

Ask HN: Are we at a disadvantage? - lewisgodowski

I'm a co-founder of a startup looking to apply to YC.<p>I'm mainly an artist (musician, producer, sound engineer), but I've always had a strong passion for technology. In the past, I went to school for aerospace engineering before realizing music was my true passion and transferring to a different school.<p>Our other co-founder is also a musician, but he's much more into the whole programmer/hacker stuff.<p>Would we be at a disadvantage seeing as I'm not the "ideal" candidate?
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DarkShikari
If anything, I'd imagine you'd have an advantage. Silicon Valley is filled
with programmers/hackers, but the really interesting people are those that
come from other backgrounds with different experiences.

In most cases, making a successful startup is primarily a business problem,
not a technical one. Seeing customers' perspectives, knowing the business
you're entering, understanding the problem you're trying to solve -- these are
all more important than being able to write Ruby quickly.

If your experience outside programming helps you contribute to solving hard
problems like these, you're infinitely more valuable than someone who knows
only code.

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lewisgodowski
Thanks. We truly believe our startup would be successful, because we're right
there dealing with the problems and lacking areas within the industry every
day.

I guess, we're most worried with accurately and simply conveying how our
startup would solve these problems to non-industry personnel.

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glimcat
Think about what's needed to bring your product to market. Does your team
adequately cover the bases? If you have to hire to fill the gaps, can you find
and manage competent people without excessive hand-holding?

Teams come in all shapes and sizes, what's important is that they have a
reasonably viable shot of doing what they propose to do.

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answerly
What do you mean by "not the 'ideal' candidate"? Is your concern that you
aren't a hacker? There are plenty non-technical YC founders (I'm one).

Assuming you are building a startup in the music space, it would seem your
experience/skills could be an asset.

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lewisgodowski
That's more or less what I meant. I'm just slightly overwhelmed seeing so many
technology oriented news stories and startups on here.

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jaylin
Advantage indeed. I am a hacker and also applying to YC. I am actually looking
for musician co-founders or partners. Tell us more about what you do.

~~~
lewisgodowski
Shoot me an email and we'll talk: lewisgodowski [at] gmail [dot] com

