Disagree also. I enjoy the hand drawn graphics. The ability to resize, rename, color, and place easily within Mockups is anything but crude. The adjective I've used in describing Mockups is elegant.
Non-technical stuff like having a clue on how to actually make some money, maybe some domain expertise so you can actually solve a problem instead of just doing something cool? Yeah those can wait.
Hackers who dismiss the importance of being able to pull together and organize this type of work are just as bad as idea guys who think they can just get anybody to do this "really simple thing"..
Calacanis is a journalist? By what measure? Arrington, Calacanis, Scoble, that jack ass from 1938 media...its embarrassing to the community that has worked so hard to make the internet a community of people interested for promoting better ideas, improved communication and selflessness. These guys are all about self promotion, highlighting failure and contributing absolutely nothing.
This highlights the fact that there are quality, good paying jobs in the US. A good portion of the unemployed are unemployed because they overvalue their skills or aren't willing to make changes necessary to become employed.
On the Braintree site, which is the payment processor used by this railskit, it shows that they may not always choose to work with you if you do less than 100K a month. Has anyone had any experience with getting approved?
The skill that you must be a specialist at is leadership. You can hire finance specialists, IT specialists, legal specialists, etc. The ability to lead during the peaks and valleys of any business, not just a startup, is what you are being hired for as a CEO.
i'm looking for some information here...how do you not be an "idea guy" if you have ideas? I have detailed business requirements, well thought out mockups, use cases, I listen well, "stay out of the kitchen", what else?
I think I might give this a shot. I recently posted looking for a developer to work with as a co-founder and only had one bite. I'm going down the outsourcing route with one idea right now. I'm also trying to teach myself Ruby as I type this entry. I've seen lots of complaints here from developers dealing with douchebag MBAs. I'd like to find some developers with some balls to invest their time without putting cash in their hands.
As a business/idea guy I hope I'm needed. I have a a stack of programming books on my desk, I actually look at code to try to get my mind around what is going on. But I don't program. What I do bring to the table is experience, an understanding of why an application needs to exist and why current solutions don't exist. I just saw that Angie's List just received a good chunk of funding. That site's founder is not a hacker, but obviously has been instrumental in its success.
I'm truly not trying to bail out SAP here, but doesn't WM have a little bit of accountability here? How could they purchase something that supposedly is designed for the Waste & Recycling industry and be so far off on their analysis of its fit? If I'm a talent scout for Playboy and I pay Judge Judy $20 million to pose because her husband said she was hot, shouldn't I question my decision capabilities?