Chapters (Powered by ChapterMe) - 00:00 - Coming Up 00:17 - Why Business Folks Need Great Technical Co-Founders 00:32 - Technical Founders 01:52 - The Intersection: Great Business Founders and Hiring Amazing Technical Co-Founders 03:32 - Making The Point Explicit 04:44 - Advice From Personal Experience At Twitch 05:06 - Great Software Companies Are Built By Great Software Engineers 06:54 - Equivalent In NBA 09:18 - Where Do I Find Technical Co-Founders? 10:31 - Thought Experiment: Ask The Best Person You Know 11:28 - How Not to Pitch: Come Up with the Idea Together 12:18 - Being An Amazing Recruiter 13:26 - Offering An Adventure: Building A Company Together 14:17 - Pattern: Successful Non-Technical Founders Are Great Recruiters 14:59 - Outro
My 2 cents if you're a non tech founder looking for a tech founder - learn to code. Even if you just get a surface level understanding, it'll be easier to evaluate potential cofounders, discuss technical challenges, and tech people will respect you more when you can truly appreciate their trials and tribulations mastering the craft.
+1 I taught myself to code a year ago and have shipped a product solo to some legitimate customers at this point. It’s hard but doable. I highly recommend learning to code.
That is wise, but doesn't come without its pitfalls. Other than the fact that it is time consuming, another pitfall I could think of is that if you need someone with a particular specialisation, it'll be difficult to assess them vertically. There is easier criteria to assess by: how fast can they learn and figure things out from conceptualisation to working prototype?
While that might be true, most technical founders who pick up a technical cofounder get it wrong at the rate of 9 out of 10. There is a reason a small percentage of tech companies survive their first three years and the main reason isnt a bad idea, it's bad attitude, grit, and expectation. If you cant build a product you dont have anything to sell and if you cant sell a product then building it is a waste of time. I disagree that a business person should learn coding since there is little to no value to know basic coding. Its like telling a coder to learn basic accounting, basic sales, basic marketing like its going to add any value instead of telling them to be the best at whatever they do since a company is a diverse environment of specialties.
When people say learn to code like what specifically? Not all software is built on the same language/llm/ algorithm (forgive me if I'm wrong I'm mostly non software technical)
Started out as a non-technical founder. I made the decision to become technical a couple years back. I have learned an incredible amount and feel fully comfortable developing our product, outsourcing pieces when I get stuck. GPT has been an incredible learning tool, which has accelerated my learning immensely. Waiting for the magical technical co-founder to appear that shares your vision/passion will likely not happen. The best advice I can give to a non-technical founder is to make the mental switch and become technical. The sooner you do it, the better off you’ll be.
I completely agree. I was also non technical, I spent many years doing cofounder trials, and trying to get a product built by other people. In the end, I taught myself to be technical, shipped v1 solo, and have not looked back. I cannot recommend it enough. It sounds hard, but it is incredibly freeing to be able to build anything you want yourself.
That's awesome, I definitely commend you for it. But the only thing I would say, if you take that approach, you skip two of the most important steps in your entrepreneurial journey, the ability to sell and recruit. If you can't get a couple tech people excited enough about your idea to commit a couple of hours per week to your project , how will you get users excited about using your product or someone investing in your product? That "If I build it, they will come" mantra has been proven not to work time and time again.
What did you study to become a technical founder? When I think technical founder I think computer science, computer engineering and information technology.
I was a non-technical founder. Learned how to code, it's been the biggest asset. It unlocks agility + opportunities to explore more things. I would always recommend knowing how to bake the cake if you're starting a cake shop. But if you're funded well, know someone close, it's always of course better to let someone else do it - regardless, knowing how tech works will still go a long way.
@@fgboii4687 python is the easiest, but it's backend. Node js is frontend. So decide what's priority at this point and you can start. Would recommend looking up full stack nextjs projects to learn node js.
@@fgboii4687 depends on what you want to build. Sites use a lot of javascript, so a tech stack that includes that. Maybe mern or mean stack. PHP is also an alternative language to js. If Ai/machine learning stuff, then you want python.
I started my tech company as a single mom, with hardly any money and no backround in business or in tech, but I had a vision. Finally after six years of perseverance and learning much along the way in both business and tech, we were discovered by one of the biggest names in Technology. Trust me, if I can do it starting from less than nothing... it can happen for anyone who puts their heart and action into it.
Am also a single mom with hardly any money and no background in tech. It has been harrrd getting a tech person to do what needs to be done but am determined to execute my vision. I took more time looking for a tech co-founder to commit than actually working on my startup. So i finally decided to move forward without one. Thanks for your comment. You give me hope.
Keen to hear what type of company you created and what made you want to create it? What was that WHY behind it? And which industry did you come from Before founding this one?
Bootstrapped! However, in the early 2000's I made investments in physical gold and silver while I was in my former career but eventually left it to persue this full time. Trust me, I remember there was a time when I had $1.13 in my checking account but I still knew/ believed in God and my technology. This is a creating Universe not a created one. We are all selected to complete this picture (we are are actors in this universe), if you get an idea in a timeless flash, you know that this was your calling, your mission and your roll. No matter how crazy, how broke or how hard it is... persevere!!! When YOU are GREAT, GREAT MEN WANT TO KNOW YOU.@@exmachina767
I was making $110 hourly as a software engineer and I dropped my full time job when my co-founder proposed 50/50 equity in our partnership building the product from his idea. 2 years later we are making 1M in ARR (bootstrapping) and it’s was worth it the entire sacrifice in this journey
My co-founder was our first customer. He used our competitor for three years and had a list of 20+ items to make that product better. So we just started copying this competitor model and enhancing. @@stefan-bayer
Building a tech startup without technical skills definitely presents its challenges, but it's not impossible. This video offers some valuable insights for non-technical founders like myself. One crucial aspect emphasized here is the importance of taking initiative and learning as much as you can about the technical aspects of your startup. However, it's equally essential to recognize when you've reached your limit and need to bring in experts. You have to have both sides of the coin. You have to be willing to do it yourself and then not be afraid to hire those smarter than yourself. Surrounding yourself with a talented team can elevate your startup to new heights, filling in the gaps in your knowledge and expertise. It's all about finding the right balance between self-reliance and collaboration."
There are tech founders who are looking for business/operations co-founders. I was in this position personally and I am sure many startups out there are in a similar situation. Would be cool if you guys can dedicate an episode for this topic. Thanks
I'm not technical but I'm very passionate by solving my problem. I've already talked to potential customers and discovered they also have this problem. So I'm learning code by doing the MVP. Great video! Now let’s back to work
@@SaifAli-gb2zl Minimum Viable Product. It is the first working prototype of our product. It will only have the core features. After building an MVP we give it to few potential customers for review. Then based on their feedback we'll improve the product. And this loop continues. Meanwhile by 8-10 iterations our MVP will be transformed into the desired product.
Why would you? Why not focus on areas where you're strong today, so your ambition and passion can lead you to do more impactful work, rather than just learning new cool things! Bring in those who have invested time and energy to help you in areas where you're currently a junior at.
I tried first as a non-technical and i came to the conclusion that I want to be able to build the product myself in the beginning at least. And i landed my first junior role.
Great advice. I'll add that it is best to focus on the groundwork you can start doing now and keep searching for the cofounder, instead of just sitting and waiting for them to come to you perchance. I believe we will make it so let's go get it!
Yet another good episode from YC! I have two thoughts listening to this: (1) as a non-technical founder, it would be useful to have deep domain knowledge and network in certain area where you want to tap into with your startup - this is what makes you non-fungible as a business developer. (2) technical co-founder needs to also be a good leader. So many great software engineers out there struggle when it comes to hiring a technical team and managing people... Programming skills are simply not enough.
Spoken to lots of engineers over the last few years and have also gotten a few to offer to work on what I’m working on right now. I think a lot of non-technical cofounders overweigh the importance of knowing how to code as the factor for getting a technical cofounder to work with you. Technical cofounders tend to already be very good at coding and building software solutions - what they need from you, the non-technical cofounder, is a problem to solve and traction around solutions to the chosen problem. They want to know that you’re not just going to be thinking of ways to do things without actually talking to users who have the problem you’re trying to solve. They also want to see traction from a no-code solution if possible, which can be done with tools like Carrd for a landing page and a bunch of other tools you can use to build a community of users before you even write a single line of code.
