Good post, but I would change the title. It's not about technical co-founders being overrated. It's about how it's a good idea to make yourself technical enough if you are a business person who wants to start a company based on a web application.
Completely agree. My story is almost exactly the same. Learning enough to speak the language is hugely important and it's one of the reasons, I believe anyway, that my cofounder and I have such a great relationship. I'm mostly hustle--worrying about marketing and having the right relationships, but I can code a mockup in fairly short order when it's needed. I might consider re-naming it "if you're not a technical cofounder then learn to speak the language."
I agree. A technical co-founder with no business sense would likely be inclined to disagree with business decisions made by the CEO, thus causing friction internally and hindering productivity.
At the same time, a co-founder with a business sense and no sense will likely make bad business decisions that have technical impacts.
Do they understand the true cost of a highly available environment? Do they understand why feature development takes so long?
Even people with a limited technical background make those. In fact, they're probably worse, because they think they understand something but really don't.
Have two founders from different backgrounds, with a small understanding of the other is good. But the key is to understand their own knowledge boundaries and let the other take over where it matters. They need be able to play devils advocate to each other just enough to come up with the right solution.
I tend to think of "business sense" as basically being equivalent to "conventional wisdom," and then think of the long list of very successful businesses that have been started by people with no business sense. And the long list of "business" people who dismissed them.
I vote for "causing friction internally and hindering productivity."
In my own experience, if the trust is there that's exactly what happens. When there are disagreements, both parties can at least start with the assumption that the other person probably knows what they're talking about.
On an old project of mine, my friend said to me "I don't know why you think that'll work, and I don't agree at all... but somehow you seem to always be right about these things"
I guess it's pretty silly to start a big project with people you don't trust though.
Diego - I admit the title was a bit inflammatory. The theme, as you note, is that business people don't need a technical person to get proof of life. Also, don't treat technical people like shite.
-Will
Eh, more than a bit. The epithet you chose echo the exact words I hear from many white collar execs trying to turn "social networking for baby boomers" into some sort of cash cow, believing that licensing a 200k per year social networking software and getting millions in capital is The Right Way.
I understand your article wasn't actually about that and it was more about the self-empowerment you found through doing it yourself. I'm in full support of self-empowerment - but I will say this: technical cofounders are strictly not overrated. As has been suggested many times in this comment thread, a balance between a good business cofounder and a good technical cofounder is a great way to do it.
A one-man technical founder can get along without a business person or even outsourcing to a business consultant; a one-man business founder cannot get along without a technical person or without outsourcing to a technical contractor/consultant. Additionally, I applaud your self-driven effort, but it is a common mistake to think you can take over the world after 6 months to even 4 years of self-taught programming experience.
As a business person, you did well by learning just enough to build a prototype, from there, you should be able to attract a technical cofounder that has the skill and talent you are ultimately going to need in the long run and probably don't have the time or desire to pick up on your own.
I have no illusions of being able to be the technical side of this business. I was just trying to move things along, learn something (which was fun), and find a partner. A great technical partner and good compatibility interpersonally is key to the opportunity to having success. I (now we) haven't done shite yet, but at least now have the beginnings of a team. -Will
Eh, I'm technical and didn't need a business cofounder, I learnt to run the business myself and do all the things a business person would do. That doesn't mean I wouldn't like to have a very good business cofounder. They'd be better at it than I am and they'd make me happier because I wouldn't have to do the things I don't like as much.
