than the pure hacker or the pure business guy. So find smaller, earlier-stage startups and you'll find people who are clamoring for what you offer.
trevelyan 18y ago
I checked it out and don't see how you are generating income with the project. Will probably submit a project though, all the Pagerank helps! :) It takes a smart person to look for a developer with vision, and a smarter one to keep them on-board. The tough thing is finding a business model that can be used to bootstrap profitably, but that will also scale.