
Starting your first company - Concours
http://cdixon.posterous.com/starting-your-first-company
======
MJR
_if you don't code, don't try to teach yourself and code for your startup.
partner with someone who is great at it. programming is an art & science and
takes years to get good at._

Completely agree. I dislike reading articles that insist if you have an idea
you can just pick up programming, design or development and build it yourself.
That may be true in the strict sense of having something simple to explain
your idea, but it pales in comparison to the work that can be created by
someone who has talent and years of experience. Also, its going to be throw
away work. If your idea has is worthwhile and gains traction then you're going
to need to have someone rebuild everything you've done anyway. Why waste that
time? Partner with someone who can execute the product from day one.

~~~
europa
I think it is worth coding the working mvp , even though you know that it is
going to be re-done if you take off. This will help one to demonstrate his
seriousness and something visual to show when he/she pitches to developer/co-
founder instead of pitching a random idea.

~~~
candre717
Exactly.

Developers have their pick of non-technical co-founders. It's a lot harder to
approach someone with just "an idea." What are you offering in return? How do
you contribute to a startup in those initial months? Sure, I've read plenty of
posts on what non-technical co-founders can do in a startup - lots! But, it
pales in comparison to the bread and butter of a startup: building a product.

If you're looking to build the next Google or Wolfram Mathematica, find an
expert or 2.

The guys at SeatGeek built their initial product - a crude prototype but
decent enough to promote at TechCrunch. Now, they're funded and growing. They
were not programmers, but they needed something and they didn't have the
resources to find someone to build it. Coding is a bottleneck for a lot of
non-technical folks. Do what you got to do to get through it, scotch tape and
all.

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travisp
_hire a good startup law firm (i like gunderson) and get standardized
incorporation, vesting etc docs. it's worth it. (but try to only pay $5K or so
with promise to pay more later when you get funding etc)._

Should this really cost $5K+ or more to get _standardized_ docs? It should be
possible to get high quality legal documentation necessary for starting your
company for a fair amount less, but maybe I'm wrong. Do others here have
experience on this?

~~~
johnrob
Great question. That 5K will seem cheap when the lawyer you work with starts
introducing you to angel investors. The valley is ALL about connections.
Everybody here is a full time network-er. The job title, such as 'Lawyer', is
just something that goes on a business card ;)

~~~
aristus
That is a very, very sad thing to say. I live in the valley as well, and I am
not a full-time schmoozer. I suppose that makes me a chump in your book. Once
a person's (or systems's) focus shifts to schmoozing instead of the original
reason you became a lawyer, programmer, etc, it's probably too late to stop
the decline.

Some things can only be done with many people. Connections help. But that's
quite a different thing from "I am ALL about connections". Wouldn't it be
better to be ALL about your customers, or your real passion?

~~~
johnrob
Actually, it's a great thing! Since you hate schmoozing (I do too), this is
good news - there are other people out there that will do some of it for you
(or, more accurately, give you access to the fruits of years of schmoozing).
Every investor/mentor/lawyer you add to your team means more network that you
didn't have to schmooze to earn.

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gordonc
When did "startup" become synonymous with social internet site that will take
years to make any money? I know I'm on HN; my point is that there are startups
in all kinds of fucking fields for which this advice is absolutely useless.

That said, not enough CEOs/product people have an understanding of programming
and what it means for business.

~~~
Chew412
I totally agree. These suggestions seemed to work for this guy in his
scenario. This maybe will apply to someone else, but these shouldn't be steps
for you to start your own business. I'm part owner of a landscaping company
and hardly any of these apply.

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edw519
These are all good suggestions, but they are all _in addition to_ , not _at
the expense of_ building a great product, which is a necessary, but not
sufficient condition.

For example, last night I had a choice between a networking event and some
critical work on my software. The work won, as it should.

I look forward to the time when I won't have to make so many tough decisions
about how to spend my time. Until that time comes, work on the product comes
first.

~~~
alain94040
You had a choice and you picked coding rather than go out. Once, it's fine.
The problem, with the many developer friends I have, is that very quickly they
settle in a routine of _never_ going to events, because there is always one
more line of code to write.

That's where you need discipline. As I wrote a year ago, if you never go to
events, set your goal to two events a month. If you go to two per month, set
your goal to once a week. That should be enough. You can read the long version
at [http://blog.fairsoftware.net/2009/07/09/good-programmers-
don...](http://blog.fairsoftware.net/2009/07/09/good-programmers-dont-need-no-
marketing/), in the "Four Step Recovery Program" section.

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csomar
He stress on Networking. I know networking is useful, but most of the time I
find it a waste of time. You can simply find a problem, figure out a solution
and build it with a partner. Then charge for it, either online (SaaS) or
offline (uISV). Use Google Adwords to target your audience and keep at it if
you are profitable.

No Blogging, Twittering, reading Tech Blogs or all that crap. Just focus on
your product and give value to your customers.

~~~
astrofinch
There's some selection bias here: we're reading this guy's blog not because
he's successful with startups, but because he's successful with startups _and_
concentrates on maintaining an online presence, networking, etc.

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whatrocks
Any advice on health insurance / benefits when bootstrapping?

At what point should you start thinking about benefits plan for your team?

~~~
sewerhorse
When you can afford it, or when you're having a hard time to hire people
without it.

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modality
Whatever happened to offering a good or service that people are willing to pay
for? Is this really what makes a good business? Absorbing information from
"all tech blogs everyday" so that you can regurgitate it on your blog, on your
twitter, and at networking meetings?

This blog post reads more like a list of instructions on how to be the
prettiest girl at the startup scene dance. These ideas are fine if the people
writing the blogs and mingling at networking meetings are your potential
customers, but I think most of us would be better served by getting away from
all of that to talk to the people outside of the echo chamber. You know, the
ones with wallets that MBAs like this guy only come in contact with when
they're poring over a spreadsheet.

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paul9290
I agree that i takes awhile to become a good developer, but you need teach
yourself front end stuff at least. That's unless you already have a bunch of
developer friends willing/wanting to be apart & turn your idea in a reality.

There are so many posts here and experiences (my own) where someone is looking
to create an idea but they do not have the friends or the ooomph to convince
others to join him/her to build their idea or start-up. If you fall into such
category go out and learn html, css & photoshop and hire a developer. It will
take you longer but you'll gain a skill, have better control of your vision
and most important your idea will become a reality.

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dinkumthinkum
I question the the steady diet of TechCrunch, mashable, etc. Too some extent
that is just startup masturbation. I wonder if better advice is to just not
read those things for awhile and focus on your product and your potential
customers.

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sz
This might be a naive question, but is there any empirical evidence showing
that blogging/tweeting actually helps your startup? Is this supposed to be for
self-motivation or getting attention?

~~~
Dylanlacey
All my subscribers say that it 100% does, and also First, and Boobies.

