Startups tips for non-technical founders looking for technical founder/side. |
- tips for non-technical founders looking for technical founder/side.
- tips for the technical founder looking for the non-technical founder/side.
- Ad networks for monetizing a web app?
- Should startups incorporate before looking for investment from US angels?
- I pivoted because of a $350k price tag. What about you?
- Question I hate asking but want to know if someone’s been in the same situation as me or if anyone has advice?
- My Startup Hell (Help)
- Thinking of releasing my failed startup as open source
- Replacing Hustle with Hassle
| tips for non-technical founders looking for technical founder/side. Posted: 26 Jan 2018 09:37 AM PST Hi everyone, I have been browsing this sub for awhile now and I have noticed the amount of non-technical founders who struggle with finding the technical side. I have had a few ideas pitched to me as I do programming ranging from web-mobile-desktop applications so I thought I would share my advice. Where do I find a programmer? colleges, tech meet-ups, Craigslist(be wary of this one), programming boards, etc.. can be a good place to look as well. I have seen a few people mention hiring overseas people and that can be viable but you get what you pay for. There are enough stories you can find where a company hired an overseas team for X dollars an hour which might be 1/5th+ of my hourly pay. Then the company gets a half working non-understandable mess and I get to charge 5x my salary hourly rate to fix it(which can mean just rebuilding from the ground 0). I am not saying overseas isn't viable but if you think your getting the top talent and paying almost nothing, you are sadly mistaken. Top talent commands top price and no top talent works in a cheap hour dev shop when companies will gladly pay US salaries for them. I cant afford a programmer Some will gladly accept equity, for instance I am not against pure equity but the idea has to be there and so does the research. I find and see tons of placing that's like "the next Facebook, no pay, you get 1% but please build out my entire platform while I somehow act like your boss when I know nothing" If you have no understanding of the technical side then you have no choice but to trust the programmer. I am not saying give free reign but there are so many people who think well its easy to say so it must be easy to do. Great example https://xkcd.com/1425/ What should you bring to the table at the initial meeting Definitely don't just bring an NDA and your idea. If you cant afford someones service with cash than you should have some of the following ready. You have to pitch your worth it to an investor what makes it any less true when I am building your product for low/no money. 1: business plan : this is a must, I view it as the bare minimum that you are serious. 2: market research : greatly appreciated. 3: product research : so-so but I will need to have faith if you are unsure. 4: product viability : can it scale? mass-producible? unique? etc.. 5: beta group : depends on your product but having a user base early can be good. 6: mock-ups : depends on product but if you have no idea than I don't think you are ready. Now I don't believe you need everything listed in the initial meeting but mentioning you have done some of these doesn't hurt. personal turn-offs *Don't say X will change the world be the next Uber/Facebook/Whatever. Uber did not have competition when it was started, no one liked Taxis but no one did anything about it. Facebook got lucky because MySpace was turning into a shit show and the company didn't expand. Facebook buys companies left and right. *Don't act like you are the most important aspect to the business. This one can vary but nothing is more annoying than founders who act like the tech side is the lowest thing on the totem pole. sure, if you don't rely on a website or any type of application to actually function but that's rare nowadays. This is a huge turn off and the worst case scenario for you is an x-employee is now competing with you. *Accept criticism my work gets reviewed constantly, torn apart, bashed, praised, etc.. constantly its part of life and if you refuse to accept criticism your idea is probably garbage. P.S While I did use a lot of I's I am not currently looking to join any start up as I have my own idea's I am working on but I wanted to give my personal thought on this matter to help others. [link] [comments]  |
