The Truth about the Lone Startup Founder(scrapages.com)
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The Truth about the Lone Startup Founder
http://www.scrapages.com/scraps/show/172
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I don't think anyone is arguing that lone founder startups can NEVER succeed; the argument is lone founder startups have a lesser success rate, probably.
And in a game of numbers, it easy to see why YC would want to focus on multi-partner startups over single when there is no shortage of them.
-Zaid
And in a game of numbers, it easy to see why YC would want to focus on multi-partner startups over single when there is no shortage of them.
-Zaid
I'm not trying to downplay the importance of co-founders so much as try to show people what they need to be looking for in cofounders as well as what they need themselves. YC has every right to want multiple founders, but for someone who doesn't get in, or doesn't apply, this information could help them know where to focus their time.
The author has been bang on target. Its quite possible to be one man army and still pull off with a great company but it would take time and this lone guy must work 3 to 5 people's work. Second thing is, having more people who match the same level of thinking helps hammering out loop holes and building better products.
Here are a few resources for spiffing up your "artist" and "seller" hats:
=== The Artist ===
. The Non-Designer's Design Book, by Robin Williams. This short, easy read details four essential design principles that will help you consciously communicate better visually. It's also available on O'Reilly's safari service.
. Universal Principles of Design: 100 Ways to Enhance Usability, Influence Perception, Increase Appeal, Make Better Design Decisions, and Teach Through Design. This book will help you build your design vocabulary and better understand concepts in design that you likely haven't thought of. It will help you describe the ways in which this page - http://www.sandstromdesign.com/nav.html - sucks (it lacks external consistency and it contains interference effects, to begin with). The book has a great format, describing a topic on one page with visual examples on the following page. The descriptions are short of enough that you can read them in about 4 minutes.
. http://www.hallwaytesting.com - this is actually my own site. You can post your site for usability feedback and give usability feedback. Live usability tests allow you to get more details, but the users on my site also give valuable feedback, and it doesn't cost you any money or nearly as much time. I try to give feedback for as many sites as possible and am usually pretty thorough about it. Users have told me that the site has helped them a lot.
=== The Seller ===
. http://www.marketingexperiments.com . This site is absolutely the best web development resource I've found, ever. It contains articles on developing a unique value proposition, doing competitive analysis on the Internet, and of course actually marketing your site using PPC, SEO, and other online marketing techniques. Perhaps the most valuable thing I learned from this site is that online marketing is online testing.
. How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie. For a long time I didn't want to read this book because I thought doing so would make me a sleaze ball. Instead it's made me a more effective communicator. When you think about it, honing our skills in most areas involves learning how to communicate with other humans better. As The Tech Wizard it's essential that you communicate the purpose of your code. As The Artist it's essential you communicate the purpose of a site and each of its elements. As The Seller you must know how to communicate value. Dale Carnegie's book will show you how to effectively communicate value.
=== The Artist ===
. The Non-Designer's Design Book, by Robin Williams. This short, easy read details four essential design principles that will help you consciously communicate better visually. It's also available on O'Reilly's safari service.
. Universal Principles of Design: 100 Ways to Enhance Usability, Influence Perception, Increase Appeal, Make Better Design Decisions, and Teach Through Design. This book will help you build your design vocabulary and better understand concepts in design that you likely haven't thought of. It will help you describe the ways in which this page - http://www.sandstromdesign.com/nav.html - sucks (it lacks external consistency and it contains interference effects, to begin with). The book has a great format, describing a topic on one page with visual examples on the following page. The descriptions are short of enough that you can read them in about 4 minutes.
. http://www.hallwaytesting.com - this is actually my own site. You can post your site for usability feedback and give usability feedback. Live usability tests allow you to get more details, but the users on my site also give valuable feedback, and it doesn't cost you any money or nearly as much time. I try to give feedback for as many sites as possible and am usually pretty thorough about it. Users have told me that the site has helped them a lot.
=== The Seller ===
. http://www.marketingexperiments.com . This site is absolutely the best web development resource I've found, ever. It contains articles on developing a unique value proposition, doing competitive analysis on the Internet, and of course actually marketing your site using PPC, SEO, and other online marketing techniques. Perhaps the most valuable thing I learned from this site is that online marketing is online testing.
. How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie. For a long time I didn't want to read this book because I thought doing so would make me a sleaze ball. Instead it's made me a more effective communicator. When you think about it, honing our skills in most areas involves learning how to communicate with other humans better. As The Tech Wizard it's essential that you communicate the purpose of your code. As The Artist it's essential you communicate the purpose of a site and each of its elements. As The Seller you must know how to communicate value. Dale Carnegie's book will show you how to effectively communicate value.
Even if you are the perfect seller, artist, and coder, you will still only have one opinion on everything. You need someone to be right when you are wrong, and wrong when you are right.
Yes, and at the end of the day a decision has to be made.
This is where companies get in trouble- the founders have different opinions. I've seen two companies struggle because founders differed... and I've known one company where the founder knew what was going on and was clearly in charge (which there were some founding employees, there was no question of who made the decisions)... that company succeeded until the VC forced a new CEO who couldn't make a decision to save his life on us....
More people to spread out the early work is good. Multiple founders can be ok.
