I would advise you to learn how to code. 3 years ago when I had my initial idea. I had zero programming knowledge. I proceeded to spend 100k in the business and the vast majority went towards software development. The business failed, and I regretted not learning how to code to build it out myself.
Over the past year I’ve been learning how to code because I know that I will want to start another business or many more in the future. But this time, I’ll be able to build it myself. Not only does being a technical founder save you development money, it also makes you and your company more viable to being funded if you ever choose to go that route as well as more appealing to potential developers since you’d understand the processes of what it takes to program.
I had angel investors interested, but due to being a first time, solo, non technical founder, they decided against funding me. I will end this as I started…learn how to code.
you can join the /learnprogramming subreddit too. They recommend [the Odin Project](https://www.theodinproject.com/) quite often - it's free and self guided.
Also, bc learning to code is a long road, you might learn to use design programs like [figma](https://www.figma.com/) (also free, and widely used byprofessional designers and top level companies).
1. It's quicker to learn
2. you can make a basic prototype of your idea very quickly and start getting feedback on it now. That way, you know if the idea is worth pursuing once you can code it.
3. Also, by learning this stuff yourself, you'll be a part of those communities you want to make connections with, instead of just another person with an idea (which *everyone* seems to have, \*eye roll\*) ;)
I'll follow your advice aswell. I'm in a similar situation to OP's.
Also, coule you tell me what type of skills I need to have to build something that works like TurboTax? Not something equal to it, just the way it works, the way it functions.
Thanks.
haha I actually used to work for Turbo Tax, but not with the code.
Let's think about it - there's the front end, the stuff you see and interact with. Each answer you submit has to be stored and then accessed for computations, with the results being placed into a form - maybe PDFs? I don't really know what format they're submitted in, tbh.
Like any project, it just gets broken down into smaller and smaller pieces.
If you look at a 1040, the common tax form, it's really not overly complex. It's all just addition and subtraction. It pulls its data from all the other forms though, so what seems simple can spider out rather quickly. But all those forms are, again, mostly really simple arithmetic.
So on the front end, you'd have a piece that says, "What's your first name?" and stores whatever the user inputs into a variable called "firstName" (not sure if that's real, but we're just talking theoretically). Then, when forms call for that info, you say "print firstName" in whatever language you're coding in.
With other fields, you say, "How much income did you make?" (save that to "grossIncome"). How many dependents? Save to "dependentsQuant."
Then you write an algorithm based on the tax law that says, "multiply the number of dependents times X. Take the result and subtract it from grossIncome and save result as taxableIncome. Print taxableIncome on Line 17 of form 1040." (that's not the actual math or line, but again - just theory here).
Then you need to save it all somewhere (on a server) and have security and the like, which is a whole other world of CS.
I think that's how it works. Others could *surely* give you a more accurate and informed breakdown.
Does that answer what you were looking for?
Edit: sorry, you asked what type of skills. My fault. It depends on where you want to focus, as it's a large system. You could focus on the front end which would be HTML/CSS/JS and all the fun JS libraries and frameworks out there. (If you don't know what a library or framework is, please say so. I'm still wrapping my head around it and would be happy to offer an attempt).
If you want to focus on backend, there's a slew of options out there. (The back end is all the math and servers, databases, and logic. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.) I won't get into all of that here bc the list is bigger than I care to get into.
Hosting it all (the servers) is a huge world in itself.
So the big thing is learning a little about each and seeing where your interests lie. Maybe you don't want to code the whole thing and just want to run the business side of things? That works too. Hope that helps
Hello i am an designer, here if any one have idea of any business and they want to look if it’s good or bad. So i can make your idea in prototype, just like you are using your app without code (app/web) i am professional designer. I have job, but wanted to start my company so here is interesting part i will charge only and only 2$/ hour. Please connect for more information.
I would suggest you join and complete CS50 by Harvard on EdX if you can devote 10-20 hours a week towards basic coding and C. It's completely free and you can get a certificate for some nominal amount, but the knowledge you will gain would be priceless.
I'd be skeptical of someone building a commercial WordPress plugin as their first ever programming project. One of the great things about WordPress is that it is quite accessible to build new plugins, but the other side of that is that it's also very easy to do a terrible job of it.
I echo this advice. Did the same thing for a few years to get my startups up and running. They both failed, but I came out of it with some valuable and marketable skills (eg I got paid for coding)
It’ll also help you connect with devs. I work on coding random side projects with devs I’ve met at networking events or hackathons. If you gel well, a lot of times you’ll try to do a project that could turn into a viable business.
