They're like unicorns, and the only way you usually end up with these folks is by having them start in tech, and then end up doing business.
I'm a technologist (developer), but over the years have morphed into doing sales and strategic direction for our platform. Sales and technology are a seriously winning combination that most folks seem to shun - but if you look at successful startups, again and again, you'll see that the "technical co-founder" does as much sales and speaky-speak as his non-technical counterparts.
Having someone that actually knows what they're talking about sell a product can be a boon.
It can also be a boondoggle, as unfortunately the words "yes, that is in theory possible", which you will hear from technologists frequently, are taken by pure business folks as "yes, this is possible and can be done yesterday, at no cost". Bitten me in the ass more times than I care to admit, and I'm now very careful with how I state things, but it's still a winning combo.
100% agree. So many of the great tech success stories have started with someone deeply technical who knows how to sell. And not just to customers -- also to talent. Ventures with that kind of person at the helm are the ones worth joining.
Networking is important. IMO it's very hard to identify those people without a sufficiently large sample size.
Comments
They're like unicorns, and the only way you usually end up with these folks is by having them start in tech, and then end up doing business.
I'm a technologist (developer), but over the years have morphed into doing sales and strategic direction for our platform. Sales and technology are a seriously winning combination that most folks seem to shun - but if you look at successful startups, again and again, you'll see that the "technical co-founder" does as much sales and speaky-speak as his non-technical counterparts.
Having someone that actually knows what they're talking about sell a product can be a boon.
It can also be a boondoggle, as unfortunately the words "yes, that is in theory possible", which you will hear from technologists frequently, are taken by pure business folks as "yes, this is possible and can be done yesterday, at no cost". Bitten me in the ass more times than I care to admit, and I'm now very careful with how I state things, but it's still a winning combo.
100% agree. So many of the great tech success stories have started with someone deeply technical who knows how to sell. And not just to customers -- also to talent. Ventures with that kind of person at the helm are the ones worth joining.
Networking is important. IMO it's very hard to identify those people without a sufficiently large sample size.