As the one who will be hiring our first employees (and as a non-technical founder) I am curious what people think about and expect from a brand new start up with low level ($600k +/-) funding for year one. We cannot offer huge salaries but will offer milestone increases over the first few years to arrive at higher levels. We're talking around $70k to start, increasing up to $90k at the end of the first year and continuing to increase as we grow. Options are naturally part of the deal as well.
Also, we're considering using a location that would offer our team a live/work option in a new complex close to the beach (in So. Cal) rather than just traditional commercial space. Would having free housing in a pretty sweet new pad be an incentive to take a bit less cash? It saves the company a bit of money that first year and saves the team in cost of living expenses at the same time. Anyone care to share their opinions/advice/experiences?
Ah, I wasn't clear, apologies. I meant hire someone to code as in hire them to be an actual part of the company, not just a temp hire.
This is my situation at the moment actually. I've got the majority wireframed but will need it coded by a skilled person (I'd just butcher it). In my case I know there will be a lot of customizing and optimizing later as the first iteration is just to get it up & running, so it will be imperative to bring someone on board who will be part of the team, not just a hired gun for a few months.
"Have a Hacker Founder?" While that is a great idea if it happens to work out that way, what about "Hire a Hacker/Architect"?
Sometimes you don't meet anyone you want to be a co-founder. If that's the case and you are able to raise the funds to pay a good coder what they're worth, then hiring the right person should be an option.
Great idea, like giving a community powered twist to the car-share companies out there. This could be especially great for people who lost jobs & no longer need to commute... why not generate income from the otherwise idle car?
Our goal is helping the unemployed and the underemployed make ends meet with jobs ranging from full-time to just a few hours. I'm also designing for users to interact directly, creating local and truly small scale jobs. Lots more to it, but the primary theme is helping people find work of all kinds, not just Monster/freelancer-type stuff.
Of course as a non-technical founder I've been relying on a few project manager friends for input but will soon need to hire someone well versed in back-end architecture and site flow/design to consult during the hacker hiring phase as we get underway. I know what I need (I've wireframed most of the site already) but not what skills are needed to actually code it. Sigh.
On a "making the world a better place for our team" level, we're setting up shop down in Venice Beach. Yay quality of life.
Hell, feedback is constantly helping me shape my project, usually (I hope) for the better.
It is not who builds the best product, it is who markets it the best, who gets the publicity, who convinces the world that their version of the thing is the best.
You could build the best product on Earth but if only a handful of people know about it while a few million know about the second-best product, it isn't hard to guess which one wins.
True, however I think we can all recognize this as an event that could shift the political and power structure of the entire Middle East (should those dominoes start to fall). Even if politics bores you, this is of major significance regardless of personal opinions.
A lot of HN users are also Redditors, and personally I think Reddit (perhaps r/worldnews or r/worldpolitics) would be a more appropriate forum for this type of thing.
That said, this particular ongoing incident is really really big. Like Tiananmen Square or Berlin Wall big. Once in a while something is important and far reaching enough for us all to shift focus for a moment.
As I understand it, you need a secure & clean initial set-up, after which the user should not have to enter a key again as the handshake between your machine and Google will automatically change.
Phishing won't work if the user does not have to enter the key again. It requires a clean (no keylogger etc) initial setup. Once installed if someone phishes the end user wouldn't need to re-enter a key, thus defeating the phishing scheme.
Everyone thinks their idea is great. That and $2 gets you a cup of coffee.
In my own situation as a non-technical founder I have been in a technical holding pattern for exactly the reason you stated. I ask myself "What do I bring to the table"? The answer is that while lot is coming together, I feel that until those key pieces fall into place it would be inappropriate to ask someone who brings solid technical skills to the table to look at my project.
The question everyone, technical or non-technical, should ask themselves regarding any project is "What do I bring to the table?"
I agree. As a non-technical founder my main focus is on that initial capital raise to be adequately funded to build a solid team and pay them what they're worth.
You wouldn't ask a mechanic to rebuild your engine for equity in your car when you eventually sell it, neither should you expect coders to work for free.
Also, we're considering using a location that would offer our team a live/work option in a new complex close to the beach (in So. Cal) rather than just traditional commercial space. Would having free housing in a pretty sweet new pad be an incentive to take a bit less cash? It saves the company a bit of money that first year and saves the team in cost of living expenses at the same time. Anyone care to share their opinions/advice/experiences?