You don't really need to solve the hard technical problems until you've raised money or have revenue, either. That's why programmers are second-class citizens

You don't really need to solve the hard technical problems until you've raised money or have revenue, either. That's why programmers are second-class citizens in the VC-funded startup world. Business guys want you to think that technical talent is important (at least, until you ask for money or equity) but they get away with treating it as a commodity because they can always back-fill (or, at least, think they can) with more expensive and skilled people later on. The bottleneck is the connections to raise money. Connections don't guarantee funding (far from it) but ensure that, if you're rejected, the investors will (a) mentor you until you have something they will fund, and (b) use their network to find other opportunities for you, should the startup not work out. That makes the founders free of the personal financial panic under which it's actually extraordinarily difficult (if not impossible) to be technically creative.