| tips for the technical founder looking for the non-technical founder/side. Posted: 26 Jan 2018 11:53 AM PST HI again everyone, u/bukake_attack asked for the flip side of my last post so I thought I would do that now before I forget. Where do I find my non-technical founder/side Startup boards like this, networking events for tech/start ups, incubators could be good depending on quality and what they offer. some cities have ones where people can go learn new skills such as marketing, sales, design etc. An example while technical a sales engineer is what explains the technical side to the user. I am a terrible at explaining the tech side to non-technical people so sometimes I will look for someone with this background who is good at sales but can understand me when I mention the web API needs rebuilt or the db needs a full redesign before we move forward etc.. I actually value a slick talker, I want someone who can help me push someone to invest or try the product once all else seems to not be working. Just because the product could be viable has been researched doesn't mean people have to jump in, sometimes they just need a good high stress sales pitch. I cant afford anyone People are willing to accept % but much like my last post you need to dish out the right amount. I don't suggest a 50/50 unless they are worth it and trust able but don't offer someone 5% to basically get you where you cant go. If you cant get that user base or you cant get in front of those investors but your partner is able to, he deserves the same as if he couldn't make the app without you and he was giving you a %. When I go out and look for someone to help with the business side, I normally have a prototype of my application that may be missing important core functions however I tend to be able to show start point A to M. My current project currently has login/register; modify/add data; delete accounts; a simple web api to my AWS DB. I cant afford to prototype Yes you can. You need a DB? AWS offers a free DB tier for a certain amount of gets/pushes of data a month. you need a website? Azure offers 10 free hosting of websites, sure no custom domain but you dont need that at this stage. My very first prototype was a tasking application that connected to a azure website that was like azure.myapplicationx1v2.com. This allowed me to show potential partners where I am currently at in this phase and allows me to explain the end goal and where it will need to go before its ready for users. What should I bring to the table Not just an NDA and the prototype either. 1) prototype: this means you are serious. 2) business goal: I am not a business person but that doesn't mean I don't do research and look into it. 3) product research : is my product unique enough to face off against X,Y, Z? 4) time schedule : When could we launch and what is needed before? This is not the end all be all list but this is what I try to bring. So lets go over them real fast. (1) This is a must as you might not have much else. (2) Where do I see this currently going, do I think it can survive on its own, is the goal getting bought out etc.. (3) is this a shit clone of flappy bird or a real product that improves on product X in ways I found it needed fix. (4) When could I have this ready for beta testers/investors, It might be there maybe we just need funding for advertisement/user acquisition or maybe I need the servers and simply cant afford it at the moment. Where am I currently at where it makes sense to bring in someone who can help me get that user base or get that investor ready to invest. my app is the best I used to be very abrasive to change especially when its a major change. I don't think you should accept every change but sometimes you start with Idea A and end up with business C. A really famous example is slack, they started as a game company and slack was an internal tool they created. https://www.glitchthegame.com/public-domain-game-art/ turn-offs *Don't say X will change the world be the next Uber/Facebook/Whatever. Uber did not have competition when it was started, no one liked Taxis but no one did anything about it. Facebook got lucky because MySpace was turning into a shit show and the company didn't expand. Facebook buys companies left and right. *Don't act like you are the most important aspect to the business. the technical side is very important but just because you have the best application in the world doesn't mean shit if you cant get the investors/user base to get it started. Also don't talk down to your business partner because they don't fully understand what an issue is, try your best to explain it in detail. *Accept criticism/changes Every technical person believes their style/method/process is the best but it might not be, maybe to you its easy to go through 3 pages, 12 drop downs, 1800 lines below the very first but that is because you made it. Your business partner is normally the first normal user that will have access to your application and he can help you understand what the right user experience should be. [link] [comments]  |
| Ad networks for monetizing a web app? Posted: 26 Jan 2018 08:00 AM PST Hey guys, not sure if this is the right place. I have a webapp which I would like to monetize. I don't expect to make much money from it, but I feel like, mentally, getting enough ad revenue to cover my Google App Engine costs is the difference between having an "iron in the fire" and paying a monthly fee. A lot of the traffic comes from mobile, but I'd prefer to have an all-encompassing solution rather than just mobile. AdSense seems targeted solely at blogs with huge amounts of original content, lots of other networks are targeted at mobile apps, and the rest of the google searches are filled with (probably promotional) top 10 lists of ad networks with very little overlap. What ad networks are good combinations of high CPM/CPC (probably CPM), quality, fill rate, no traffic req, etc? Are there some targeted specifically at web apps? [link] [comments]  |