But one needs to be in charge.
This is where companies get in trouble- the founders have different opinions. I've seen two companies struggle because founders differed... and I've known one company where the founder knew what was going on and was clearly in charge (which there were some founding employees, there was no question of who made the decisions)... that company succeeded until the VC forced a new CEO who couldn't make a decision to save his life on us....
More people to spread out the early work is good. Multiple founders can be ok.
But one needs to be in charge.
That's true, but I've found that it is much easier to have friends who will give you different opinions than to find someone committed enough to be a co founder. Surround yourself with people you respect and trust and you'll get the different viewpoints you need.
I agree with Readmore that you can still find that kind of feedback from other people you know.
Perhaps another big benefit of having a co-founder is the mutual moral support you can give each other. Sure, you can hire a designer to make your logo, but it's pretty unlikely you'll be able to hire someone to cheer you on night and day. It would be even weirder to hire someone to celebrate your victories with, and have that person understand first-hand what each triumph means.
Perhaps another big benefit of having a co-founder is the mutual moral support you can give each other. Sure, you can hire a designer to make your logo, but it's pretty unlikely you'll be able to hire someone to cheer you on night and day. It would be even weirder to hire someone to celebrate your victories with, and have that person understand first-hand what each triumph means.
Interesting post!
Obviously, a person can theoretically have all of the skills to pull off a startup alone (though I can count the number of people I know who are good coders AND good UI designers on one hand).
The big plus of a co-founder (IMHO) or two is motivation and energy.
Oh, and intelligence. Two good brains are generally more than twice as smart as one. :-)
Obviously, a person can theoretically have all of the skills to pull off a startup alone (though I can count the number of people I know who are good coders AND good UI designers on one hand).
The big plus of a co-founder (IMHO) or two is motivation and energy.
Oh, and intelligence. Two good brains are generally more than twice as smart as one. :-)
I don't think a lone founder needs to be an artist at all. I am planning to hire someone to make my site shine once I have the functionality where I want it to be. That probably also applies for selling. If you have a good idea, and enough drive, why not just hire people instead of giving away equity?
What do you mean by functionality? If you think the shiny surface of your product can be that much of an after-thought (i.e. not considered alongside the functionality you choose to code), you either have wonderfully abstracted code (or lots of useless code) (in which case you're delaying it because you can), or you have a different definition of Artist than I do (in which case you're delaying it because you've confused design with gloss).
I agree with that. Artist doesn't mean someone to make the logos, it means some one to design your site and make it pleasing to the users. I've found that the sooner that happens in the process the better. In fact I'm starting to lean toward the 37Signals method of making the layout work before it's even attached to the code. Thinking about how things happen from the user's pov can really help your final product.
I've come to realize that how things happen from the user's pov / what the user sees IS your product. That's what the user's paying for. The user cares as much about what your app purports to do as how your app does it. The how determines whether the user will save more time/money/resources with your app than without it.
That said, I do agree with original commentor that it's possible to get all the functionality working (the interface, the AJAX, the domain model) and then have someone take your visually uninspired HTML+CSS and turn it into something beautiful. Sometimes that's all a hacker will need, and sometimes a hacker will need much more.
That said, I do agree with original commentor that it's possible to get all the functionality working (the interface, the AJAX, the domain model) and then have someone take your visually uninspired HTML+CSS and turn it into something beautiful. Sometimes that's all a hacker will need, and sometimes a hacker will need much more.
Exactly my plan. And as joelonsoftware pointed out, some "design" problems are really engineering problems (like the wheel of the ipod). I can solve those, and then some artist can create fancy logos, fonts and stylesheets.
Good luck. I'd love to hear how you feel after you've launched.
Exactly my plan. And as joelonsoftware pointed out, some "design" problems are really engineering problems (like the wheel of the ipod). I can solve those, and then some artist can create fancy logos, fonts and stylesheets.
I've been reading the "E-Myth," which also describes three roles of the founder: Technician, Manager, and Entrepreneur. (These roughly corresond to the roles you outline). The first part of this book is an excellent analysis of why many startup companies fail. The rest of the book's advice gets worse, and by the end it is a naked advertisement for the author's seminars and consulting services.
Get it from the library.
Get it from the library.
More than the need for different skills. I think as a single founder you have to be willing to wear all of these hats.
The big assumption that everyone makes with multiple founders is that everyone contributes and that the founders really know each other. Remember that your performance is averaged with others, so if the other founders aren't contributing, you still have the burden of reaching decisions with multiple people.
I find that with one founder its easier to divide work.
The big assumption that everyone makes with multiple founders is that everyone contributes and that the founders really know each other. Remember that your performance is averaged with others, so if the other founders aren't contributing, you still have the burden of reaching decisions with multiple people.
I find that with one founder its easier to divide work.
I would actually separate the "marketing" hat from the "sales" hat. Sales guys want a list of leads to call or visit. They seldom have ideas about how to generate leads. Sales guys can get the door slammed in their face or the phone hung up on them multiple times in a day without needing antidepressants. Marketing people need to go to the therapist when someone hangs up on them but they can figure out how to get a list of the right people for your sales guy to call and they can figure out what word to spend your google adsense budget on.