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I am not a coder. I know basic coding and some web design, enough to have come up with what i believe to be an interesting idea for a start up. I can design the website and software myself, but cannot create it. Where would yall recommend I go to meet people who are interested in putting there skills to use in a New Venture? What kind of approach should i use (as a non-technical person) to convince someone who knows a lot more about code then i do that my idea is a great one?

This is a tough question... :\

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7 Answers

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Try fairsoftware.net? Joel on Software discussions

Go to startup meetups, etc.

It looks like you might be in college - surely you can find developers/CS students there. (Although perhaps you need people with more experience)

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The startup meetups are a great idea. After I read this i found one of the techie meetups in my area and introduced myself to all of them, and Ill begin attending their meetups for now, so hopefully that will work out. Thanks for the advice Tim! – Eric Amzalag Jan 21 '10 at 17:27
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Maybe you should team up with this guy?

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Hahah thanks for the referral. That guy sounds a bit confused for me... :P – Eric Amzalag Jan 20 '10 at 18:07
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Check your local techie user groups; for example, in Austin, we have groups for Ruby/Rails, Agile Development, Drupal, etc. Start going to the meetings and meeting people. People that go to tech meetings on their free time are probably the types you want to use in your startup anyway. As far as selling them on the idea, it's no different than selling potential customers on it so it will be good practice.

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Is there a good website to find these kind of techy groups by location (other then meetup.com)? Ive tried things like Ning but Ning is pretty hard to navigate, and facebook isnt much help in this area. – Eric Amzalag Jan 21 '10 at 17:28
I don't know of a site that lists group like that, but if you search for <city> <language/technology> user group, you'll find most of them. For example "santa barbara java users group" (or .net/ruby/python/perl/etc). Also search for entrepreneur/startup/bootstrap in your area. – Brian Deterling Jan 22 '10 at 2:53
Ill definitely check that out. Thanks a bunch Brian – Eric Amzalag Jan 22 '10 at 3:37
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Running into a similar issue, from the other side.

I can write the back-end code for a web application, but am not very good at creating user interfaces (although I can sketch them on paper, just have a hard time getting my vision on the screen). So my ideal partner would be someone who can implement a design, and I would write the functionality behind it (you make it look nice, I'll make it work).

When I have a budget, then I just hire this kind of expertise (i.e. when working for a client who will pay for all the skill sets needed).

When I don't have a budget, and therefore want to trade work for equity, I either find someone in my network who will be willing to cash in like that (sometimes this works), or, like you, I ask on sites such as this one where I can find someone to fill the gap.

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I wish I had a budget, it would make this much much easier. This is my first real attempt at a new Venture so my contact list still reflects that. I'm still hustling to meet people, and it looks promising, Im just trying to cover all my bases yknow? – Eric Amzalag Jan 21 '10 at 17:29
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It is very difficult to find techie who will solely work for equity until and unless you have a great idea which the techie should also understand. You can offer part compensation and part equity and that might attract some talent. I have tried fining people on craiglist. Post requirements in jobs and computer gigs. Post in different cities and post in craigslist manilla. Lots of programmers there.

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I would suggest to start interacting with others and build your network. Here are few good places to start with

  • Hackers news

  • Tech Meetups

  • Linkedin

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Here is my perspective as a coder. I would find some coding groups on LinkedIn and join them. Then post a topic that you are looking for a coder for your startup. I'm sure you'll get a few responses and a couple prospects that may be willing to partner with you. I belong to the Linked.NET group for .NET coders and that group is quite active, topics there usually have dozens of responses, and hundreds more looking.

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