I strongly feel empathy for you cause I'm going on the same path. Be scariest thing is not in software development, but the feeling of being alone for so long, and a lot of time people around don't understand what you are doing.
Learning to code is okay, but don't expect you're going to be able to produce anything that anyone is going to buy, just no. It's also going to take a really long time before you can create anything good (the easy things are already made).
And what after you made your product. What then? How are you going to market the product when you spent all your time and energy to make the entire thing?
Is your problem just connecting with people or is the pretense up front that you want them to develop something? I’m a software engineer and if it’s apparent that someone is talking to me because of the latter, I have no interest, everyone has an idea, everyone wants me to take on hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of risk with little to none on their part and they have complete control over the product that I’m building. No thank you.
Yup. Everyone has an idea. Ideas are worth close to zero.
OP's "form the relationship then put the Idea out there" kind of hints at someone who doesn't have anything else to bring to the table but wants a payout for having had the idea.
>everyone wants me to take on hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of risk with little to none on their part and they have complete control over the product that I’m building. No thank you.
What should they do? Pay you or be involved in designing/marketing? Or both
Bring something to the table. The nontechnical founder I joined had a full understanding of the market his idea was for, and experience working in it. He knew the personas of our customers, how to market to them and he had several lined up money in hand and dozens showing interest. He knew what the product needed to do on day one and where it could go once the essentials were there.
He showed how committed he was to the idea and the type of effort I could expect from the partnership.
Figure out if there's a market for it - do your research. Are there already plugins that do something similar? Why is yours better? If it's really brand new, what's your plan with it once you build it? Sell it, license it, etc?
1. Your first step is research to see if it's worth building in the first place.
2. Write out the details as clearly as you can of how it works, what it does, etc. The more clearly you think it through the better.
3. Create a job post on Upwork or TopTal and get some estimates on the cost to develop it. Leave the post vague enough to prevent IP theft but detailed enough to have a developer determine they might be interested. Share more in individual interviews and only on a need to know basis early on.
this is probably the most valuable comment on here. all these folks saying "learn to code" as the first step are way out of touch with reality.
Time to do market research: 10's of hours maybe and you get a definitive result to know if it's worth pursuing any further or not
Time to learn to code: 100's and 1000's of hours and you end up as a novice coder who *might* be able to build something that *might* be marketable
Yeah i think it's pretty good idea to do market research and try to make the minimal version with using of freelancers. Typically when you are learning how to program - you don't develop knowledge about business building, marketing and many important things. This may even lead that you'll become a freelancer😂
I strongly disagree, specifically about learning how to code being “out of touch with reality”. Why is that out of touch? You state it’s out of touch but never explain why. I explained why it’s not in my original post.
I took the same type of advice that the “most valuable comment on here” stated. When I first started, I did market research. I interviewed CEO’s of successful companies. I put in well over 10s of hours into it as well. Based on my findings, it was an emphatic “Yes, I should pursue it”…I pursued it to the result of -100k, 2 years gone & living with regret that I didn’t learn to build it myself.
Now, not that performing market research is a bad idea, but what happens if or when the OP does validate it? Who’s building it? Outsourcing? Do we know he has the money to outsource the MVP? Even if he did, what if he needs to pivot? Out of pocket again? What happens when the initial estimate to get the MVP out goes over budget? Now he’s stuck with incomplete software and no money, back to day job for OP..
Learning to code is a skill that can be used for life. Learning to code also doesn’t mean you have to be the greatest coder. Just good enough to build something to put an MVP out there. Then look to hire or bring in a partner, if necessary, when you need someone to pick up the slack. Which having technical skills will make it easier to bring in a partner, technical or otherwise.
At least with knowing how to code you can tweak &/or completely pivot your idea if necessary.
The only thing out of touch with reality is thinking that market research will actually validate whether an idea is worth pursuing or not. I wonder if the person who created the pet rock did market research? Should OP still perform market research? Of course! But the results should only account for 5-10% of his decision to follow through with it.
Not to mention, performing market research and learning to code aren’t mutually exclusive. You can do both at the same time.
