Should a start-up founder be a tech guy?

I believe so and posted on this a while back. I just think that if you're not technical you have a big blind spot when it comes to the most important elements of a startup: product and technology.

In the web world, technical could mean you are a great product person rather than someone who can code really well.

More thoughts on this here: http://www.startupcfo.ca/2009/07/why-i-will-never-be-founder.html

It's not critical that the founder/CEO is technical but if your product is technical, then you need someone you can rely on that is. If the coder you've found is not part of your company (and is committed to sticking around when things get tough), then I'd recommend trying to find a co-founder who is technical.

Not necessarily. Yes, you can be successful without even knowing a single line of code. Many many examples prove that.

However what's more imp. here is - when will your skills come into play? The early the better.

Play on your strengths, and get people whose strengths are your weaknesses. Execution matters!

A co-founder does not need to be a techie. But a co-founder does need to bring value to the venture. Are you a seller? A dealmaker? A design whiz? Etc. If you've got a great coder, congrats! Now figure out how you can best complement that person's talents with your own.

I think it is extremely helpful to have enough knowledge of technology to know what is/is not possible. It is tough to manage a development team when you can't assess whether some feature or product requirement should be easy or hard. It will also be difficult to give guidance on where you can utilize existing toolkits and code.

That said, I know it can be done, I would just start reading up on the technologies you're planning to use so you have a background sense of the latest and greatest as well as the possibilities.

Ideally it should be particularly if it's a tech-intensive idea. There will be arguments about the effort involved unless you bring something pretty special to the table.

There's a good video here that covers the question you asked.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRfV0YfvDP4

I think the core answer is that a startup needs to be lean with everyone adding value. When it comes to the founders and any early position, they need to add something.

Often that something is technical expertise, but that isn't the only thing that startups need (sales & market understanding, user knowledge...). On this I'll second Mark Beadles' opinion and also Mark MacLeod (who mentions this though he says they should be technical).

So, kaan, do you bring something to the startup? And, just as importantly, does a co-founder have the technical part nailed? - someone you trust and can communicate with (and yes, co-founder, you can't "outsource" the technical knowledge)

I'm not from a technical background, but I certainly have an interest in all things technical. I think this helps when speaking with the actual technical guys in that you aren't just another 'ignorent' business person but have made an effort to understand what they do.

Likewise I like it when the technical guys suggest ways the business can be run better. Makes for a much more involved workplace.

I started my business with very little technical knowledge, but had a genuine interest to learn. With that I built up a team of super professionals in their respective areas and have built a very successful business.

One of the things that so many businesses are missing is the actual business guy. Any specialist (such as a Programmer) who decides to quit his job and start his own business because "he could do it better" generally finds there's a lot more to it than they thought.

The guy running the show needs to be familiar enough with the product and industry that they can talk about it professionally, but doesn't HAVE to be so involved. He should be able to get other quality people involved, make sure they know what they are supposed to do and let them get on with it.

A perfect example in my book is Richard Branson, genius. Read his books and study about him. He is making it happen, isn't so closely involved in each product but has the "it" of a successful CEO.

I think a start-up might need both coders and business people.

You're welcome to contact me if you want to discuss some business ideas.