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Eh, more than a bit. The epithet you chose echo the exact words I hear from many white collar execs trying to turn "social networking for baby boomers" into some sort of cash cow, believing that licensing a 200k per year social networking software and getting millions in capital is The Right Way.

I understand your article wasn't actually about that and it was more about the self-empowerment you found through doing it yourself. I'm in full support of self-empowerment - but I will say this: technical cofounders are strictly not overrated. As has been suggested many times in this comment thread, a balance between a good business cofounder and a good technical cofounder is a great way to do it.

A one-man technical founder can get along without a business person or even outsourcing to a business consultant; a one-man business founder cannot get along without a technical person or without outsourcing to a technical contractor/consultant. Additionally, I applaud your self-driven effort, but it is a common mistake to think you can take over the world after 6 months to even 4 years of self-taught programming experience.

As a business person, you did well by learning just enough to build a prototype, from there, you should be able to attract a technical cofounder that has the skill and talent you are ultimately going to need in the long run and probably don't have the time or desire to pick up on your own.




I have no illusions of being able to be the technical side of this business. I was just trying to move things along, learn something (which was fun), and find a partner. A great technical partner and good compatibility interpersonally is key to the opportunity to having success. I (now we) haven't done shite yet, but at least now have the beginnings of a team. -Will




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