@@dmytrodance yeah, and they also tend to have more choice than most (there seems to always be more non-technical cofounders than technical cofounders looking for a cofounder).
@@jasoncheung8407 yes. The biggest problem - they don't want to iterate with you searching for market fit. They want you to give them a project that start bringing returns rightaway. It wears me out and makes me try to either hire a freelancer or to try to code it with a help of AI co-pilot.
I started as a sales person, got technical skills and can now build (and have started a company in the process). I’ll say this: the hardest part is selling / marketing. If you can sell, you’re likely a good listener. This is the most important part of building a great product. Find a technically strong co-founder who not only can code but can interpret and understand. Then, go and setup as many conversations with people who have the problem you’ve theorized on & work together with your founder to build the solution. If you both execute on your respective roles; you finding the people with problems / co-founder building to solve the problems. You’ll find some form of success. Side note: if you’re coming with the idea you better have deep understanding of the problems & people associated with it.
My background is Hardware Development and Robotics, 2 months ago I decided to transition into Software Development and started learning JavaScript. I don't have the "best" ideas, but i have some interesting products in mind. My objective is to be able to code a MVP to test it at a small scale, then if I like it and see opportunities, start scaling it up. Great stuff YC thanks for sharing
Hey everyone, I wanted to emphasize the importance of NDAs and IP filings before sharing ideas. Recently, I noticed some startup advice suggesting not to require an NDA signed before sharing your pitch, claiming it would deter interest. However, this can be extremely risky! As a struggling single mom of three and an inventor of technology, I had my former 'senior advisor' (who was already a multi-millionaire) sign an NDA when disclosing my idea, thank God. Seven years after my invention/start-up I found out that he was building my business model out with a major bank who bought my invention/business model for almost $100 million! Do NOT give your ideas freely! Your ideas take THOUGHT POWER! A lot of people are too dumb to think, so they look for smart, creative people to do it for them, but the only difference is that they have money and the connections to make YOUR idea/concept happen. These types should be held LEGALLY accountable! Lesson: NDA'S, Copyright, and file IP. Then you have a case;)
Gentlemen, this conversation was timely and needed. In addition, your channel is one of the avenues that made me improve my tech. obsession. Respect to Y-Combinator.
00:01 The best business founders recruit amazing technical co-founders 02:06 Having a technical co-founder is crucial for success in a tech startup. 03:58 Starting a tech company without a technical co-founder is challenging 05:42 Building a successful tech startup requires dedicated individuals who are willing to put in the effort. 07:33 Having a technical co-founder is a tremendous benefit for non-technical founders. 09:34 Don't disqualify great people and consider getting a job at a startup before starting a company. 11:31 Finding a tech co-founder is about collaboration and partnership, not just finding an assistant. 13:25 Adventure and the unknown are key motivators in starting a tech startup.
Isn't there another option by now for a non-technical founder: Learning a no-code tool such as bubble, building the first version of the software yourself, onboarding a technical co-founder once the idea has been validated and the first users are onboarded?
If you are able to hire a technical consultant and a good developer. It is a start. You don't always need a technical co founder. It's just finding the initial capital for your prototype or mvp. But it is going to be a lot of work and you will have to dedicate so much of your life to it. And however difficult you think it's going to be, times it by 50, atleast.
I think customer discovery (i.e., validating a problem exists and is a significant one for a group of people) can definitely be done without a technical partner. However, building an actual solution, unless the core of the business is not technological, will be much harder. Granted, these days with the help of ChatGPT and other tools, it won’t be as hard as it used to be. But you will still be in a hell of fight if you decide to go solo without technical skills as you need to iterate on more features and fix tech problems your first users run into.
Of course it is! This is just pure bullshit and will stop a lot of good entrepenurs. Very bad video. And they embarrasingly enough did this AFTER ChatGPT was out that can now basically code a MVP by itself. These guys know nothing.
@goranpersson473 Every app is different. But we're talking about building a "tech startup" here. And if you have absolutely no experience in building an app or are not technical at all. It will look like an alien world and you might not know where to start. Hiring a consultant if you're able to is worth it. It will save you a lot of time and money and you will learn how to proceed correctly when you first start. Our app was a bit more technical than most and involves augmented reality. So far it has cost us $100k + and that is on the really cheap end, because we found a good developer that would and could do what we needed for that price. When we first put out the contract some developers were quoting $150k+. And we have added so much more along the way in building than the initial contract brief. So it really should have cost atleast $250k by now. This is from my experience. Everyones won't be the same.
I am someone who is technical and I get approached often on YC's co-founder matching platform. I have never once had someone ask me if I had any ideas for a startup. It's always been, I am building x and I will give you y % of the company if you build it. 10/10 I have said no I wasn't interested or if I did take the meeting because I thought it was a cool idea, the vibe was off. For example, a few people had no conviction in what they were building or they came off condescending in the meeting or they simply stated that they were in charge and that I was essentially their employee for no money and a small amount of equity.
Non-tech founder with one [failed] proptech startup under my belt built by a friend's dev shop. Learned a lot but mostly - I need to learn to code. Just finished CS50 Python.
Okay, let me tell you, I really like spending my hours on TH-cam here on this channel. Seems like so much value coming out from here than mind numbing shorts or reels.
Hey YC.. why don't you start a small online meetup kind of a thing where non tech founders can pitch their ideas (small presentation with a pitch deck) in front of tech people for better matching.. this could be on a regular basis and has potential to make lots of meaningful connections..
This is the closest thing to an impossible task. It is literally easier to learn SOME tech skills than try to manage getting by without having any. It helps in your business decisions, your strategic process, picking better employees, and making a better product. Business skills are very necessary. But the skillsets are Yin Yang: you need balance.
I'm a technical co-founder who had to learn how to be a non-technical co-founder. Now I can kill a presentation but my coding skills are a bit rusty. I want someone who is even more technical than me and wants a co-founder like me, since I have a deep understanding of coding and can actually write half-decent code and build a cool UX myself. On paper, I have all the skills I need. But it'd make it a whole lot easier to get help. Reply to this comment if you'd consider.
The problem I have is not knowing how much technical a technical cofounder has to be. I know how to read code especially now with ChatGPT, I can write basic c#, basic JavaScript, can do a little bit of game dev, 3d viz, I know how to do basic Arduino and fix 3d printer and could potentially build one with open source software. But I still think I need a technical co founder for a saas.
The general consensus from the comments is that even if you are a non-technical founder, it is good to form some base level of coding competence. What language would you suggest learning?
Tech founder seems to default to software in YC. I'm in biotech, i watch a lot of your videos, and im not sure what i should dismiss or take with a grain of salt? Can you do a video on biotech / industrial biotech / chemistry / engineering type startups specifically? What are some typical key differences in these type of startups ? Founder dynamics ? Funding? Product market fit? Dev time? Common businees models? Etc? Would be great to hear YC's perspective on this area 😊
I m an accountant by training and cant code to save my life. I had a vision and hired a full stack engineer to build an AI app for me. I am about to launch the product. This tech co founder need is over stated. Hire a good tech guy and give him stock.
I've always been of the opinion that a predictor of success of a tech enabled startup is the understanding the founder has of the problem being solved. 1) if the startup solves a technical problem/ is differentiated on the technical implementation, a successful startup will have a technical founder. 2) if the startup leverages technology to solve a business problem, the best founder is one who best understands the problem There are far too many startups where founders are mismatched to the problem being solved. A technical founder may make a solution looking for a problem, (look at the flood of useless tech adjacent startups) while a business founder may not understand the investments and development needs to differentiate a technical tool.
On point! I am working on a project as a non-technical founder and I have been able to recruit excellent people to bring it to life. Thank you guys! 1Q 2024, when the product is on soft-launch I will apply to YC.
This was excellent and exactly the path im on. I went to school for ancient history (BA Classics), then education and religion (MA, MEd). When i realized i wanted a different career, i found the next logical path - marketing. Once in marketing, i started learning "technical marketing" (seo, analytics, etc.) Now im in product marketing, impacting roadmaps, up close with customers, and getting a "seat at the table" with technical teams - helping turn their ideas into language and launches people love. Its taken me 4 years to get here, and itll likely take me several more to find a solid cofounder and launch our own product - but im on the path and thats what matters. TLDR take the first step. 10 years from now youll either be doing the thing or wishing you tried.
