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Ask HN: Are we at a disadvantage?

9 points by lewisgodowski ↗ HN
I'm a co-founder of a startup looking to apply to YC.

I'm mainly an artist (musician, producer, sound engineer), but I've always had a strong passion for technology. In the past, I went to school for aerospace engineering before realizing music was my true passion and transferring to a different school.

Our other co-founder is also a musician, but he's much more into the whole programmer/hacker stuff.

Would we be at a disadvantage seeing as I'm not the "ideal" candidate?

7 comments

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answerly
What do you mean by "not the 'ideal' candidate"? Is your concern that you aren't a hacker? There are plenty non-technical YC founders (I'm one).

Assuming you are building a startup in the music space, it would seem your experience/skills could be an asset.

lewisgodowski
That's more or less what I meant. I'm just slightly overwhelmed seeing so many technology oriented news stories and startups on here.
DarkShikari
If anything, I'd imagine you'd have an advantage. Silicon Valley is filled with programmers/hackers, but the really interesting people are those that come from other backgrounds with different experiences.

In most cases, making a successful startup is primarily a business problem, not a technical one. Seeing customers' perspectives, knowing the business you're entering, understanding the problem you're trying to solve -- these are all more important than being able to write Ruby quickly.

If your experience outside programming helps you contribute to solving hard problems like these, you're infinitely more valuable than someone who knows only code.

lewisgodowski
Thanks. We truly believe our startup would be successful, because we're right there dealing with the problems and lacking areas within the industry every day.

I guess, we're most worried with accurately and simply conveying how our startup would solve these problems to non-industry personnel.

glimcat
Think about what's needed to bring your product to market. Does your team adequately cover the bases? If you have to hire to fill the gaps, can you find and manage competent people without excessive hand-holding?

Teams come in all shapes and sizes, what's important is that they have a reasonably viable shot of doing what they propose to do.

jaylin
Advantage indeed. I am a hacker and also applying to YC. I am actually looking for musician co-founders or partners. Tell us more about what you do.
lewisgodowski
Shoot me an email and we'll talk: lewisgodowski [at] gmail [dot] com