I am not a programmer (as of now), and as I explore how to execute an idea, I am reluctant to share a full-scale plan and specs of the site I wish to create. Hence, the ambiguity in my original post.
I would love to share a detailed plan of my idea with the community, to garnish feedback and establish credibility. However, there is nothing to stop someone from taking the plan that I have spent hours developing (which I consider intellectual property, equal to the actual programming), and improving upon the idea and writing the actual code to make it happen. I understand that "ideas" are merely just that, and that executing an idea is where it counts.
How much disclosure can you provide about a project to solicit feedback, without having your idea "borrowed" for development?
Plink, the above comment does not reference my original post to finding a good programmer, no.
My previous comment to which you replied was in response to Bendmorris, "It seems like you're trivializing degrees from top universities, as well as overstating the difficulty of HTML and CSS."
I was simply defending myself that I was not trivializing degrees, and that I wish I knew the technical side so I could implement my idea. As someone with zero technical background, HTML and CSS are a foreign language.
It seems there was a misunderstanding in my intent and tone. You may better understand my position after reading comments I have made to others in this post.
Mindcrime, your post has been the most inspirational and informational. Thank you!
I will share these articles (especially the first one from the CS professor) with a lot of my business colleagues. There is an unspoken feeling that "business guys" can never learn to program to implement their ideas. Or, "hackers" are completely inept at understanding business, and should focus only on building their application.
This is the conversation I wish my post would have evoked - the "marriage" of business understanding and technical ability. (Admittedly, my tone may have come across as obnoxious to technical readers, which was not my intent.)
After your post, and comments from other readers, I am much more inspired to gain at least some technical skills to building a working prototype for my idea. While I feel my skills are best suited to pitch the idea, write the business plan, raise capital, sell to potential customers, etc. I feel having the technical ability, to a certain extent, would enable me to execute the idea. Or, if nothing else, give me more credibility among programmers who may otherwise see me as solely an "idea man".
In any regard, thank you for your comment and advice.
I definitely have a sense of humour!
That's good advice too, thank you.
My fear (and I know this is common among many entrepreneurs) is to fully lay out an idea for someone, and have Mark say that he is working on the idea for you. When in reality he's secretly building his own application based on your idea.
Maybe it's not so bad to be a Winklevoss. Didn't they receive a $65 million settlement? :)
Fleitz, I thought I had included my email in my profile. I will review your profile and be in touch shortly.
Can you create an application without having any idea of a business model? Sure. But why would you? I am certainly not opposed to VC funding. In fact, it's essential in many cases. I think it's smarter to have a business model in mind behind your application though. That's just my opinion. Anyone is free to disagree. That's what makes these forums so intellectually stimulating.
Revorad, your last inclination is correct. As I explained in previous comments, I do bring more to the table than just an idea. Thank you for recognizing the sarcasm, and irony of Winkelvoss and Zuckerberg.
Bend, thanks for your response. Clearly you missed the meaning of my satirical tone in my post. For that, I apologize. I was simply trying to evoke a response from the reader so that my post was not overlooked among the hundreds of posts. In that regard, I achieved my goal.
I value greatly degrees from top universities, especially MIT and Stanford. I do understand the difficulty of HTML and CSS, and I am envious of the technical geniuses that are able to build applications using them. My point was that it takes more than excellent programming knowledge to build a useful application for users, AND turn it into a successful business venture. Many programmers are great at building apps, but may not know how to build a successful business from it (Or, they may know exactly how).
I am not stating my idea is great, as I have not pitched it to programmers or users yet. I appreciate your advice on building the app myself though. Another reader suggested a similar idea, and I believe it is a good course of action.
I hope I have conveyed that the tone in my post was merely to illicit a response from readers, and was not intended to trivialize degrees or technical abilities.
Scott, I do in fact have more than just an idea. Thus far, I have been able to close deals. I bring previous entrepreneurial experience, a solid understanding of business, business plan development experience, a network of management consultants, capital and connections to VC, and perhaps most importantly, a scrappy, fire-in-the-belly desire to bring my idea to market.
I described myself as a "business-type sort of" because I am not a hacker myself, AND I am not a suit. While I understand and very much like business, I wanted to communicate to readers that I am not your traditional NY businessman that wears a three-piece suit and has an aura of Armani cologne.
Thank you for your advice on building an alpha version of the idea, and taking that to programmers. This is the type of feedback I was seeking from my post. I have not tried to convince programmers of my idea yet, so the jury is out on whether or not I am really a business-type.
As a non-hacker yourself, I am curious as to what brings you to the HN forums? I hope you were not offended by satirical post, and I do thank you for your response.
I may be interested in learning how to program.