Hmm ... I usually struggle with the idea of a "non-technical" co-founder seeking a technical co-founder to ... basically execute on the idea. Having more of a technical background, I like the idea of recruiting business specific skills like sales and marketing thinking of it like a different kind of wrench rather than a caste.
I have visualized a CTO for my company. He is 100% the ideal candidate. He doesn't want to because he needs money right away and can't work based on just equity.
I'm an artist, a designer, an account executive, a consultant, and developing my technical skills. Actively, looking for someone to go on an adventure with me! It's so hard however... but I'll keep searching
I think the opposite question is more interesting and difficult... how do I build a tech start-up when the *only* thing I have is tech skills and no business or legal experience?
I don’t see why it’s more interesting or difficult. It’s just the reverse question, so its natural answer is: if the domain of your idea (future startup) is complex, find a business cofounder who can help you navigate the waters. If the domain is not that complex, maybe you can do extensive self study and do it yourself, but don’t underestimate the effort that will go into it. Recently I had a somewhat difficult situation dealing with tax payments in my country. I asked for quotes from several accountants and they all seemed too expensive to me, so I decided to learn the ropes and see if I could get the job done on my own. Eventually I did, but I realized why the accountants charge so much: there’s a lot of details to get right, which requires extensive knowledge that cannot be found in a single place. Having learned that, I would never start an accounting startup without someone with deep expertise (since I’m not really that fond of tax laws myself)
I'm making an app with the most talented engineer I know! I believe in him more than I believe in myself. It makes me want to show up as best I can as a designer 🙌
In today's world, the motivation of good engineers leans more towards a stable income than venturing into uncharted territories with a friend and an "idea." While having a technical co-founder who shares your vision is indeed blissful, does Y Combinator's emphasis on having a technical co-founder imply that it is more crucial than addressing the actual problem? If a founder can assemble a skilled technical team with equitable incentives to develop a product that effectively tackles the problem, could this serve as a viable alternative to having a traditional "co-founder"? Let's not overlook the element of time. While spending 12 months in search of a committed co-founder, competitors may be actively pursuing product-market fit and securing seed funding. On the other hand, one might coerce a team into building a YC-acceptable company, only to find that success is not guaranteed solely by a technically sound product.
It’s an interesting hypothesis, but ask yourself if maybe it has been tried before and failed due to lack of sufficient skin in the game (equity and intrinsic motivation) on the part of the tech team. I’ve observed a couple of startups trying to do this and none of them seemed to get any traction. It would be a very interesting discovery if someone found a way to make that work, though.
@@exmachina767 first of all before the term startup was mainstream, people have been building business as solo entrepreneurs. Amazon mentioned no technical founder. Companies are dying today because we have chosen to focus on things that almost have nothing to do with "Business". Get a team build and product and sell like your life depends on it. Nothing else really matters at the end if you are not making enough money.
@@Mufasakid outliers like Amazon are not very useful to make a general analysis of whether the odds are in favor of solo founders with nontechnical backgrounds who attempt to build technology-based businesses without technical cofounders. Also, I don’t think YC has ever downplayed the crucial idea of finding product/market fit; on the contrary, that’s the one thing they keep repeating again and again. What they often tell people is that if the solution involves technology, your odds of success are much better if you can find someone with technical chops who’s motivated by the problem itself, by the adventure of creating a company, by equity in the company, or a combination of those things. And that’s simply because finding product-market fit often requires many iterations of the initial product with such speed and commitment that is just not present if you’re only an employee without significant equity (let alone if you’re just an outsourced contractor)
i was hoping this video would cover what a non-technical business founder would look like, especially at a YC-backed early-stage startup. as in, what would their day-to-day look like? what would they be doing?
“Find the best person you knew at school”…. Yeah, that’s a bit of a problem when I’ve always been the one completing group assignments for 6 years straight.
Zerodha (Indian fintech company), Steve Jobs for Apple, Oracle company's founder, Amazon's Jeff Bezos. Airbnb.... None of them are software engineers and they don't have high end software skills. Please tell us in depth authorised stories of how they made it happened and then tell us which critical areas they worked on and then justify your statements and down these examples are exceptions
It is a no-brainer. You need a great tech co-founder. You need countless iterations and the velocity to get to product-market fit. Only a great tech co-founder can deliver it.
So my question is, what to do when he/she failed to convince people to become their technical co founder, no everybody is in Silicon Valley where software engineer are willing to take risks of no pay for a possible big future income ?
I am a bushy bearded former imam based in Toronto, originally from India. I am a subject matter expert in the Islamic world space which is acutely underserved in many areas. I have identified many problems that can be solved with tech. My problem. For the past fifteen years I haven’t been able to convince any VCs or techies to co-found a company with me. I haven’t given up. I keep seeing more and more problems that can be solved and yet haven’t been.
@@tahmid1897 I have three Quran problems that I’ve had for decades. Can be solved. Not solved yet. One can be solved with a website and an app. Market size 500m and rapidly growing? This one could have a low start up development and marketing cost. I need a website or an app developer for this. Once it’s built, even if clunky, investors or copycats will come in fast. The other is an electronic device and app set. Market size? 10,000 institutions? I have a zikar related problem. Solve with device. Market size? 100m users. Mark up on latter two products can be high to satisfy investors and fund future production. Someone in Shenzhen will easily produce the devices. There is more. Even for the non special interest world. I have a problem. Current state robotics can solve. This one has a high cap ex for entry. Perhaps a few $Ms.
@@ahsanmohammed1 If you are that protective of your ideas (that have zero implementation), then that's a huge red flag. Definitely not interested in stealing ideas, most are absolutely worthless anyway.
@@tahmid1897 When I was in the Masjid communities, I would freely tell people my ideas. Hoping someone would say, let’s do it, together. The opposite happened. They would sit and listen to me, electrified. Then two years later, the exact product I mentioned would appear in the market. Launched in Toronto, Canada, or close by. Too many of my ideas were stolen from me or just floated out there until they reached someone with resources, who implemented them at at global scale and even spawned new copycats even beyond that. Many got exorbitantly rich off of them. I just stood there silently watching it all happen. Now I feel like I’ll take my ideas to the grave.
@@TCH534 would investors consider it viable atleast while trying to raise a pre-seed or first round of funding ? I don’t think investors would invest without a CTO in the team
Interesting, in another video someone said, don’t tell the investors that you just met with your cofounder. Now, I should just meet a total stranger and trust him and give him half of my business? Why can’t I just hire them to do the job?
Would you kindly share your thoughts on responsibility and equity between “visionaries” who have some idea and require engineers to build the prototype, build the product, put everything into production, take responsibility for SLAs? What are the expected roles and responsibilities of each party that warrant sufficient “skin in the game” to determine a fair split of equity?
I agree with what Michael said: “ideas are a dime a dozen”; execution matters far more. I once worked in a startup where the guy who came up with the idea (just a vague one, not even a detailed one with any kind of execution plan) got ~1/3rd of the equity (there were 2 technical and 2 nontechnical cofounders, with 10%, 30%, 30%, 30% equity distribution). After a while, everyone realized how hard it was to go from a rough idea to a viable business model, and how much effort went into customer discovery, iterations, brainstorming, etc. The “idea guy” was absent in most of this. Eventually one of the tech cofounders figured the equity distribution wasn’t fair and tried to negotiate it. He failed to get more, so he quit. After a while, the other technical cofounder quit as well. The nontechnical cofounders tried to keep it alive by outsourcing the work to a dev shop but eventually the startup tanked.
Just make sure you are truly great at whatever it is you do. If it's sales, be a phenomenal enterprise sales person who can close the big deals before end of quarter. If it's marketing be a fantastic story teller. If it's leadership, be the type of person people would follow to the gates of hell. If it's networking, help the company raise money from the biggest names in the industry. Just make sure you are great at SOMETHING and bring your part, don't be the "generalist", that has zero differentiation from 80% of America and no added value. If the technical cofounder has specific skills you should as well.
