Hacker or Hustler? I propose a 3rd Character Class.
Hustlers: You sell shit. If you're good, you close some deals.
Can Hackers be successful Hustlers? Yes, sometimes. That accounts for the supply and demand preference for Hackers on HN. Unless you are an exceptional hustler, you can be made redundant by a decent extrovert hacker who has a head start on understanding the technical benefits of your business.
Can Hustlers become Hackers? Not often. The exception where a Hustler believed so much in his/her project that the Hustler learned to code at least enough to get good specs is a theme I've seen before.
Building and selling--forgive the simplification--is enough to make a product and earn revenue. We see this transactional business model with many webapps. But is this enough to grow a startup to reach all of its commercial goals? Perhaps there is something missing.
Prophet: A third founder category.
A prophet has deep subject matter expertise. A prophet foresees the need for a solution in the industry and knows enough about the tools available to create a solution proposal. A prophet/hustler is more than a hustler because a prophet’s focus is visionary and long term over short term and transactional. A prophet/hacker is more than a hacker because the prophet dives deeper into market need and development future of the project.
A prophet can be a standalone member than neither hacks nor hustles. One of my favorite contract management startups has a PhD in Linguistics that provides the technical expertise, but she doesn’t live in either of hacker/hustler roles.
The prophet is often the initial founder, because the prophet is master of the conceptual. But not always, as a prophet can take the form of an early advisor or investor who shapes the technical skills of the founders and finds a market for their work product.
Who's the prophet on your team?