3 ms·

Hence, > 2. It takes more than code to make a business. Like culture, marketing, market validation, generating press buzz, interviews, recruiting, and so fort

Hence, > 2. It takes more than code to make a business. Like culture, marketing, market validation, generating press buzz, interviews, recruiting, and so forth. If the idea guy can't do a lot of those business-y things, you don't have a business so the 6-month question is premature.

TomGullen 14y ago
I don't think it's premature, a lot of people will want a product (MVP) before they go ahead and formalise the entire thing. You're going to be the guy doing all the work in that department. Up until the MVP is developed there's really not much else to do. Pretty much everything you listed is most effectively after you actually have a product.
- Domenic_S 14y ago
  Wouldn't you want to see that the idea guy had done his legwork before even thinking about MVP? I sure would. The lines-of-code to hours-talking-to-people ratio in the early weeks would be something crazy like 1:400.
- SoftwareMaven 14y ago
  Up until the MVP is developed there's really not much else to do. As a guy that straddles the line between "tech guy" and "business guy" (I've done both of them), my opinion is that there is a lot that can be done before the MVP is developed. In fact, if the business guy isn't out validating what the tech guy is building from day one, it is almost guaranteed the MVP is going to be wrong and/or it is going to land with a resounding splat. As the business guy, my job was getting out, meeting with potential customers, understanding what they would buy, what they wouldn't buy, and why. My job was getting early interest in our idea that could translate into (eventual) early use of the product. My job was making sure we understood who else was in the space and how we were going to differentiate our product. In short, if you practice "throw some code out and start selling", you are going to have a really hard time getting traction.

TomGullen 14y ago

I don't think it's premature, a lot of people will want a product (MVP) before they go ahead and formalise the entire thing. You're going to be the guy doing all the work in that department. Up until the MVP is developed there's really not much else to do. Pretty much everything you listed is most effectively after you actually have a product.

Domenic_S 14y ago
Wouldn't you want to see that the idea guy had done his legwork before even thinking about MVP? I sure would. The lines-of-code to hours-talking-to-people ratio in the early weeks would be something crazy like 1:400.
SoftwareMaven 14y ago
Up until the MVP is developed there's really not much else to do. As a guy that straddles the line between "tech guy" and "business guy" (I've done both of them), my opinion is that there is a lot that can be done before the MVP is developed. In fact, if the business guy isn't out validating what the tech guy is building from day one, it is almost guaranteed the MVP is going to be wrong and/or it is going to land with a resounding splat. As the business guy, my job was getting out, meeting with potential customers, understanding what they would buy, what they wouldn't buy, and why. My job was getting early interest in our idea that could translate into (eventual) early use of the product. My job was making sure we understood who else was in the space and how we were going to differentiate our product. In short, if you practice "throw some code out and start selling", you are going to have a really hard time getting traction.