“Quick question, though: did you or Bill have any programming or web development experience before founding Wepay? A buddy of mine (an investment banker) and I (ex-Army officer, MBA) throw around business ideas all the time while drinking at the pub, but we always are forced to bring ourselves back to earth when we realize we both have no programming experience whatsoever. Is it even worth it to start something tech-related when both founders aren't your typical tech guys? How did you do it?
> I love this question. Bill had a CS degree from BC, but he wasn't a talented web developer or anything like that. His background was helpful, though, since it was good to have least some technical knowledge before starting the company; we weren't operating completely in the dark. I had zero technical background. You could probably get to Bill's pre-WePay level with a bunch of books, long conversations with your programmer friends (you can make some of these friends online - try hacker news), and persistence.
>
> If you are "relentlessly resourceful" you can find a way to build what you need to build (usually by finding the right person and convincing them that you and your idea are worth their time). It's definitely harder to start a tech/internet company without being technical, but it's not impossible. You just need to be a lot scrappier in the beginning. I have a ton of non-technical friends starting technical companies. Some of them will succeed and some will fail. The smarter, more resourceful, harder working ones will have the best chance of succeeding.”
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My favourite part:
“Quick question, though: did you or Bill have any programming or web development experience before founding Wepay? A buddy of mine (an investment banker) and I (ex-Army officer, MBA) throw around business ideas all the time while drinking at the pub, but we always are forced to bring ourselves back to earth when we realize we both have no programming experience whatsoever. Is it even worth it to start something tech-related when both founders aren't your typical tech guys? How did you do it?
> I love this question. Bill had a CS degree from BC, but he wasn't a talented web developer or anything like that. His background was helpful, though, since it was good to have least some technical knowledge before starting the company; we weren't operating completely in the dark. I had zero technical background. You could probably get to Bill's pre-WePay level with a bunch of books, long conversations with your programmer friends (you can make some of these friends online - try hacker news), and persistence.
>
> If you are "relentlessly resourceful" you can find a way to build what you need to build (usually by finding the right person and convincing them that you and your idea are worth their time). It's definitely harder to start a tech/internet company without being technical, but it's not impossible. You just need to be a lot scrappier in the beginning. I have a ton of non-technical friends starting technical companies. Some of them will succeed and some will fail. The smarter, more resourceful, harder working ones will have the best chance of succeeding.”
http://www.reddit.com/r/self/comments/f5vh1/i_founded_the_an...