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Who are you? Around here, ideas aren't very important. Everybody has ideas. They're easy to come by, and they're usually not as huge as you might assume. The mo

by t0 13y ago

Who are you? Around here, ideas aren't very important. Everybody has ideas. They're easy to come by, and they're usually not as huge as you might assume. The most important aspect of a startup is a founder that can get things done. Do you know how to build it? Then build it. Else, find a cofounder that knows how.

jdrobins2000 13y ago
Fair question. I had 2000 characters, so I had to cut some stuff out. I will answer each question separately, so we can keep some order.
jdrobins2000 13y ago
Who am I? - Software developer with systems and automated test experience as well - 12 years experience in C++, Java, Perl, and Web. Been using Groovy/Grails/JQuery, open to Angular and/or whatever languages and technologies perform and scale best while providing an intuitive development experience. - Very intelligent and competent, always a top performer (graduated salutatorian at 16, 780 Math SAT I think, Genius IQ - not trying or expecting to impress, just trying to say I'm not dumb) - Unfortunately I worked in defense industry, and had much of my time wasted with BS and having to reverse engineer and then re-engineer broken systems. So while I consider myself capable, I'm likely not at the level I would have been had I gone straight to SV. I assume there is a stigma attached to working in defense, if so please feel free to share. - No great contacts in SV, so starting from scratch to build a reputation, a network of capable and trustworthy associates, and a knowledge of how things work. I do not underestimate the challenges this presents. But perhaps I may be overestimating them?
jdrobins2000 13y ago
RE: ideas aren't very important I wholeheartedly agree, to the extent the idea is vague and general. To the extent the idea becomes more detailed, I think the importance grows. A software program is nothing more than a bunch of ideas written down to the degree that a computer can understand the meaning. So, the importance of the idea can range from "nothing" to "everything". I know a lot of people seem to subscribe to the ideas are nothing mantra, so I'm wondering if it is shorthand for "vague ideas are worth nothing", or applies to the entire spectrum? How detailed is my idea? Enough that I think it is significant. Enough that I think it creates substantial advantages over current alternatives, and even up-and-coming OSS which has similar aims. Could I be wrong? Of course, but in the past I have had very accurate gauge on this. The core idea I am very confident in, as long as I can present the user a very clean and easy interface. The major risk I have identified is that I could be underestimating the difficulty of implementing the software which performs some key tasks which are required to support that goal maximally. I have some ideas of how I will do this, more than vague but less than pseudo code. I will no doubt encounter challenges, but my feeling is that I could probably at least minimally satisfy my goal initially, and move towards a perfect solution later.

by t0 13y ago

jdrobins2000 13y ago

Fair question. I had 2000 characters, so I had to cut some stuff out. I will answer each question separately, so we can keep some order.

jdrobins2000 13y ago

Who am I? - Software developer with systems and automated test experience as well - 12 years experience in C++, Java, Perl, and Web. Been using Groovy/Grails/JQuery, open to Angular and/or whatever languages and technologies perform and scale best while providing an intuitive development experience. - Very intelligent and competent, always a top performer (graduated salutatorian at 16, 780 Math SAT I think, Genius IQ - not trying or expecting to impress, just trying to say I'm not dumb) - Unfortunately I worked in defense industry, and had much of my time wasted with BS and having to reverse engineer and then re-engineer broken systems. So while I consider myself capable, I'm likely not at the level I would have been had I gone straight to SV. I assume there is a stigma attached to working in defense, if so please feel free to share. - No great contacts in SV, so starting from scratch to build a reputation, a network of capable and trustworthy associates, and a knowledge of how things work. I do not underestimate the challenges this presents. But perhaps I may be overestimating them?

jdrobins2000 13y ago

RE: ideas aren't very important I wholeheartedly agree, to the extent the idea is vague and general. To the extent the idea becomes more detailed, I think the importance grows. A software program is nothing more than a bunch of ideas written down to the degree that a computer can understand the meaning. So, the importance of the idea can range from "nothing" to "everything". I know a lot of people seem to subscribe to the ideas are nothing mantra, so I'm wondering if it is shorthand for "vague ideas are worth nothing", or applies to the entire spectrum? How detailed is my idea? Enough that I think it is significant. Enough that I think it creates substantial advantages over current alternatives, and even up-and-coming OSS which has similar aims. Could I be wrong? Of course, but in the past I have had very accurate gauge on this. The core idea I am very confident in, as long as I can present the user a very clean and easy interface. The major risk I have identified is that I could be underestimating the difficulty of implementing the software which performs some key tasks which are required to support that goal maximally. I have some ideas of how I will do this, more than vague but less than pseudo code. I will no doubt encounter challenges, but my feeling is that I could probably at least minimally satisfy my goal initially, and move towards a perfect solution later.