Ask HN: What interests tech people when talking to a non-tech person?

12 points by tamle 14 years ago | 16 comments

Hi all,

I love tech. I love startups. I am not a tech person.

I'm pretty sure this has been asked many times on this board, and I've read humblemba's blog post about startups and MBAs, but I was wondering...

What sort of personal characteristics do tech people look for when approached by a non-tech person looking to start a company? Ultimately, and I know this changes per person, what can non-tech person do to make a tech person trust them?

Because really... that's what business is all about. In my eyes at least.

Thanks for your responses!

evincarofautumn 14 years ago |

Here are a few things that come to mind if you want to start a company with me.

1. Your idea has to be solid. Not just something you're excited about, not just something I can get excited about, but something that's genuinely good. Something that no one has thought of before, or a new edge to a market that hasn't been nailed yet. If I were an investor, I would have to want to invest in us.

2. You have to have a good understanding of the technical challenges involved in making your idea a reality. You should have an idea of what needs to be done so that your hopes aren't completely dashed when I tell you the facts of what it will take.

3. You cannot undervalue your time, or my time. No matter what, I'm taking a risk by working with you. You have to convince me that it will be worth my while, and you know what? You probably have to make it actually worth my while.

4. You have to be willing to accept feedback. If you start with a complete vision of what your company and product are going to be, you will be sorely disappointed when that vision fails to materialise. By taking critique during the development of your idea, you will end up with something better even than the perfection you imagined.

Just my 2¢.

tamle 14 years ago | |

1. "If I were an investor, I would have to want to invest in us." That makes so much sense, I can't believe I've never thought of it in that light before.

2. Agreed.

3. "You probably have to make it actually worth my while." - Specifically, is this money/equity? Or is there another dimension I'm overlooking?

4. If I'm understanding you correctly: you want to work with someone more passionate about figuring out how to solve problem X as opposed to someone who's passionate about using their proposed solution. Correct?

Thank you!

evincarofautumn 14 years ago | | |

Money is important, but interesting challenges rank a little higher for me. If I'd be solving a really cool problem, I'd be willing to take a risk by accepting more in equity than cash. Fliko's comment covers #4.

Fliko 14 years ago | | |

For #4 I think he is saying that your end product may be different then what you envisioned it as, and as such you must be willing to let go of certain things and to adapt to what is needed. Of course with that said you also have to understand that not all changes are for the greater good, and it's a powerful ability to realize which is which with context.

leeHS 14 years ago |

Good questions! I'm actually a tech person who is interested in finding a non-tech person. Trust you? That's tough, because I don't know you yet. So for starter, what have you done? I'm a hacker, so I could give you my tech credentials. You're a hustler (I hope!), so show me your hustling credentials.

Then after that, it's really all about chemistry. Are we going to be able to count on each other when the shit hits the fan...for the 20th time? Because bottom line, if we hook up to pursue a startup, we'll be married.

tamle 14 years ago | |

Hmmm - so evidence of hustle (lots of evidence smart hustling of course) can help build trust? Or at least the start of it?

Thank you for this insight, it's much appreciated.

leeHS 14 years ago | | |

If you're only talking about trust, then no. I've meet people with lots of hustle that I could never trust. I guess it's a package deal. I need to trust you, and know you have hustle.

The trust comes over time. But your past helps. What other partnerships have you been in? Can I talk to those individuals?

As for hustle...I should probably explain what I'm talking about. I'm an introverted techie who would rather be up till 2am coding than socializing. That's a great skill for building a product, but not so great when it comes to pushing it. So for me, hustle means that while I'm coding, you're out there building buzz and meeting potential customers and investors.

And finally, there might be trust, you might have hustle, but in the end maybe we just don't click.

Damn, it really is like a marriage eh?

So now I'm curious, who are you?

pawn 14 years ago |

I briefly entertained the idea of doing business a while back and it didn't last past the first meeting. The first problem was that he didn't respect the technical side, and he had a pretty technically complex idea with no clue how it'd be implemented. You don't want to tell someone how hard their job isn't unless you actually know, and even if you do, you don't make friends that way.

Another corralary tidbit is that I tend to like people who I feel I share at least some common interest with. If I say I like videogames and you immediately dismiss them as something you outgrew, I immediately have a lower impression of you. Don't let me catch you pretending though. That's pretty irritating and tells me you're not trustworthy.

Dale Carnegie does a good job of teaching how to get along with people. I was skeptical at first but he's got some good stuff.

tamle 14 years ago | |

Hey Pawn - did that person think, "oh you just need to go build it and everything will be fine?"

If so, I completely understand why it didn't get past round 1.

Speaking of video games - play anything good lately?

pawn 14 years ago | | |

Yeah, he had it in his mind that someone could build it in a few weeks and walk away, and he'd be set from that point forward.

On the videogames question, I've actually been working on creating an xbox live indie game and expect to be done in a few weeks. So, I haven't been gaming much lately, been focusing pretty hard on trying to wrap up. I did download the free zelda game for 3ds and had fun with it for an hour.

glimcat 14 years ago |

Someone who would have made a good tech person, but is devoted to a different domain area.

RealGeek 14 years ago |

Money