

How many people on here are non-tech founders? - cme

I'm a non technical founder, started my own company (Around a web based app) a couple of months ago. I am just wondering if there were any other non technical founders on here..and if so what kind of challenges you are facing?
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coryl
I'm semi-technical, in that I can't code anything functional from scratch, but
I can do a bunch of development related tasks, including write CSS, manage the
server (SSH, virtualmin, whatever), poke around the SQL database to add/edit
fields and rows, create graphics/icons/logos, etc.

I also take care of most of the business, promotional, "everything else"
issues. I would say part of my job is being the coder's lackey, if my partner
needs php libraries installed, I'll ticket our server admin. If he needs a
feature tested and broken in 5 browsers, that'll be me. I suppose my job is to
help make it easier for him to put out code at a higher productivity rate.

A challenge I would say is not having anything to do while he hacks away,
which is a lot of the time for early startups. Can't really start promoting or
start new initiatives, but theres always something to do, its just a matter of
figuring out what.

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randfish
I'm largely non-technical. Written maybe a total of 50 lines of PHP and
consider myself knowledgeable about but unable to personally execute 90%+ of
engineering/development work.

The challenge was primarily that I had an underperforming
technical/engineering team until we hired a professional, experienced VP of
Engineering last year (which has made a huge difference).

My advice - get a technical co-founder or early CTO/VP Eng that is immensely
technical and totally dedicated. Many on here have described the weakness of
having great code and great software with no marketing channel - the other
side is just as painful.

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holaamigos
I was a management accountant prior to starting my company - as non-tech as
you could get.

I co-founded with an engineer, so it was always a clear cut - I did sales,
marketing, finance, he did engineering, we both did product.

No huge issues, I rely on engineering, but I now rely on sales and marketing,
and all the other functions.

I considered learning to code at the start, but really you need divide the
tasks and stick with what you are good at.

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rue
Thought you meant founders with a non-tech product/service/field, which might
also be an interesting survey.

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SaasDeveloper
There are plenty of successful non-technical founders but almost all of them
have a technical co-founder or partner. If you don't have one today, the
sooner you can find a good technical partner with a vested interest in your
company the better off you will be.

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jeffepp
I'm a non technical founder and its a huge challenge. I think the biggest
issue was finding a programmer as dedicated as I was. The internet doesn't
close on weekends, if issues come up, we need to respond asap!

For my latest startup, I teamed up with a programmer. It is super-tough to
have a software app without a technical co-founder.

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lean_startup
I was computer science major in college, but now I can hack but not code. My
main role is product development, so a coding background is helpful. I know
enough to attract good tech talent -- which is critical. Good luck!

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shawnhickman
I'm non technical, but I am a designer, so I can definitely hold my own. I am
finding it pretty difficult to find a technical cofounder.

