This idea that only the tech matters and you can't pull weight without being on the tech side irks me to no end. Sales, marketing, product positioning, feedback gathering, and investor relations are all often more valuable than whatever the tech team is up to. That programmers so often shrug this off is simple arrogance.
Sales, marketing, product positioning, feedback gathering, and investor relations are all often more valuable
I think you're absolutely right. But so is the person you were replying to. Becuase you know what _isn't_ as valuable as any of those things? "Having a really good idea that I think could make a lot of money."
And that's what a lot of people think, I have a great idea, all I need is someone who knows how to program to implement it (shouldn't take very long), and we're gonna make lots of money!
(Actually, I'd challenge the 'product positioning' as a useful thing to bring, because it is too easily confused with "Having a great idea." But sales, marketting, investor relations, actual market research, actual evidence-based feedback gathering -- sure.)
I'm not saying that only the tech matters. I'm saying that in an early-stage startup, only the product and the money matter. The tech only matters to the extent that it enables building the product. Sales, marketing, product positioning, feedback gathering, and investor relations can all be separate jobs later, after you have enough money coming in to support that specialization. In an early stage startup, if you're not building the product, you need to be the money person, so you should be doing all of that, and you need connections to do it well.
If you're a non-technical co-founder, the primary value you bring to the business is the people you already know, who have money. It's not your ideas and it's also not your visual design taste.
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This idea that only the tech matters and you can't pull weight without being on the tech side irks me to no end. Sales, marketing, product positioning, feedback gathering, and investor relations are all often more valuable than whatever the tech team is up to. That programmers so often shrug this off is simple arrogance.
I think you're absolutely right. But so is the person you were replying to. Becuase you know what _isn't_ as valuable as any of those things? "Having a really good idea that I think could make a lot of money."
And that's what a lot of people think, I have a great idea, all I need is someone who knows how to program to implement it (shouldn't take very long), and we're gonna make lots of money!
(Actually, I'd challenge the 'product positioning' as a useful thing to bring, because it is too easily confused with "Having a great idea." But sales, marketting, investor relations, actual market research, actual evidence-based feedback gathering -- sure.)
I'm not saying that only the tech matters. I'm saying that in an early-stage startup, only the product and the money matter. The tech only matters to the extent that it enables building the product. Sales, marketing, product positioning, feedback gathering, and investor relations can all be separate jobs later, after you have enough money coming in to support that specialization. In an early stage startup, if you're not building the product, you need to be the money person, so you should be doing all of that, and you need connections to do it well.
If you're a non-technical co-founder, the primary value you bring to the business is the people you already know, who have money. It's not your ideas and it's also not your visual design taste.