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So this is my situation:

I've got an idea and I don't have much programming skills - I'm 16 and about to start uni for the first time in a couple of months and I'm in for Software Engineering.

I've got a good idea (IMHO) that I think will do well, and I am willing to execute. I have picked up PHP (I can write a lot, but I'm no pro) , Javascript (still learning), HTML and CSS. The task is still big.

I have no funding, no money to start and no friends that can code. I'd rather not get angel investors as I have planned and made many adjustments to allow for development costs to be kept to a minimum. I also feel that angel investors would limit my flexibility and I'm not ready to be committed to something like that.

I've read a lot of blogs and I understand the techniques that have been spoken about by experienced entrepreneurs but I have yet to come across a post with this situation. I've got no industry experience in anything - but I do read a lot about technology, start-ups and on the economy.

Thanks for your time, I really appreciate any responses and look forward to reading them.

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3 Answers

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You have one huge asset: time! You seem to be picking up programming skills. Treat your idea as your first learning experience, and do your best.

Read a bit, code a lot.

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"Read a bit, code a lot" - I will abide by that :). Thank you for the advice. – tushar747 Oct 15 '11 at 3:02
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I'd recommend trying to get more people involved with your business idea. It might be a good idea to socialize a lot when you start your studies and try to talk to people that seem to have 1) enthusiasm 2) programming skills 3) other skills that you will need, for example UI design, business skills etc.

It'll be much easier to handle any problems and big tasks when you're not alone. Also, getting funding will probably be easier, if you are not alone with your business. Finally, thinking about the business idea with other people greatly helps you improve the original idea and avoid pitfalls. But still, remember to talk with the potential customers about your idea, so you don't start to develop something they don't really value and miss something that would be important.

Also, try to find about organizations in your city that support startups. They can help you with actually starting up a company, refining your business idea, finding funding and so forth. They can also help a lot when networking.

Lastly, I'd recommend using some kind of framework instead of vanilla php and javascript. No need to spend too much time reinventing the wheel and you will most likely have major productivity gains. For javascript, jQuery is probably a safe bet.

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I was just wondering, if I get people on board, what's the likelihood of them stealing my idea and going off to make it themselves? I presume I'd need to make agreements etc...? I'm going to try and find out about organizations in my city now. Thanks. – tushar747 Oct 15 '11 at 3:11
Don't worry about people stealing your ideas. As I say, people still success, not ideas. – Alain Raynaud Oct 15 '11 at 7:37
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At 16 with no business experience, you won't get anybody to invest in your company unless you have a product with traction. Build something, even if you suspect it will blow up in a hundred ways if you release it to the public. I wouldn't worry about it, it's the use case/value prop and a usable UI that counts in the beginning. Once you have your first users and feedback it will give you an important boost and also a moral boost. You will then be able to to attract more people to work on your product. You will have a success to point to. An idea alone is rarely something that will attract someone to work with you on a project if they are not themselves the original co-founder. Use frameworks, web API's, toolkits. Mix and match to get something out there in a rapid prototype fashion. Actually building your product will teach you more about programming then any article will. You will also be reading exponentially more articles just to get something accomplished interestingly. So don't waste anymore time reading articles now.

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This is a really good point that I thought was wrong to do. I was always striving to make sure everything works, but now I realize that It's a better strategy to create some sort of shell that I can show people - which will hopefully get them involved. Thanks. – tushar747 Oct 15 '11 at 3:04
Thanks, you would be surprised how much shell could turn into product. Just code something that you think a number of people would use. You need people and money to scale on success. – Chamilyan Oct 17 '11 at 2:39

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