| Should startups incorporate before looking for investment from US angels? Posted: 26 Jan 2018 11:36 AM PST Some articles say that angel investors look for startups that have already incorporated while others say that they offer help during the incorporation process. What happens if you don't actually raise any money for your angel round and you incorporated as a C-corp in Delaware? If you have done this, do you regret it or are you grateful that you actually did it? [link] [comments]  |
| I pivoted because of a $350k price tag. What about you? Posted: 26 Jan 2018 02:31 PM PST I had planned to start a microbrewery in a major U.S. city until I balked at the idea of signing a $120k/year lease and budgeting $200-250k for estimated construction to ready the space. This excludes ~$200k in equipment and ~$150k for a 12-month cash runway. I wanted to swing for the fences and go big (and truthfully, it wouldn't even be that big) based on advice and precedents of big microbrewies including Lagunitas, Brooklyn Brewery, and other smaller and newer breweries, but the microbrewery scene is certainly very different from 20-30 years ago when they started. I could arrange the financials but realized it's a massive gamble for a first-time entrepreneur without the technical expertise. What about you? Why did you pivot? Happy Friday! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 26 Jan 2018 10:19 AM PST I have some family obligations that I have to make outside the country. I will have to go for two to two half weeks. So far I have been able to tell my family I'll let them know a week before if I'll make it or not. I lose at least 5 days in travelling- will have internet access there.
If I go it will be 2.5 weeks. What does everyone else figure ? Has anyone been in the same boat as me? Any other options I have - maybe bring on a tech founder. Timeline is launch beta and test at the end of feb- march full launch - April last week family obligation. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 26 Jan 2018 01:55 PM PST Whew. Ok. I've been working with a friend, (let's call him Justin), on a web-based startup for the past 8 months. We had been playing music together, and he shared an idea he had with me about a web based application that does music crowdfunding. He recruited me to join his team and I took what little savings I had, and dedicated myself full time to this idea. Me and him. We took a clumsy nugget of an idea into a fully rendered business. We built a beautiful working product with users, excited investors, and several people around us dying to get in. I had been working on this project unpaid for 8 months full time. My savings were running on fumes, but I had several connections looking forward to investing. All the work had been paying off and it was very clear that I could at least pay myself a living wage very soon. I was finalizing term sheets with some friends and family when I get a text message from Justin. He doesn't want me to be a part of the company anymore. I was absolutely shocked and collapsed on the floor in pain. I was just completely shocked. There is no other word for it. All I kept thinking was "Is this real?" Am I getting cut out of my company with a text message? And right now?! This is soon followed up with an email from Bank of America letting me know I have less than $25 in my bank account. How could this person who I thought was my friend do this to me? Reasons he gave were vague and seemed to me like they were rooted in an ego/ control complex. He said things like I treated him "weirdly/ sarcastically/ and competitively all the time" and that I had "weird vibes". And this was a real text message he sent: "I'm tired of staying up all night because of a way you looked at me". It's been very confusing to everyone involved. Less than a week ago he told me in writing "I'm glad you are my partner. You are a total A+ player." ///WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE/// Our arrangement is where this gets even more problematic. We had a verbal agreement for a 66/34 equity split. (It's in texts and emails too.) However, we hadn't signed any agreements yet! We felt like we could put this off until the last responsible moment, which was before we were actually raising investment and paying salaries. No agreements or contracts were signed -No non-compete -No NDA -No Employee Agreements -No PIIA Agreement Nothing. It's very unclear who even owns what Intellectual Property or what is even assigned to the company. I have received $0 and 0% equity in this company. As a result of Justin's behavior, everyone involved has heard about this and has left. Since I personally knew all the investors, none of them want to touch this project anymore. None of