
Stop Writing Code Everyday - nns1212
http://www.theniravshah.com/2014/04/dear-tech-founders-stop-writing-code.html
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bowlofpetunias
More often than not I've seen founders completely neglect the mundane business
of the day to day running of the company. Usually at the expense of their most
loyal early employees, if not at the expense of the entire business itself.

It has come to a point where I've pretty much had it with those serial-
entrepreneur types who pride themselves on having started an x-number of
start-ups.

If you're incapable of, or simply completely uninterested in, running a
business, don't start one. It doesn't make you a courageous entrepreneur, it
makes you and adrenaline junkie who gets their kicks at the expense of others.

None of this is limited to code or tech in general. I've seen it in all kinds
of areas. You may love doing X, but once you start a company doing X, running
that company becomes is your job, not doing X.

If you're a founder/CEO and you've hired others to code, for you coding is a
now hobby you can pick up in whatever spare time you have (probably none). To
do it inside your own company when you should be taking care of your company
and the people in it is selfish and self-indulgent.

~~~
satishperala
I agree!

One common problem I see with tech founders/CEOs is they tend to get into
their comfort zone i.e. coding, every time they face a business challenge.

This is especially true for first time entrepreneurs, for whom running a
business is a new thing.

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zupatol
And I thought he would recommend spending times with family and friends,
reading books and taking walks.

~~~
nns1212
:) That's important too!

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Kiro
I was expecting much more from that headline. The point is that you shouldn't
do Don't Break The Chain because you might have other responsibilities? I
don't see how it contradicts the original article's advice and I also don't
think it was aimed toward CEOs.

~~~
nns1212
I am not against Don't break the chain philosophy for people who want to be
top notch developers.

This was just an attempt to give a different point of view for technologists
who are interested in building a business.

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kayoone
While i don't agree with this completely there is some truth to it. I ran an
accelerator funded gaming startup for 2 years and was obsessed with
development and coding. Most of the real CEO work was done on the side without
much focus. In the end i think that played a big part in failing, because
ultimately we ran out of money before profits were healthy. This could have
been prevented if i had talked to investors earlier and more, focusing on the
vision and shorter term goals to keep liquidity in check.

It's not that i didn't see it coming miles away, but it was still too late.

~~~
nns1212
@kayoone - I also used to code everyday - it was definitely a good practice.

However, I realized, that I am not able to focus on management - which is also
important.

I still code at least 4 days a week (including weekends).

However, doing it every day, I don't think it is mandatory.

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robotys
And i thought the article will somehow tell us that jeresig argument to code
everyday was wrong.

i genuinely thought that the article should do justice by putting the same
effort as jeresig post. Yeah OP argument that "CEO job is not only coding" is
not wrong but i expect OP will argue that "code is not the onpy thing
developer like jeresig do" based on the headline.

~~~
nns1212
Agreed. My post is targeted more towards technologists who are interested in
building a business. For those who want to be top developers, I recommend to
write code on a regular basis.

Thanks for your input, I have updated the post to state the same.

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nbody
It's so classic that a popular post pops up and the next day we have its
inverted version.

~~~
zzxcsolver
I thought this before reading the article. The context 'as CEO' takes the
article in a different direction than just the expected don't code everyday
mantra.

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diminish
The web site has severe UX problems.. It is first loading, then loading and
again loading... Go back does not work neither.

~~~
nns1212
Sorry about that. Is it accessible now?

I am using blogger. Should switch soon. Here is the same post on Medium:
[https://medium.com/p/362c7c6176b8](https://medium.com/p/362c7c6176b8)

~~~
diminish
Now fine..

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zura
"I rarely write code, but when I do..."

Can anybody come up with a good ending? :)

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atmosx
I write tests??

~~~
zura
This is a good one for testing:

[http://www.troll.me/2011/08/31/the-most-interesting-man-
in-t...](http://www.troll.me/2011/08/31/the-most-interesting-man-in-the-
world/i-rarely-test-my-code-but-when-i-do-i-do-it-in-production/)

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smallfluffycat
For those who build stuff and hire vendors.. Is it better to hire vendors that
know technical stuff or any vendor will do the same job more or less if they
are correctly briefed about the product?

~~~
nns1212
@smallfluffycat - Hiring external vendors can work very well at times. It is a
part of recruitment. I try to get the best person for that role for what I can
afford. Full time in house or an external vendor - doesn't matter.

