A talk given in Sydney to a group of eager non-technical entrepreneurs looking to find a technical cofounder for their businesses.
Technical cofounding 101Finding and working witha technical cofounder.
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Hi, I amSteve Ringo[email protected]@stevenringo
What is atechnical cofounder?
I’ll let you in on a secret
You don’t need atechnical cofounder
You don’t need atechnical cofounder*
If not having a technical cofounder ispreventing you from progressing,you’re doing it wrong.
What stage?Idea Launch OMG!
Minimum Viable Product
Idea Launch OMG!Technicalskill/capacityrequired
TechnicalBusiness• Business Model• Marketing• Sales• Acquisition• Customer developmentetc.• Feasibility• Basics
You are gambling
The dating game
Start manually
‣Wireframes‣Surveys‣Interviews‣Mockups‣Simulations‣etc.
‣SaaS‣Tumblr‣Wordpress‣Dropbox‣Surveymonkey‣Mailchimp‣Analytics‣Mechanical Turk
Learn some of the technical ropes
Understandthe technical challengesa cofounder might face
You don’t need atechnical cofoundernecessarily^
Outsource to get a head start
Don’t outsource yourcore competency
Do outsource beforeyou’re competent
Don’t be ready to part withyour equity too early
You can buy a solution
*not a real one, anyway :-)You can’t buy a cofounder*
Hangouts
Technical events
User groups
Speed dating events
❧
Managing Software Projects
Thin slices
Complete & deploy each one first before starting the next
Drawing interfaceComplete & deploy each one first before starting the next
Drawing interfaceSharing & InvitingComplete & deploy each one first before starting the next
Drawing interfaceSharing & InvitingEnhancements. Colours and undoComplete & deploy each one first before starting the next
Drawing interfaceSharing & InvitingEnhancements. Colours and undoPublishing and replayComplete & deploy each one first before starting the next
Issue tracking system
Asset & source control
Finding Waldo
“clicking”
nous & passion
Good understanding of howtechnology impacts the business andvice versa
Broad understanding of allissues of softwaredevelopment, deployment andmanagement
Expertise in your domain
Track record
Organised
Idea Launch OMG!Technologyemphasis
Thank you