I have an idea and want to start a business but I’m not technical. What do I do?
I get asked this question at least once a week, usually by a friend starting a consumer application. It’s usually a terrible idea, but not always. But this question is usually an indication of a deeper desire – my job sucks, I don’t want to take a risk and quit it, but want a get rich quick side hustle. So when you’re asking about how to find the mythical “technical cofounder” or “raise money for my idea,” what you’re asking is – where do I find a sucker willing to build my get rich quick scheme for free? If that sounds harsh, it is, but it’s usually the harsh truth. And this plan isn’t possible – no good technologist will build your side hustle for free given the amount of opportunity they have, and no “angel investor” is desperate to fund idea-stage companies from uncommitted founders. If the below options sound too hard or not aligned with your life goals at the moment, just don’t start the company. Starting and running a company is going to be harder than your day job, successful companies take a decade to build, and there’s no such thing as a get rich quick option.
If you truly are committed to bringing a vision to life, you have to be “all in.” In order for you to be “all in,” you can take one of three routes:
1) Fund an MVP build yourself. Maybe your dayjob sucks, but lets you save $1000 a month. That’s enough to start building a product over 6-12 months and get closer to a testable, sellable or fundable product. You’re only risking your own money, and its over a short period of time (after which you can go back to saving), so often this is the most palatable way of building a product without having to be “all in” yet.
2) Learn to build it yourself. If you’re really that committed, learn to code then build your own MVP. That way you can truly own your own destiny.
3) Raise money from those willing to bet on you – but whose money you don’t want to lose. This is often called a friends and family round. You can usually get a decent MVP to test out the market demand built for a relatively modest amount of money that can be raised from people you know. Maybe they write a check as small as $5000 or $10000. It’s painful to raise from these people, you’re asking them to bet on you – not your idea –and they’re people close enough to you that it will hurt to let them down and lose their money. That’s what being all-in is all about – caring about your startup idea enough that you’ll accept investments from those who care about you the most, and about whom you care. It’s easy to take money from “angel investors” making a business decision – it’s hard to risk your family and friends’ hard earned money on yourself. If you’re not willing to lose your friends’ money and look them in the eyes at the end of the day, you’re not ready to start the company.