Great technical cofounders are very important. Even if the other person is also a technical cofounder. The point that they mentioned which is big is if you believe what’s your building is something big then you’ll do the necessary stuff to make it happen. If that means it’s time to get a great technical cofounder to part of the journey then that will be done. Just like a million of other critical things that’s needed to be done throughout the journey of the company. In my opinion if it’s a worthwhile problem to solve then getting a cofounder, learning to code or understanding a new technology will be among a long list of important things that must be done and will get done. If not then the issue is not even wether or not someone is a technical founder but rather they’re not committed in their own company. However there are stories of non-technical founders finding great technical founders which is difficult.It’s still important to understand the coding part of it. Basically the people with no technical skills that managed to get great technical founders have a big advantage (even over a single technical founder) and it’s the biggest way to validate the company early on.
My question now is what level of skill the technical co-founder needs to have. For instance I am a new mid level developer, Can I make it by with a non technical cofounder or would I need a sr engineer as a cofounder (which I know would be best)
In my experience, it's not necessarily how good you are right now, but your growth curve. If you are mid level and you've been mid level for like, 5 years.... maybe not. If you're mid level and you just started coding a year ago? Honestly, yeah probably. It also depends obviously on the technical domain you're operating in. For example, our startup is all about searching, data and matching. These types of problems tend to lend to a certain type of technical skills vs, perhaps your startup has more to do with streaming, logistics and networking. That's it's own technical domain that will trend towards it's own technical skills.
I will just acquire one of those software companies that they dont even know to run a business smoothly. I only need to learn all the the basics of coding and programming, you don't need to be full stack. Low coding etc. Artificial Intelligence are on their way. We can build a prototype then hire a programmer and developer to refine. Agile project management is also important. No need to fool yourself being a nerd scientist. Copycat is I think the good options. How chinese are doing it right now outpacing all of their competitors. It is not best ideas it is how you sell to users and consumers. Why are those genious hackers do as bill gates did and other successful software companies. They have the ability to recruit the best hacker to start the more advance or go beyond quantum.
If I am a non technical founder, why would the technical talent stay, i.e. other than my idea and undying enthusiasm, why would they stay with my company when they can just take the idea and do it themselves?
My initial thoughts: Inspire a technical prodigy to join, offer equity and the potential for a lucrative salary once you're off the ground. As they are working learn from them, show interest in the work they are doing for you. Stay up with them, keep working after they leave, lead by example. No 10 year expert will give up their 100k salary to join your start up
What if I am a technical person, but I am looking for another technical cofounder? I am currently developing the MVP, but I know I need a technical cofounder.
I got the next ai bigidea and I believe it will change the world in a whole. I got no skills but however I am working on it it. Thank you for the advice, It will go in handy for me to get a technical cofounder
I've been a brick and mortal business owner. I want to venture into tech, but for more than a year, I can't find a co-founder here in our province. I found some online, but they are not very committed. The path I'm trying to take is learning no code tools, then building an mvp, finding product market fit, and then looking for a tech co-founder. Any thoughts on this?
The crux of a startup is finding product market fit before you run out of money. You can do that starting with validation that there are enough customers with a problem who’d be excited to have a product to solve their problems. Many teams fail to even think this is necessary, they think that they can build a solution and customers will come, without even talking first to such customers. For many products, after you have some initial validation, you will need to build and iterate constantly, as no idea or product is perfect on inception. This is a crucial point where having a tech cofounder can make all the difference. Perhaps you can do it on your own, but that will depend on how core to the product is technology.
Happy New Year! My name is Raph from Orlando and Sydney. What's your opinion on starting a meditation app company with using zero coding tools? I just graduated from University of Sydney, and I majored in Product Design. My plan is to hire some Chinese programmers on the side as well. I would love to receive a constructive feedback from both of you. Cheers! Much love.
Do not learn to code. If you are a non technical founder, first you should be technical but that doesn't mean code, it means to understand how software works with one another and which is better for what situation. If your goal is to make a technical product as a non technical founder, learn what frameworks, languages, databases, cloud providers and all that are. At least then, you are able to form a better opinion about what it means to be a good software engineer. I think it's wrong to push away founders who aren't software engineers.
I am a full-stack dev with knowledge in AstroJS, sveltekit, Nodejs Express, Serverless(best) drizzle orm and some edge sqlite database. I don't have good soft skill due to my anxiety would love to be a CTO😅.
The irony of this: technology will make this less true over time. I think a non technical founder can make a non VC backed lifestyle business just fine. VC backed is a different story - they're goal is to 1000x. Technology is a big part of the differentiating IP, and certainly a hallmark of 'solving hard problems', then ya, you want the people who actually understand and are proficient with tech & engineering.
I can't even tell you how many offers I've gotten to co-found companies with non-technical people. They always mention 15-5% shares and some or no pay. I feel insulted, I let them know, and close the communication channel.
You probably need some _understanding_ of the technology you are dealing with in any situation. Call it a skill or no. You can also just _use_ a technology to make a product or a service, but still it's better to understand something essential of what you use, to know how far it can go, to be able to compare it to other available things, etc.
I thought you would say that the best non-technical founders would be people who have business experience in their specific domain, but I guess recruiting is more important.
Can you make the video full screen and not have the sidebar there the whole time? It’s super annoying. Don’t even mind having the respective titles changing on a small corner of the screen. But need to see the whole video please.
Chapters (Powered by ChapterMe) -
00:00 - Coming Up
00:17 - Why Business Folks Need Great Technical Co-Founders
00:32 - Technical Founders
01:52 - The Intersection: Great Business Founders and Hiring Amazing Technical Co-Founders
03:32 - Making The Point Explicit
04:44 - Advice From Personal Experience At Twitch
05:06 - Great Software Companies Are Built By Great Software Engineers
06:54 - Equivalent In NBA
09:18 - Where Do I Find Technical Co-Founders?
10:31 - Thought Experiment: Ask The Best Person You Know
11:28 - How Not to Pitch: Come Up with the Idea Together
12:18 - Being An Amazing Recruiter
13:26 - Offering An Adventure: Building A Company Together
14:17 - Pattern: Successful Non-Technical Founders Are Great Recruiters
14:59 - Outro
One of the most inspiring non tech founder is Tope Awotona, the CEO of Calendly. There are countless videos on youtube explaining how he did it.
My 2 cents if you're a non tech founder looking for a tech founder - learn to code. Even if you just get a surface level understanding, it'll be easier to evaluate potential cofounders, discuss technical challenges, and tech people will respect you more when you can truly appreciate their trials and tribulations mastering the craft.
wow, that's what i am doing as we speak
+1 I taught myself to code a year ago and have shipped a product solo to some legitimate customers at this point. It’s hard but doable. I highly recommend learning to code.
That is wise, but doesn't come without its pitfalls. Other than the fact that it is time consuming, another pitfall I could think of is that if you need someone with a particular specialisation, it'll be difficult to assess them vertically. There is easier criteria to assess by: how fast can they learn and figure things out from conceptualisation to working prototype?
While that might be true, most technical founders who pick up a technical cofounder get it wrong at the rate of 9 out of 10. There is a reason a small percentage of tech companies survive their first three years and the main reason isnt a bad idea, it's bad attitude, grit, and expectation.
If you cant build a product you dont have anything to sell and if you cant sell a product then building it is a waste of time.
I disagree that a business person should learn coding since there is little to no value to know basic coding. Its like telling a coder to learn basic accounting, basic sales, basic marketing like its going to add any value instead of telling them to be the best at whatever they do since a company is a diverse environment of specialties.
When people say learn to code like what specifically? Not all software is built on the same language/llm/ algorithm (forgive me if I'm wrong I'm mostly non software technical)
Started out as a non-technical founder. I made the decision to become technical a couple years back. I have learned an incredible amount and feel fully comfortable developing our product, outsourcing pieces when I get stuck. GPT has been an incredible learning tool, which has accelerated my learning immensely. Waiting for the magical technical co-founder to appear that shares your vision/passion will likely not happen.
The best advice I can give to a non-technical founder is to make the mental switch and become technical. The sooner you do it, the better off you’ll be.
I completely agree. I was also non technical, I spent many years doing cofounder trials, and trying to get a product built by other people. In the end, I taught myself to be technical, shipped v1 solo, and have not looked back. I cannot recommend it enough. It sounds hard, but it is incredibly freeing to be able to build anything you want yourself.
Which languages did you learn?
That's awesome, I definitely commend you for it. But the only thing I would say, if you take that approach, you skip two of the most important steps in your entrepreneurial journey, the ability to sell and recruit. If you can't get a couple tech people excited enough about your idea to commit a couple of hours per week to your project , how will you get users excited about using your product or someone investing in your product? That "If I build it, they will come" mantra has been proven not to work time and time again.
What did you study to become a technical founder? When I think technical founder I think computer science, computer engineering and information technology.
@@maxiynachojavascript
I was a non-technical founder. Learned how to code, it's been the biggest asset. It unlocks agility + opportunities to explore more things. I would always recommend knowing how to bake the cake if you're starting a cake shop. But if you're funded well, know someone close, it's always of course better to let someone else do it - regardless, knowing how tech works will still go a long way.
Which language should I start with?
@@fgboii4687 python is the easiest, but it's backend. Node js is frontend. So decide what's priority at this point and you can start. Would recommend looking up full stack nextjs projects to learn node js.
@@fgboii4687 depends on what you want to build. Sites use a lot of javascript, so a tech stack that includes that. Maybe mern or mean stack. PHP is also an alternative language to js. If Ai/machine learning stuff, then you want python.
@@fgboii4687go to a coding bootcamp
which programming language to start with?
I started my tech company as a single mom, with hardly any money and no backround in business or in tech, but I had a vision. Finally after six years of perseverance and learning much along the way in both business and tech, we were discovered by one of the biggest names in Technology. Trust me, if I can do it starting from less than nothing... it can happen for anyone who puts their heart and action into it.
Am also a single mom with hardly any money and no background in tech. It has been harrrd getting a tech person to do what needs to be done but am determined to execute my vision. I took more time looking for a tech co-founder to commit than actually working on my startup. So i finally decided to move forward without one. Thanks for your comment. You give me hope.
Wow! Inspiring! Would love to hear more about your journey and story! Can I contact you?
Keen to hear what type of company you created and what made you want to create it? What was that WHY behind it?
And which industry did you come from
Before founding this one?
May I ask how did you support yourself economically during those 6 years? A common cause for failure for many startups is they run out of money
Bootstrapped! However, in the early 2000's I made investments in physical gold and silver while I was in my former career but eventually left it to persue this full time. Trust me, I remember there was a time when I had $1.13 in my checking account but I still knew/ believed in God and my technology. This is a creating Universe not a created one. We are all selected to complete this picture (we are are actors in this universe), if you get an idea in a timeless flash, you know that this was your calling, your mission and your roll. No matter how crazy, how broke or how hard it is... persevere!!! When YOU are GREAT, GREAT MEN WANT TO KNOW YOU.@@exmachina767
I was making $110 hourly as a software engineer and I dropped my full time job when my co-founder proposed 50/50 equity in our partnership building the product from his idea. 2 years later we are making 1M in ARR (bootstrapping) and it’s was worth it the entire sacrifice in this journey
That's really amazing trajectory, but what do you get out of life?
How did you get the initial traction? An tips or ideas that worked for you that you would recommend? Thanks :)
What is your product?
My co-founder was our first customer. He used our competitor for three years and had a list of 20+ items to make that product better. So we just started copying this competitor model and enhancing. @@stefan-bayer
Interested to expand in india?
One of the most inspiring non tech founder is Tope Awotona, the CEO of Calendly. There are countless videos on youtube explaining how he did it.
Building a tech startup without technical skills definitely presents its challenges, but it's not impossible. This video offers some valuable insights for non-technical founders like myself. One crucial aspect emphasized here is the importance of taking initiative and learning as much as you can about the technical aspects of your startup. However, it's equally essential to recognize when you've reached your limit and need to bring in experts. You have to have both sides of the coin. You have to be willing to do it yourself and then not be afraid to hire those smarter than yourself. Surrounding yourself with a talented team can elevate your startup to new heights, filling in the gaps in your knowledge and expertise. It's all about finding the right balance between self-reliance and collaboration."
There are tech founders who are looking for business/operations co-founders. I was in this position personally and I am sure many startups out there are in a similar situation. Would be cool if you guys can dedicate an episode for this topic. Thanks
+1
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I think the key to Justin Kan's success in recruiting is that he did something, he had proof of concept, he didn't just have an idea.
I'm not technical but I'm very passionate by solving my problem.
I've already talked to potential customers and discovered they also have this problem.
So I'm learning code by doing the MVP.
Great video!
Now let’s back to work
What is MVP ? Could you please explain
@@SaifAli-gb2zl
Minimum Viable Product. It is the first working prototype of our product. It will only have the core features. After building an MVP we give it to few potential customers for review. Then based on their feedback we'll improve the product. And this loop continues. Meanwhile by 8-10 iterations our MVP will be transformed into the desired product.
Why would you? Why not focus on areas where you're strong today, so your ambition and passion can lead you to do more impactful work, rather than just learning new cool things! Bring in those who have invested time and energy to help you in areas where you're currently a junior at.
@@Zivafgin be the jack of all trades so then you can find the best jack in each trade.
@@Zivafgin unfortunately, getting people excited in your idea can be a great challenge. Sometime it's better to just start it yourself
I tried first as a non-technical and i came to the conclusion that I want to be able to build the product myself in the beginning at least. And i landed my first junior role.
Great advice. I'll add that it is best to focus on the groundwork you can start doing now and keep searching for the cofounder, instead of just sitting and waiting for them to come to you perchance. I believe we will make it so let's go get it!
Yet another good episode from YC! I have two thoughts listening to this: (1) as a non-technical founder, it would be useful to have deep domain knowledge and network in certain area where you want to tap into with your startup - this is what makes you non-fungible as a business developer. (2) technical co-founder needs to also be a good leader. So many great software engineers out there struggle when it comes to hiring a technical team and managing people... Programming skills are simply not enough.
Spoken to lots of engineers over the last few years and have also gotten a few to offer to work on what I’m working on right now. I think a lot of non-technical cofounders overweigh the importance of knowing how to code as the factor for getting a technical cofounder to work with you. Technical cofounders tend to already be very good at coding and building software solutions - what they need from you, the non-technical cofounder, is a problem to solve and traction around solutions to the chosen problem. They want to know that you’re not just going to be thinking of ways to do things without actually talking to users who have the problem you’re trying to solve. They also want to see traction from a no-code solution if possible, which can be done with tools like Carrd for a landing page and a bunch of other tools you can use to build a community of users before you even write a single line of code.
Exactly, they want assurance that their time will pay off, unlike interns who need experience
@@dmytrodance yeah, and they also tend to have more choice than most (there seems to always be more non-technical cofounders than technical cofounders looking for a cofounder).
@@jasoncheung8407 yes. The biggest problem - they don't want to iterate with you searching for market fit. They want you to give them a project that start bringing returns rightaway.
It wears me out and makes me try to either hire a freelancer or to try to code it with a help of AI co-pilot.
Exactly. It's about how good you are at solving problems
I started as a sales person, got technical skills and can now build (and have started a company in the process).
I’ll say this: the hardest part is selling / marketing.
If you can sell, you’re likely a good listener. This is the most important part of building a great product.
Find a technically strong co-founder who not only can code but can interpret and understand.
Then, go and setup as many conversations with people who have the problem you’ve theorized on & work together with your founder to build the solution.
If you both execute on your respective roles; you finding the people with problems / co-founder building to solve the problems. You’ll find some form of success.
Side note: if you’re coming with the idea you better have deep understanding of the problems & people associated with it.
My background is Hardware Development and Robotics, 2 months ago I decided to transition into Software Development and started learning JavaScript.
I don't have the "best" ideas, but i have some interesting products in mind.
My objective is to be able to code a MVP to test it at a small scale, then if I like it and see opportunities, start scaling it up. Great stuff YC thanks for sharing
Same here
Hey everyone, I wanted to emphasize the importance of NDAs and IP filings before sharing ideas. Recently, I noticed some startup advice suggesting not to require an NDA signed before sharing your pitch, claiming it would deter interest. However, this can be extremely risky! As a struggling single mom of three and an inventor of technology, I had my former 'senior advisor' (who was already a multi-millionaire) sign an NDA when disclosing my idea, thank God. Seven years after my invention/start-up I found out that he was building my business model out with a major bank who bought my invention/business model for almost $100 million! Do NOT give your ideas freely! Your ideas take THOUGHT POWER! A lot of people are too dumb to think, so they look for smart, creative people to do it for them, but the only difference is that they have money and the connections to make YOUR idea/concept happen. These types should be held LEGALLY accountable! Lesson: NDA'S, Copyright, and file IP. Then you have a case;)
So what ended up happening?
Gentlemen, this conversation was timely and needed.
In addition, your channel is one of the avenues that made me improve my tech. obsession. Respect to Y-Combinator.
00:01 The best business founders recruit amazing technical co-founders
02:06 Having a technical co-founder is crucial for success in a tech startup.
03:58 Starting a tech company without a technical co-founder is challenging
05:42 Building a successful tech startup requires dedicated individuals who are willing to put in the effort.
07:33 Having a technical co-founder is a tremendous benefit for non-technical founders.
09:34 Don't disqualify great people and consider getting a job at a startup before starting a company.
11:31 Finding a tech co-founder is about collaboration and partnership, not just finding an assistant.
13:25 Adventure and the unknown are key motivators in starting a tech startup.
Isn't there another option by now for a non-technical founder: Learning a no-code tool such as bubble, building the first version of the software yourself, onboarding a technical co-founder once the idea has been validated and the first users are onboarded?
If you are able to hire a technical consultant and a good developer. It is a start. You don't always need a technical co founder. It's just finding the initial capital for your prototype or mvp. But it is going to be a lot of work and you will have to dedicate so much of your life to it. And however difficult you think it's going to be, times it by 50, atleast.
I think customer discovery (i.e., validating a problem exists and is a significant one for a group of people) can definitely be done without a technical partner. However, building an actual solution, unless the core of the business is not technological, will be much harder. Granted, these days with the help of ChatGPT and other tools, it won’t be as hard as it used to be. But you will still be in a hell of fight if you decide to go solo without technical skills as you need to iterate on more features and fix tech problems your first users run into.
Of course it is! This is just pure bullshit and will stop a lot of good entrepenurs. Very bad video. And they embarrasingly enough did this AFTER ChatGPT was out that can now basically code a MVP by itself. These guys know nothing.
@@thespur2522 Man you are making it sound like you need $1 million to make a MVP and every app is super technical. Get out of here dude.
@goranpersson473 Every app is different. But we're talking about building a "tech startup" here. And if you have absolutely no experience in building an app or are not technical at all. It will look like an alien world and you might not know where to start. Hiring a consultant if you're able to is worth it. It will save you a lot of time and money and you will learn how to proceed correctly when you first start.
Our app was a bit more technical than most and involves augmented reality. So far it has cost us $100k + and that is on the really cheap end, because we found a good developer that would and could do what we needed for that price.
When we first put out the contract some developers were quoting $150k+. And we have added so much more along the way in building than the initial contract brief. So it really should have cost atleast $250k by now.
This is from my experience. Everyones won't be the same.
I am someone who is technical and I get approached often on YC's co-founder matching platform. I have never once had someone ask me if I had any ideas for a startup. It's always been, I am building x and I will give you y % of the company if you build it. 10/10 I have said no I wasn't interested or if I did take the meeting because I thought it was a cool idea, the vibe was off. For example, a few people had no conviction in what they were building or they came off condescending in the meeting or they simply stated that they were in charge and that I was essentially their employee for no money and a small amount of equity.
Well, they don’t really understand what tech leverage is..
Can we talk?
Non-tech founder with one [failed] proptech startup under my belt built by a friend's dev shop. Learned a lot but mostly - I need to learn to code. Just finished CS50 Python.
Okay, let me tell you, I really like spending my hours on TH-cam here on this channel. Seems like so much value coming out from here than mind numbing shorts or reels.
Hey YC.. why don't you start a small online meetup kind of a thing where non tech founders can pitch their ideas (small presentation with a pitch deck) in front of tech people for better matching.. this could be on a regular basis and has potential to make lots of meaningful connections..
YC has a find a co-founder part on the website, doesn't involve live pitching, but, you make a profile and it helps match you up with others :)
This is the closest thing to an impossible task.
It is literally easier to learn SOME tech skills than try to manage getting by without having any. It helps in your business decisions, your strategic process, picking better employees, and making a better product.
Business skills are very necessary. But the skillsets are Yin Yang: you need balance.
I'm a technical co-founder who had to learn how to be a non-technical co-founder. Now I can kill a presentation but my coding skills are a bit rusty.
I want someone who is even more technical than me and wants a co-founder like me, since I have a deep understanding of coding and can actually write half-decent code and build a cool UX myself.
On paper, I have all the skills I need. But it'd make it a whole lot easier to get help. Reply to this comment if you'd consider.
Hi, it's been 7 months, how is it going? Do you still need one?
Finally a mature convo on the topic. Thank you for your honesty
The problem I have is not knowing how much technical a technical cofounder has to be. I know how to read code especially now with ChatGPT, I can write basic c#, basic JavaScript, can do a little bit of game dev, 3d viz, I know how to do basic Arduino and fix 3d printer and could potentially build one with open source software. But I still think I need a technical co founder for a saas.
It's the same in big businesses. The management sees engineering as a cost center, not the product.
The general consensus from the comments is that even if you are a non-technical founder, it is good to form some base level of coding competence. What language would you suggest learning?
Tech founder seems to default to software in YC. I'm in biotech, i watch a lot of your videos, and im not sure what i should dismiss or take with a grain of salt?
Can you do a video on biotech / industrial biotech / chemistry / engineering type startups specifically? What are some typical key differences in these type of startups ? Founder dynamics ? Funding? Product market fit? Dev time? Common businees models? Etc? Would be great to hear YC's perspective on this area 😊
I m an accountant by training and cant code to save my life. I had a vision and hired a full stack engineer to build an AI app for me. I am about to launch the product. This tech co founder need is over stated. Hire a good tech guy and give him stock.
I've always been of the opinion that a predictor of success of a tech enabled startup is the understanding the founder has of the problem being solved.
1) if the startup solves a technical problem/ is differentiated on the technical implementation, a successful startup will have a technical founder.
2) if the startup leverages technology to solve a business problem, the best founder is one who best understands the problem
There are far too many startups where founders are mismatched to the problem being solved. A technical founder may make a solution looking for a problem, (look at the flood of useless tech adjacent startups) while a business founder may not understand the investments and development needs to differentiate a technical tool.
On point! I am working on a project as a non-technical founder and I have been able to recruit excellent people to bring it to life. Thank you guys! 1Q 2024, when the product is on soft-launch I will apply to YC.
All the very best.
This was excellent and exactly the path im on.
I went to school for ancient history (BA Classics), then education and religion (MA, MEd). When i realized i wanted a different career, i found the next logical path - marketing.
Once in marketing, i started learning "technical marketing" (seo, analytics, etc.)
Now im in product marketing, impacting roadmaps, up close with customers, and getting a "seat at the table" with technical teams - helping turn their ideas into language and launches people love.
Its taken me 4 years to get here, and itll likely take me several more to find a solid cofounder and launch our own product - but im on the path and thats what matters.
TLDR take the first step. 10 years from now youll either be doing the thing or wishing you tried.
thank you so much for this video! I found a co-founder thanks to it. your podcasts are amazing and so useful for rookie entrepreneurs like me!
Hmm ... I usually struggle with the idea of a "non-technical" co-founder seeking a technical co-founder to ... basically execute on the idea. Having more of a technical background, I like the idea of recruiting business specific skills like sales and marketing thinking of it like a different kind of wrench rather than a caste.
I've been waiting for this video for so long!!! Please make more on how business cofounders can provide value in a startup
I have visualized a CTO for my company. He is 100% the ideal candidate. He doesn't want to because he needs money right away and can't work based on just equity.
I'm an artist, a designer, an account executive, a consultant, and developing my technical skills.
Actively, looking for someone to go on an adventure with me! It's so hard however... but I'll keep searching
@@farefell7943 hey I am a computer engineering Student would want your mentorship
I think the opposite question is more interesting and difficult... how do I build a tech start-up when the *only* thing I have is tech skills and no business or legal experience?
There are a lot of amazing engineers who just build great dreams, not great business and that's why most startups fail
Good question. You can learn business and legal experience, and AI make this easier as before.
I don’t see why it’s more interesting or difficult. It’s just the reverse question, so its natural answer is: if the domain of your idea (future startup) is complex, find a business cofounder who can help you navigate the waters. If the domain is not that complex, maybe you can do extensive self study and do it yourself, but don’t underestimate the effort that will go into it.
Recently I had a somewhat difficult situation dealing with tax payments in my country. I asked for quotes from several accountants and they all seemed too expensive to me, so I decided to learn the ropes and see if I could get the job done on my own. Eventually I did, but I realized why the accountants charge so much: there’s a lot of details to get right, which requires extensive knowledge that cannot be found in a single place. Having learned that, I would never start an accounting startup without someone with deep expertise (since I’m not really that fond of tax laws myself)
Could you make a episode on the other side? How can an engineer find a great business people?
I would happily pitch (in the exact same way we spend time pitching to VCs) to a forum of potential engineers. Surely there is something like this??
I predict this will be the most popular vid on this channel
I wonder what took them so many years to finally make this 🤌🤌
Good stuff but they really rub it in and totally enjoy it ✌️😝
I didn’t even know there were people out there thinking they could have a tech company without the tech founders haha
I use to be one of them😂
Hey Dalton and Michael, Hey YC, thats one of the best videos I have ever seen from you guys. It ranks right up on the top. Spot on! :)
I'm a 10x engineer wasting my time on boring jobs and I'm looking for a diligent co-founder.
Let's build a company together.
I have a great idea 💡
@@One-milli101 Let's do it :)
Hi
I'm making an app with the most talented engineer I know! I believe in him more than I believe in myself. It makes me want to show up as best I can as a designer 🙌
Non tech founder hired a developer. Biggest regret of my life i learned my lesson hard
What was the problem
@@jane-noelabraimah9371 just no skin in the game no trust between us it didnt feel right and that cost me a bunch of money
7:00 of pure bashing without any information whatsoever. The phrase ‚adding insult to injury‘ cones to mind.
These guys are egotistical and dangerous
In today's world, the motivation of good engineers leans more towards a stable income than venturing into uncharted territories with a friend and an "idea." While having a technical co-founder who shares your vision is indeed blissful, does Y Combinator's emphasis on having a technical co-founder imply that it is more crucial than addressing the actual problem? If a founder can assemble a skilled technical team with equitable incentives to develop a product that effectively tackles the problem, could this serve as a viable alternative to having a traditional "co-founder"?
Let's not overlook the element of time. While spending 12 months in search of a committed co-founder, competitors may be actively pursuing product-market fit and securing seed funding. On the other hand, one might coerce a team into building a YC-acceptable company, only to find that success is not guaranteed solely by a technically sound product.
It’s an interesting hypothesis, but ask yourself if maybe it has been tried before and failed due to lack of sufficient skin in the game (equity and intrinsic motivation) on the part of the tech team. I’ve observed a couple of startups trying to do this and none of them seemed to get any traction.
It would be a very interesting discovery if someone found a way to make that work, though.
@@exmachina767 first of all before the term startup was mainstream, people have been building business as solo entrepreneurs. Amazon mentioned no technical founder. Companies are dying today because we have chosen to focus on things that almost have nothing to do with "Business". Get a team build and product and sell like your life depends on it. Nothing else really matters at the end if you are not making enough money.
@@Mufasakid outliers like Amazon are not very useful to make a general analysis of whether the odds are in favor of solo founders with nontechnical backgrounds who attempt to build technology-based businesses without technical cofounders.
Also, I don’t think YC has ever downplayed the crucial idea of finding product/market fit; on the contrary, that’s the one thing they keep repeating again and again. What they often tell people is that if the solution involves technology, your odds of success are much better if you can find someone with technical chops who’s motivated by the problem itself, by the adventure of creating a company, by equity in the company, or a combination of those things. And that’s simply because finding product-market fit often requires many iterations of the initial product with such speed and commitment that is just not present if you’re only an employee without significant equity (let alone if you’re just an outsourced contractor)
i was hoping this video would cover what a non-technical business founder would look like, especially at a YC-backed early-stage startup. as in, what would their day-to-day look like? what would they be doing?
My take:
U made it easy , yet a tech cofounder is not easy....
-how do u guide his inner motives?
-his own way of working
I am following you guys and I just searched guide and saw that you just published.
“Find the best person you knew at school”…. Yeah, that’s a bit of a problem when I’ve always been the one completing group assignments for 6 years straight.
Zerodha (Indian fintech company), Steve Jobs for Apple, Oracle company's founder, Amazon's Jeff Bezos. Airbnb.... None of them are software engineers and they don't have high end software skills. Please tell us in depth authorised stories of how they made it happened and then tell us which critical areas they worked on and then justify your statements and down these examples are exceptions
Steve Jobs had a tech cofounder. Look it up.
It is a no-brainer. You need a great tech co-founder.
You need countless iterations and the velocity to get to product-market fit.
Only a great tech co-founder can deliver it.
So my question is, what to do when he/she failed to convince people to become their technical co founder, no everybody is in Silicon Valley where software engineer are willing to take risks of no pay for a possible big future income ?
I am a bushy bearded former imam based in Toronto, originally from India. I am a subject matter expert in the Islamic world space which is acutely underserved in many areas.
I have identified many problems that can be solved with tech.
My problem. For the past fifteen years I haven’t been able to convince any VCs or techies to co-found a company with me.
I haven’t given up.
I keep seeing more and more problems that can be solved and yet haven’t been.
Can you name one problem you've identified here? I'm genuinely interested.
@@tahmid1897
Interested in stealing my idea or partnering?lol
Where are you located?
I’m in Toronto, Canada.
@@tahmid1897
I have three Quran problems that I’ve had for decades. Can be solved. Not solved yet.
One can be solved with a website and an app. Market size 500m and rapidly growing?
This one could have a low start up development and marketing cost.
I need a website or an app developer for this. Once it’s built, even if clunky, investors or copycats will come in fast.
The other is an electronic device and app set. Market size? 10,000 institutions?
I have a zikar related problem.
Solve with device. Market size? 100m users.
Mark up on latter two products can be high to satisfy investors and fund future production.
Someone in Shenzhen will easily produce the devices.
There is more.
Even for the non special interest world.
I have a problem.
Current state robotics can solve.
This one has a high cap ex for entry. Perhaps a few $Ms.
@@ahsanmohammed1 If you are that protective of your ideas (that have zero implementation), then that's a huge red flag. Definitely not interested in stealing ideas, most are absolutely worthless anyway.
@@tahmid1897
When I was in the Masjid communities, I would freely tell people my ideas. Hoping someone would say, let’s do it, together.
The opposite happened.
They would sit and listen to me, electrified. Then two years later, the exact product I mentioned would appear in the market. Launched in Toronto, Canada, or close by.
Too many of my ideas were stolen from me or just floated out there until they reached someone with resources, who implemented them at at global scale and even spawned new copycats even beyond that.
Many got exorbitantly rich off of them.
I just stood there silently watching it all happen.
Now I feel like I’ll take my ideas to the grave.
what are your thoughts on using no-code tools like bubble or flutterflow initially to build the initial version of the product?
If it works it works
@@TCH534 would investors consider it viable atleast while trying to raise a pre-seed or first round of funding ? I don’t think investors would invest without a CTO in the team
@@StartUpwithSid investors care about making ROI, if you can do that. You’ll be good.
"changing the people you know" is an interesting sentence. I got the meaning, but it took a moment because there are two possible interpretations.
Who’s looking to grow old together? (Hopeless non technical Visionary Founder)
Looking for a technical Confounder
Send me your ideas!!💡
Interesting, in another video someone said, don’t tell the investors that you just met with your cofounder. Now, I should just meet a total stranger and trust him and give him half of my business? Why can’t I just hire them to do the job?