the artists, team members, or advisors are comfortable with this and do not want to work with Justin. ///BACKGROUND/ CONTEXT/// Previously, I had run my own business, and although I am not an engineer, I've nearly done everything at this company that is not the code base. I designed the website, wireframed the web architecture, built the team, made a deck, wrote a lengthy business plan, brought investors on board, got amazing artists on board to join. I set up every single meeting. Our professional input to the company basically broke down like this: Justin wrote the code and was the CEO, and I am the professional generalist with a design background that worked on all of the things to really have this project blossom into something exciting and real. Justin's personality is a bit odd. Wouldn't be surprised if he is an undiagnosed aspie. He doesn't really have friends, and has social anxiety. He's a really talented developer, though. Conversely, I think most people would describe me as a charismatic and level headed person. I am very comfortable in social situations, enjoy public speaking, and have a relatively large professional and personal network of people that I care about. Although Justin may not have been born with a personality to be an effective CEO, I am a big believer in personal growth and had faith that he could eventually be a good CEO. Still, he never actually spoke with anyone on our team 1 to 1, doesn't socialize with anyone except his new girlfriend, and was pretty much just a cc on emails to alot of people. I think it's likely he had an emotional breakdown. ///QUESTION/// What are my options here? I don't believe this company can succeed now, so I don't even want equity. Neither of us seem interested in working together moving forward. If possible, I'd like to own the IP I created as well with the option of replacing him, starting a new company and team. I've gotten encouragement from the team to start a new company and I'm not sure how to protect it and remove the stink from this troubling history. I saved an archive of all texts and work emails and used my personal computer for all work. I still haven't sat down with Justin or seen him in person right now he is not responding to emails asking to talk. I am speaking with a lawyer today to ask about options - hoping getting a professionally negotiated agreement between us. [link] [comments]  |
| Thinking of releasing my failed startup as open source Posted: 26 Jan 2018 10:51 AM PST I'm a solo founder who has tried everything I can for the past 4 years to make an event ticketing startup work. Since the very beginning, people have all told me the same thing. I've gotten only a handful of customers in the last four years and I am ready to switch to something new. In those four years, I was unable to convince anyone to buy into it and I also couldn't seem to partner with anyone who had an actual skillset, so I'm ready to move on. My goal with my failed startup was to enable event organizers to sell their tickets for as cheaply as possible. My favorite thing about it is an add-on thing I did where people can paste in their Facebook URL, set up tickets, and sell them. It's way more affordable than Eventbrite and other services. I think it can benefit people, but I don't necessarily want to work on it anymore and I'm ready to move on to other things. I want to release it for everyone to use because I know it's a worthwhile alternative but it might not be a business plan that can be accomplished by a single person. Has anyone here ever turned their startup into an open source project? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 26 Jan 2018 09:28 AM PST Whenever I hear the word "hustle", I think used car salesman, scam artist, and untrustworthy person. It's a dirty word with a lot of negative baggage. Do I even need to mention the demise Silicon Valley's Chief Hustler Dave McClure? Look at where hustling got him. Of course, there is some truth behind hustle. The core concept of "hustle" is "hassle". As a founder, you have to hassle EVERYONE. You have to hassle your co-founders, your employees, your suppliers, and even your customers. Hassling people is a fundamental reality that all successful people eventually master. Hassle also lacks the baggage of hustle. If you don't hassle people, nothing gets done. Therefore, you better learn to hassle people if you want to run a successful startup - in any role. So, whenever you see the word "Hustle", put on your Mr Robot hat and substitute it with the word "Hassle". I use a similar substitution whenever I see "CEO". The Chief Executive Officer gives me images of a lazy over-paid individual sitting in their executive lounge or private jet. That's why we started calling our CEO the Chief Execution Officer - the person who cracks the whip and gets shit done. I hope these insights help someone! [link] [comments]  |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Startups - Finding problems and solving them!. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States | |
No comments:
Post a Comment