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Meeting a stud hacker proved harder than meeting my wife--Per request, added idea to comments

6 points by jdileo ↗ HN
I am 36 yr. old entreprenuer who bootstrapped and exited a successful  non-tech company (from 0 to 50 employees and >$9M in revenue).

I am moving my family to silicon valley to launch my next start-up in the internet space.I have the idea, experience and ability to substantially fund at outset...what I seek is a world-class technologist. 

I applied to YC and have been working to meet a hacker to partner with.  No match.PG doesn't like one person start-ups so I think I'm a real long-shot as far as YC goes.

I'm still moving to SV in May and will surely have better luck meeting people on the ground than trying to network purely online/phone.YC deadline is tomorrow at 10PST, if there are any studs out there email me at jdileo5348@gmail.com.

18 comments

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dkokelley
You know that there are all sorts of articles that tell you that cofounding a company with someone is like marrying them - lesson: don't rush in to it. Make sure you are both on the same page and that you can work with them in stressful circumstances.

I'm not saying that it can't be done, but that it might be best to wait until the next cycle to try YC (after you've met a good cofounder that you are sure will be compatible with you). Good luck though! If you're planning on going through with it, then please prove me wrong!

Also: Do you have any hacker skills, or just the idea, experience, and assets? You may find that people here are not receptive to "I've got the business mind and all I need is a hacker to throw my idea together" approach. You might be better off going into angel funding (you could even fund YC companies!) if you have the experience and resources, but not the technical skills.

jdileo
thank you for the well thought out insight. i agree with how important the "marriage" of partners is.

also, i mean no disrespect to the hacker community. a tech company is surely nothing without the stud technologist.

it just seems to me that if i have operational experience and some capital i would be a good fit for the right hacker that is considering keeping an unfulfilling job or going to grad. school because they lack the money to take the leap.

dkokelley
I agree. You have something that many founders here don't - the experience of founding and exiting a successful startup, and of course the assets that go with a successful startup.

It just seems to me that you would do best in an angel/mentor position to a star hacker team. You obviously know your way around a startup, and you can find opportunities and network. This way, you are free to do what you do best, while the hackers are free to do what they do best. Then again, that might end up being the role you play as the non-hacker founder of a tech startup anyways.

Regardless, let us all know how it works out for you!

peterb
My experience with "stud technologists" is that they never call themselves "stud", "rockstar", "ninja", etc. The truly outstanding developers I have worked with were humble and a little on the shy, geeky side. Some may even have had Asperger's, which made socializing difficult.
tjic
> there are all sorts of articles that tell you that cofounding a company with someone is like marrying them

You're responding to a guy that just told you that he launched and grew a co. to $9M/yr.

I'd give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that he's smart enough to hire well.

dkokelley
Absolutely. I'm just saying that finding a cofounder within 1 day of the YC deadline is going to be difficult, and might be detrimental. Also he doesn't need a hacker employee, he needs a hacker cofounder. That's why I suggested waiting until the next round and meeting someone he's sure will be good to work with.
BSeward
I wouldn't worry about that deadline. Take the time to find someone with whom you can work well, and take more than 32.5 hours to think about it.

(from the YC FAQ: "Teams thrown together for the purpose of starting a startup usually fall apart under stress. You need some kind of personal connection.")

You'll get more and more interested responses if you say something about your idea. No one's going to steal it: even if they did, the magic is in the details.

jdileo
A website that offers for sale any and all merchandise a consumer sees on TV that they'd like to purchase. Merchandise may be clothing, shoes, fragrance, electronics, automobiles, jewelry, etc.

Website will offer an opportunity to purchase exact items, or selected less expensive imitations, in a very AMAZON.COM way.

Website will offer discounts and a rewards program that is viral.

Additionally, company will provide powerful advertising & branding opportunities for manufacturers who wish to attain premium website placement for their products.

BSeward
What do you see as the features that critically differentiate this from Delivery Agent? http://➡.ws/ꉨ
jdileo
Delivery Agent works hand in hand with the networks to promote their objectives. Inventory options are terrible and in no way is the site dedicated to a first rate consumer experience.

Think about the Barnes & Noble website prior to introduction of Amazon.com.

blasdel
Using the words "in the internet space" makes you sound like middle-management, especially when your idea is specifically retail ecommerce.

Do you actually want to deal with fulfillment headaches? Especially when a competitor could avoid that by primarily being an Amazon affiliate (and using Amazon for fulfillment of novel items)?

phd_student
Hang out around Stanford or Berkeley CS departments.

Stanford has 'BASES' created specifically for this.

jdileo
I think this is a great idea. I will be on the ground in SV May 1st. Have to catch YC next time around.
dasil003
If you have the ability to fund substantially, and the experience to build $9,000,000 in revenues, why would you sell ~5% of your company for $15,000?
jdileo
I believe the y comb. experience is well worth the equity. In fact, many of the company's who try out for y comb. don't need their seed money.

Paul Graham(ish) tech. wisdom, networking opportunities, mind-sharing with past YC founders and VC connections if/when time arises are all huge.

And for me personally all of the above are important X 10 because I'm a tech & SV outsider just beginning to build my shere of influence in the sector.

jacktang
Emm..., it depends, my friends are all male programmers, so it is harder to meet my wife to me. :)
ClassenKasper
Hang out here, hang out there. Not productive. The SV Forth Interest Group (FIG) meets the fourth Saturday of each month near Moffet Field. Check out www.forth.org. Some of these guys are a little out there, but they are open, will get you pointed, and are well connected in SV.
DanielBMarkham
jdileo.

Good luck in your second time around with the same post http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=526694 . As they say, if at first you don't succeed, try, try again!

I'd be very careful in calling hackers "studs". While some of us, are, admittedly, very studly, it sounds more like you're looking for a one-night stand than a business partner. Not exactly the right foot to get off when starting something up like this. Nobody wants to join something where the overlying metaphor is you're just there to get screwed.

I've worked with some truly outstanding hackers. And I've worked with some great business guys. It's a very rare mix to find the best of both attributes in one person. If you're just looking for brain wattage, you're probably looking for somebody with light OCD, maybe a touch of Asperger's. They usually don't go by "stud"

Step 1 is building an underlying friendship with several hackers. This might take months or a year or more. Step 2 is getting everybody onboard with your pitch. Maybe you can do this all in a day or so with a mass email and repeated postings on HN. If that works for you, I'd definitely like to hear about it. I doubt it.