In our discussion of the closing of Devver earlier this week, we mentioned the problems the company faced by being created by two technical co-founders. Without a business-minded co-founder to bring passion to the non-techie parts of a startup, companies may struggle to keep up with both sides of the operation. WePay co-founder Rich Aberman is the quintessential non-technical co-founder, and he recently provided some advice on things to consider before founding a startup without technical prowess.
WePay is a service to help groups collect and manage money, but dealing in cash transactions involves lots of regulations and security issues. While his partners are coding away making the experience better for users, Aberman deals with banks and interfaces with customers to find out ways to make the product better and safer. One lesson Aberman has for the non-technical co-founders out there working side-by-side with developers is to not trivialize projects that may seem obvious and easy.
“Just because something is logical and it makes sense, does not mean that the code can easily support it,” writes Aberman. “From what I can tell, nothing is more frustrating to an engineer than a non-engineer asking for something complex, and treating it as if it’s trivial.”
“I used to think that you build the product and then you get people to use it. As it turns out, these two things happen at the same time.”
– Rich Aberman
The lesson here is that even if parts of your team are clearly focused on separate goals, such as programming code versus developing business strategies, they should be working and collaborating as closely as possible. The only worse than being completely one-sided with developers would be to have the business side employees completely detached from the technical people.
It is crucial that the people focusing on business goals be cognizant of the limitations of the development side, and vice versa. If that kind of collaboration is occurring, the trivialization of concepts won’t happen as often. Another lesson Aberman has for the non-techies is to understand the organic qualities of software development.
“Software is like a living breathing organism. It’s never ‘complete’,” writes Aberman. “I used to think that you build the product and then you get people to use it. As it turns out, these two things happen at the same time, from the beginning, and throughout the entire life cycle of the company.”
Last month we mentioned Aberman and WePay in an article about how startups need to be concerned with credibility when dealing with venture capitalists. Credibility also plays a role for the non-technical co-founder, according to Aberman.
“Being honest about your technical skills, genuinely asking for help, and trying your best to contribute is like trying your best to speak the local language in a foreign country- it’s a sign of respect and humility,” he says.
Check out Aberman’s original post on the WePay blog to check up on the other lessons he says are imperative for non-technical co-founders. And let us know any advice you may have on the subject in the comments below.
