Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

Willingness to learn and pick up skills. Not the technical ones - your co-founder has that in order. I'm talking about:

Sales

Marketing

Fundraising

How to talk to a lawyer

Figuring out what business licenses you need and how to maintain them

Accounting

Interpreting from Geek to English

Hiring to fill the gaps in your knowledge (and firing those who don't)

Contract negotiation

Identifying niches for business opportunities

Basically, anything involved in creating a business which doesn't involve technology; there's quite a few of these, and in many ways they are as or more important to the success of the business than technical knowledge. Even if you create the perfect product, you still need someone to market and sell it to the masses.



I would add a couple tech management skills like: 1. Understanding the 'soft' nature of software 2. Iterative development

And one non-tech: . Lean methodology

You got most else covered.




Consider applying for YC's Winter 2026 batch! Applications are open till Nov 10

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: