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Comment by dudul | Hacker News Reader

Nothing I hate more than the "I'm an idea guy" meme. I spend a few weeks trying to meet with potential co-founders who were looking for a tech co-founders. They all gave me this "I'm the idea guy" shit. And the idea was just "Let's do X for Y".

They didn't put any thoughts into how to monetize, what is the short term goal, which customers they would target first, how to gain traction, how to validate the idea, what was the advantage over the competition, etc etc

And when I started pointing out all these things to think about they got either panicked or angry, "why are you not excited?" "Why are you trying to destroy the idea?"

For me, it's actually really hard to do the opposite and find a true non-technical co-founder. Someone who would actually produce something, bring something to the table other than their "idea" of "Uber for puppies" or "An awesome merge of Facebook and AirBnB".

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Yea as an Idea guy who knows how to code but isn't the best at it, let me apologize for taking things too sensitively. Those are def. questions every idea guy should have already thought of. And you bringing them up should not be taken as an attack. I think those are really constructive questions that would help a business succeed.

PS if you want to discuss startup ideas let me know

The thing is these people are not idea guys. Throwing a tagline is not an idea, an idea should include the whole plan, or at least a first version to be refined, augmented and improved.

Unfortunately, it seems like calling yourself "an idea guy" is a sign that you actually have no clue. I can't imagine a real idea guy calling himself like that :)

If you know how to code you're already so far ahead :) I remember talking to a guy who told me "and then we'll add the API", I asked "why an API? What is it gonna do?", his answer: "Everybody has an API, we need it if we're serious", he had no clue what an API even was.

In a way, it makes me sad. Most of these people I "interviewed" (for lack of better words) were working full time on their project (or so they claimed) but still had no clue what they were really trying to accomplish.

The reason I argue against the "idea guys have no worth" is the exact reason you mentioned: real idea guys have a vision, which includes an implementation strategy, understanding of what the tech is gonna do to solve the problem, how to market and sell the product, who to target, a realistic plan to build and scale, a good name for the product, an idea of what the logo and slogans should be ,etc.

An idea is way more than just one line (uber for X). My idea of an idea is insights into the market, designs for the MVP, and marketing strategy all in one.

The same can be said about any developer who think they found a business because they found a technical problem which haven't been solved.

Some business opportunities are based on solving technical problems, not all technical problems are business opportunities.

Completely agree on both side. I'm amazed at how little folks (technical and non-technical) looking to start a business ignore basic strategy questions or seek to understand their market, the competition, and a model for profitability.

Personally I think some of the most enjoyable parts of starting are debating these points, creating inexpensive tests to validate (or invalidate) them, and evolve the idea.

Half should be below median, just like any other field. Your claim of all implies either exaggeration or not being in a target rich environment.

A change of scenery might clarify the problem. If you go to a star trek convention you will likely not find any tech founders. It is true that many tech people are trekkies. Superficially that makes it sound like a great idea to recruit for a tech position at a trek convention. It is simultaneously true that only a microscopic fraction of trekkies are programmers. Most will be postman, bartenders, truck drivers, a true cross section of the country. That's why no body recruits programmers at a star trek convention.

On the other hand, if you went to strangeloop or Clojure/West and claimed you can't find any lisp programmers, that sounds way more mysterious. "I went to BSDCan and didn't meet any sysadmins" what?

So where is this businessperson-free location you went fishing at? Where is a good place to fish is a valid question for both sides.

I don't disagree. I met most "candidates" at meetups on the East Coast, and via cofounderslab. Maybe these are not the best ways to find serious co-founders.

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