

I have money and time, how do I make the jump to tech? - probolsky

From the time I wake up in the morning until night, I check Hacker News, Techcruch and Engadget about 10 times.  I have about 25 ideas for apps and start-ups and I have the resources to fund ventures (low six figures) and dedicate time to feeding them.  But I don't know where to start.  And I have no tech or programming background beyond end-user enthusiasm and early adopter status.<p>I live in Irvine, CA.<p>Guidance?
======
bking
Take your ideas and try to find something similar that is already out there.
Do your research on that particular company or product to see what programs
they use and how they work. Analyze their past performance and what changes
they have made. Reach out to them to ask how they did it.

Once you have enough information on the toosl they use, go reasearch those
tools and methodologies. Find the user groups and forums. Look at how to
download and install their tools and runn through youtube and google to find
tutorials. Buy some books for the major coding platforms you are interested in
(iPhone sdk, Android, etc.) start going through the tutorial books.

You check tech sites way too much, so you might want to set a hard time limit
on how much time a day you spend browsing.

Make sure you "produce" something every day. Whether it is a simple table view
app or a sprite animation, have something that you can look back on at the end
of the day that works. This helps keep you moving forward, and gives you the
fulfillment of building something. You might not always build something
relevant, but it is important to do it.

That's all I have right now. Good luck!

------
basicallydan
Question: Do you have any technical friends? If so, take them out for a beer
and see what they think.

Either way, it might help to get a bit of technical experience. If you want to
start making these apps yourself, and I think that might be a good idea, think
of the simplest possible one and try making it.

This is a good article I read earlier:
[http://www.jakelevine.me/blog/2013/03/dont-learn-how-to-
code...](http://www.jakelevine.me/blog/2013/03/dont-learn-how-to-code-learn-
how-to-make-things/)

Many people have done this before you - gone from zero to coder - especially
if you have the time and motivation.

But I can tell you that this sort of thing is a lot easier if you have someone
to help you out with it or at least provide you with support and motivation.

Alternatively, if you have loads of money, you might want to hire a
professional to make you a prototype. Then, when that's done, try selling it.
When that's done, hire full-time staff to keep driving the product forward and
selling it.

But if you're looking to get involved yourself (it can be pretty fun!) in the
dev - give it a go ;)

Good luck :)

------
BryanBeshore
Hack your way in to working for a startup. Hopefully that way you will learn
what 'not to do' if you were to start a company on your own. I see this
helping in a few ways:

1) You wont blow through your (low six figures), and produce little to show.

2) Allow you to focus your 25 ideas into the 1 thing that you REALLY want to
work on.

3) Gain expertise in being a generalists/I will do anything for this to
succeed.

4) You wont feel the exact ups-and-downs of a startup founder, but you will
get a good view as to what it is like.

Besides that, when you are not getting [insert anything company founders
need], I would learn how to code in the evenings, and possibly build a simple
app or two on your own. Even if you are not going to be technical in your
startup an Engineer/Co-Founder/Investor/[Insert Name Here] will view you as
more credible and serious, not just a guy with 25 ideas.

Hope this helps.

------
kls
IF you would like, you can ping me via Skype (in my profile) and I can give
you a few pointers on where and how to get started. I enjoy talking to people
and networking with people in your position as I have found that it usually
comes back full circle in life. But it's really is going to take 30 minutes to
an hour of talking with someone who has been in the industry to really feel
out what your desires are and to set you on the right path. If your interested
in networking, I would be more than happy to give you an hour of my time to
try to help you figure out which way to go.

------
dman
Try to meet someone who complements you in terms of technical skills and is
interested and passionate about the same problems that drive you.