Outsource development to an agency and then hire when your product has hit the market
Would you kindly share your thoughts on responsibility and equity between “visionaries” who have some idea and require engineers to build the prototype, build the product, put everything into production, take responsibility for SLAs? What are the expected roles and responsibilities of each party that warrant sufficient “skin in the game” to determine a fair split of equity?
I agree with what Michael said: “ideas are a dime a dozen”; execution matters far more. I once worked in a startup where the guy who came up with the idea (just a vague one, not even a detailed one with any kind of execution plan) got ~1/3rd of the equity (there were 2 technical and 2 nontechnical cofounders, with 10%, 30%, 30%, 30% equity distribution). After a while, everyone realized how hard it was to go from a rough idea to a viable business model, and how much effort went into customer discovery, iterations, brainstorming, etc. The “idea guy” was absent in most of this. Eventually one of the tech cofounders figured the equity distribution wasn’t fair and tried to negotiate it. He failed to get more, so he quit. After a while, the other technical cofounder quit as well. The nontechnical cofounders tried to keep it alive by outsourcing the work to a dev shop but eventually the startup tanked.
Just make sure you are truly great at whatever it is you do. If it's sales, be a phenomenal enterprise sales person who can close the big deals before end of quarter. If it's marketing be a fantastic story teller. If it's leadership, be the type of person people would follow to the gates of hell. If it's networking, help the company raise money from the biggest names in the industry. Just make sure you are great at SOMETHING and bring your part, don't be the "generalist", that has zero differentiation from 80% of America and no added value. If the technical cofounder has specific skills you should as well.
Yayyyyy people who don't know what they are doing often do the best things! It's the energy I think haha.
The fear of becoming the next winklevoss twins
We love you Michael and Dalton!!
you guys are having too much fun😂😂that's a good job
Great technical cofounders are very important. Even if the other person is also a technical cofounder. The point that they mentioned which is big is if you believe what’s your building is something big then you’ll do the necessary stuff to make it happen. If that means it’s time to get a great technical cofounder to part of the journey then that will be done. Just like a million of other critical things that’s needed to be done throughout the journey of the company. In my opinion if it’s a worthwhile problem to solve then getting a cofounder, learning to code or understanding a new technology will be among a long list of important things that must be done and will get done. If not then the issue is not even wether or not someone is a technical founder but rather they’re not committed in their own company. However there are stories of non-technical founders finding great technical founders which is difficult.It’s still important to understand the coding part of it. Basically the people with no technical skills that managed to get great technical founders have a big advantage (even over a single technical founder) and it’s the biggest way to validate the company early on.
Hands down one of the best and most practical videos on youtube! For free! Talk about 1 m dollar advice for 9.99
"I got a lot of heart, Michael!" You're so effing funny! Haha amazing line. Yes. Put me in coach! lol
My question now is what level of skill the technical co-founder needs to have. For instance I am a new mid level developer, Can I make it by with a non technical cofounder or would I need a sr engineer as a cofounder (which I know would be best)
In my experience, it's not necessarily how good you are right now, but your growth curve. If you are mid level and you've been mid level for like, 5 years.... maybe not. If you're mid level and you just started coding a year ago? Honestly, yeah probably. It also depends obviously on the technical domain you're operating in. For example, our startup is all about searching, data and matching. These types of problems tend to lend to a certain type of technical skills vs, perhaps your startup has more to do with streaming, logistics and networking. That's it's own technical domain that will trend towards it's own technical skills.
I will just acquire one of those software companies that they dont even know to run a business smoothly. I only need to learn all the the basics of coding and programming, you don't need to be full stack. Low coding etc. Artificial Intelligence are on their way. We can build a prototype then hire a programmer and developer to refine. Agile project management is also important. No need to fool yourself being a nerd scientist. Copycat is I think the good options. How chinese are doing it right now outpacing all of their competitors. It is not best ideas it is how you sell to users and consumers. Why are those genious hackers do as bill gates did and other successful software companies. They have the ability to recruit the best hacker to start the more advance or go beyond quantum.
How would you expect to onboard a technical co-founder without product market fit?
Im Web Software developer. Where do I connect with entrepreneurs?
If I am a non technical founder, why would the technical talent stay, i.e. other than my idea and undying enthusiasm, why would they stay with my company when they can just take the idea and do it themselves?
My initial thoughts:
Inspire a technical prodigy to join, offer equity and the potential for a lucrative salary once you're off the ground. As they are working learn from them, show interest in the work they are doing for you. Stay up with them, keep working after they leave, lead by example.
No 10 year expert will give up their 100k salary to join your start up
It's always a pleasure to watch your videos, I deeply love it and I 😁😁😁get a lot of knowledge out of them. Your best fan from CAMEROON
What if I am a technical person, but I am looking for another technical cofounder? I am currently developing the MVP, but I know I need a technical cofounder.
I got the next ai bigidea and I believe it will change the world in a whole. I got no skills but however I am working on it it. Thank you for the advice, It will go in handy for me to get a technical cofounder
I've been a brick and mortal business owner. I want to venture into tech, but for more than a year, I can't find a co-founder here in our province. I found some online, but they are not very committed.
The path I'm trying to take is learning no code tools, then building an mvp, finding product market fit, and then looking for a tech co-founder. Any thoughts on this?
The crux of a startup is finding product market fit before you run out of money. You can do that starting with validation that there are enough customers with a problem who’d be excited to have a product to solve their problems. Many teams fail to even think this is necessary, they think that they can build a solution and customers will come, without even talking first to such customers. For many products, after you have some initial validation, you will need to build and iterate constantly, as no idea or product is perfect on inception. This is a crucial point where having a tech cofounder can make all the difference. Perhaps you can do it on your own, but that will depend on how core to the product is technology.
Happy New Year! My name is Raph from Orlando and Sydney. What's your opinion on starting a meditation app company with using zero coding tools? I just graduated from University of Sydney, and I majored in Product Design. My plan is to hire some Chinese programmers on the side as well. I would love to receive a constructive feedback from both of you. Cheers! Much love.
Make takeaway is: Never hesitate to ask for help! Don't build barriers for yourself.
Im an ideas guy that uses AI coding assistants like claude dev, the world of coding is accessible now to ideas people
Do not learn to code. If you are a non technical founder, first you should be technical but that doesn't mean code, it means to understand how software works with one another and which is better for what situation. If your goal is to make a technical product as a non technical founder, learn what frameworks, languages, databases, cloud providers and all that are. At least then, you are able to form a better opinion about what it means to be a good software engineer. I think it's wrong to push away founders who aren't software engineers.
I am a full-stack dev with knowledge in AstroJS, sveltekit, Nodejs Express, Serverless(best) drizzle orm and some edge sqlite database. I don't have good soft skill due to my anxiety would love to be a CTO😅.
Hi are you looking to build a startup?
@@elas7077 yeahh working on something, but I am interested to be a part of other things
What if a solo founder has both business and technicall skills?
are we able to start a software company after the AI is it possible to generate more income in technical field after AI
The irony of this: technology will make this less true over time. I think a non technical founder can make a non VC backed lifestyle business just fine. VC backed is a different story - they're goal is to 1000x. Technology is a big part of the differentiating IP, and certainly a hallmark of 'solving hard problems', then ya, you want the people who actually understand and are proficient with tech & engineering.
I can't even tell you how many offers I've gotten to co-found companies with non-technical people.
They always mention 15-5% shares and some or no pay.
I feel insulted, I let them know, and close the communication channel.
You probably need some _understanding_ of the technology you are dealing with in any situation. Call it a skill or no. You can also just _use_ a technology to make a product or a service, but still it's better to understand something essential of what you use, to know how far it can go, to be able to compare it to other available things, etc.
What if I‘m just starting in business so I‘m not a „great business person“ yet? And I need a technical co-founder?
Knowledgeable video thanks sir love from India 💞💕
I thought you would say that the best non-technical founders would be people who have business experience in their specific domain, but I guess recruiting is more important.
If you're looking for a technical co-founder let me know
Reply here
Thanks Dalton and Michael! -Nathan
What type of engineer is the best fit as a co-founder? Front-end vs Back-end? Assuming they are not full stack. Or is fullstack the dream CTO?
Can you make the video full screen and not have the sidebar there the whole time? It’s super annoying. Don’t even mind having the respective titles changing on a small corner of the screen. But need to see the whole video please.