Ask HN: Non-programmer wants to build a startup. Learn to code?

1 point·roberta··3 comments

how many of you learned to code to build a startup(or would like to)? Does it make sense at all?

I don't think it does. Learning to code is this hyped up movement that simply doesn't work. Learning some syntax in a language is not "coding" nor is it "programming". There's much more than that.

It will also take a long time to become proficient at it. If you want to build one in a few years, and you have the drive and motivation, it could be done, but there's no guarantees. It's traditionally best left to those who are best at it.

That's what co-founders are for.

It depends on what your other abilities are. If you have a solidly related creative skill such as design work or CSS, learning to code can get you to the point where you can contribute to a startup. If your skills lie in business or similar backgrounds, you're not going to be much of a technical founder under most circumstances.

Either way, if you're not already a code, you either need to put in a lot of time learning to engineer software, or look for a co-founder. The latter is usually best.

I don't know how to code but I did teach myself to build a wordpress website to get an MVP up and get customers. It depends on how technical the product is. If you are great at the business, customers and hustling, I would focus on building a basic version using existing technology and then you can build a technical team / find contractors.

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