It is not an MVP...it is an invite. I am growing tired of these misinterpretations of what an MVP (formerly known as a prototype) should be. RTFM.
rougefeta, you need a Tech Co-Founder, but do you really think you're going to get a quality TCF this way? If you need a translator to read your "offering" then you are doing it wrong.
1) What are you trying to accomplish?
2) How is this a product?
3) Wow.
rougefeta, your intentions are not aligned with your output/implementation. I wish you the best and hope the comments on this thread have been helpful. You can do it, thank the stars you did not invest a ton of capital yet. Keep us informed of your intentions and progress!
You, and I and most of HN, see this conundrum every time we want to start something. In your case, since you don't have the geek chops, you have the following choices:
1) Get lucky and find a TCF willing to work for equity.
2) 'Hire' a company/freelancer to build your MVP
3) Hire someone to grow with you and build your MVP
4) Do it yourself
My opinion is that if your product is actually worth all of this fuss then you have to put your money where your mouth is. I would keep the job, read more about development, save some money, and figure out how you are going to hire someone on a project basis (1099/freelancer)...there will come a time, MVP or not, that you will have to make that leap. Sure, today is not the day. Let's say you get your MVP created, its a hit, and then what? What about hosting it on EC2 or dedicated servers? What about some marketing? What about some legal reviews? What about incorporating (kinda need that to realistically spread equity to partners and investors)? If you did outsource the MVP how are you going to get your new dev team up to speed when you do hire...and what if it needs to be rebuilt from the ground up because the outsourced dev did not take scaling, security, or authorization into account? What about the other 10,000 things that are going to hit you?
You'll be fine. I see a lot of people that have the best of intentions that are not fiscally capable of starting a business. You at least have a job. Some of these stories of creating the next whiz-bang site with 10 Million users on the first day and only $1.57 in startup capital are definitely the exception and not the rule. If you compare yourself to that success, then you are being unfair on yourself and on your future team. All of this lean startup talk ticks me off because some times you do need some capital to make it happen. That is where outsourcing may help a bit, but what ask yourself if losing the knowledge of the code is worth it? Fate's word of the day: Conundrum.
Like another poster alluded to, save up some money (keep your job). Interview 5+ developers with entrepreneurial tendencies, pick one, thank the others, hire the one you picked, tier their compensation on milestones.
You already founded this, so looking for a co-founder is fairly moot. Hire someone, give them a chance to shine, bring them in as a partner. If trying to force the "tech co-founder" isn't working, try something else. As for outsourcing...I think it is a silly word that means "not committed". You're not committed to them, they are not committed to you...in the end you have your prototype, but know far less about it then if you hired someone, even an intern, and had them walk you through their process and the code...most outsourced help would probably not do that for you. A less risky move is to hire someone on 1099 for the project...you probably know more about those rules than most.
If you waste too much time fretting over the details, you'll never get it off the ground. Check your balls, take the leap. You will never be 100% correct (you damned accountant! : ) so take your best shot and learn what you are made of.
Post an email link or phone number in your about and I'll give you a call and a swift kick in the ass if you need it.
A CPA! Kudos. I know that is not easy, my fiancee just tested for her CPA...but I would hate to see the code she would write : ) This is way before your time, but Kenny Rogers had a lyric, "Got to know when to hold 'em, and know when to fold 'em" which can extrapolate to your perceived need to do everything. You can do everything, or anything, but where do you draw the line? Janitor? QA testing? Chief Bottle Washer? I'd "hold" on running the company, but "fold" on writing the code.
If you do decide to "outsource" do you mean offshore? Perhaps Rent-a-coder isn't a bad idea, but just make sure the coder(s) are available after they write the code, have them sign a non-compete, and possibly outsource a second coder to review the code if you are not getting the warm and fuzzies from the first team. Ask for well-documented code including an overview explanation, approach, architectural considerations, and lots of comments. Ask for their best work. Again, I wish you the best and I hope that once you get your prototype up you let us all know so we can kick the tires with you.
One last thing: Stop worrying about the tech co-founder and get this project in the bag! Heck, the more you type the less likely a Tech Co-founder is going to want to come on board! Get 'er done!
How old are you? Outsourcing? To where? Part of the problem is a "Tech Co-Founder" is already making $300k+ a year. If you want someone to throw a few hours your way, you need to sweeten the pot and step up the talk a bit. Some "Tech co-founders" would actually have to use their time spent on your idea as a write-off. jay, I'm not trying to smackdown on you but what do you have to offer your tech co-founder? Even if you learn to code, what can you offer? Will you need a Marketing VP too? Or legal advice? Or accounting help?
1) I wish you the best of luck.
2) As Buffett said, "Invest in what you know."
3) Hire the best you can afford to help you with the tech issues.
Regarding 3: You go and learn all you can, write some code, etc. The more you learn the more you will realize you are in over your head (I hope you learn that). Besides the security issues you have never heard of, or the scaling issues, or the caching issues, you are not a Developer!
To paraphrase Buffett, "Stick with what you know." If you have a good, marketable, revenue-generating idea then you are doing well. You can generate good ideas, that is great! Show your idea/attempt/mockup to potential tech co-founders. If the basics are sound any reasonable techie will see ways to improve it for you and take the bite.
I am sure that you did not mean to insult all of the techies out here by saying you can learn to code in a year a two, but there is much more to our craft than banging keys or struggling with memory leaks...we have experience that you will never have if you part-time half-ass it. Either become a "coder" full-time, or find someone that has. I am known to be a hard ass, so please forgive me, but you don't have to code the solution/vision yourself...in fact, please don't. Reading your post I see a lot of 'impossible' statements. jay, if you want your idea to move forward with realistic performance, hire someone. If you don't have the money, search for the money, if you can't do that, search for the talent. If you believe in your idea and can convince a techie to believe in your idea, well, your search is over. I am sure you have heard this before but "Ideas are a dime a dozen." It is true, even with mockups, but if you need a tech co-founder, I think you came to the right place.