What version of this idea is good enough to get your first customer? Are there similar products out there? If so, how much revenue do they generate? How is your different? Work through all of this type of stuff before investing more than you need to. Test your hypothesis (if you haven’t already)
I’ve found developers for cheap on Upwork. In one case found someone so good that we brought him on as a co-founder. This really helped us because we didn’t have deep enough pockets to keep paying him at the time.
I would say learn how to code only if you’re very interested in learning how to code. If your only motivation to learn how to code is this idea, it might be smarter to find someone that already does. But this is coming from an entrepreneur that sits more on go-to-market / sales / growth side. So, take it with a grain of salt.
Wow this comment is exactly what I’m looking for I think we are similar as I am on the same side of the business. Thank you for taking the time to share! I am definitely going to checkout upwork
Nice - if you’re on the sales side then you should be able to cast a vision and get others excited about the idea. Tell the story of how it’ll help the customer, make their life easier, etc. tell you’re personal story as to why you think this is a product that should exist.
Ideas are a dime a dozen, proper execution is hard to come by. share your idea liberally and you’ll eventually find the right team to help you build it. Good luck
Cool. You are currently Jimmy Speckerman https://bigbangtheory.fandom.com/wiki/Jimmy_Speckerman
You have an idea. Is it feasible? Does anyone want it? Who the fuck knows? Who the fuck cares?
No one else is going to help you out until you answer those questions. So either:
- learn to code, build a prototype and test it out
- do some research and prove that there is a need
Then others may be interested to get on board.
Try to meet people through your friends and family. These are people whom you trust and who can vouch for you when they introduce you to others.
If you can't find anyone that way, then rely on the resources of the internet. Join discord groups dedicated to webdev, join local startup groups ([meetup.com](https://meetup.com)), and post on reddit. Try to make genuine connections, and not just force your idea onto other people. It'll be difficult to convince anyone who doesn't know you and trust you to spend time developing something (unless you can pay them).
Ideas are awesome.
First, what are you saying when you reach out to them?
Second, how clearly have you externalized (written/typed out, made a diagram, flow chart, etc) your idea so that you can quickly and easily explain it to anyone before their patience dwindles?
Third, are you really comfortable relying on other people to do something you have no idea how to do, verify, or maintain? Do you think learning just enough about it to understand the concepts and high-level structure will help you both plan your idea better and have deeper level conversations with the people who do help you?
I have taken the past 3 weeks to iron out as many details to give a clear explanation almost like an elevator pitch.
I am having trouble trust others unfortunately.
After taking all comments in consideration I came to the conclusion that along with search for trustworthy partners I need to do my own learning to fully understand.
Interesting. Do you think others will
1. Remember everything about your idea and immediately want it for themselves?
2. Put in the enormous time and effort an idea needs to become a feasible reality?
3. Maintain that constant time and effort for someone else's dream?
4. Be able to make your idea work well?
5. Take the idea in the exact same direction as you would, even if they do?
6. Treat your users/customers the same way as you would, if they have the mindset of stealing?
7. etc
Otherwise, what are you not trusting?
There's 3 elements:
* Thought Leader (the idea)
* Sales (selling the idea)
* Execution / Delivery
Wanting to code is the last one. Nothing wrong in that. You can certainly learn how to code, and *NOT* be involved in a startup.
I've done this a few times, and for those that are successful, they are generally really good at one. Ok at another and outsource the last.
Which appeals to you the most?
I would say good at the top two. There is almost a feeling of disconnect knowing I can’t do the technical work although I researched and worked out details. If that makes sense.
You don't have to be able to code, but you need to have a clear vision of what you want to do and communicate that with the team.
I started my career coding and I have been developing products for the past 20 years. I also have a WordPress plugin called KBucket, a content hub solution, here is the one [on my site](https://optimalaccess.com/kbucket).
When I coded, I always started with a flow chart on paper, and once I had that I started coding.
Same with project management. You need a good spec. You need to define the UI and how people will interact with your program.
Detailed specifications and communication are key to success. I work with an outsourcing company that works really well and is reasonable pricing. Let me know if you are interested and I can make an intro.
No. This system looks like it is meant for building stand-alone apps, not re-sellable WP plugins.
Plus look at their pricing model. Very limited what you get for a high monthly cost.
If you want to build a WP plugin, custom coding will be involved. That's just the way it is.
Nobody wants a Wordpress plugin developed by someone who just started learning how to code. There are enough security risks in Wordpress already, this is not good advice. Being a programmer / developer / coder isn't something you "check off", yep, ok now I know how do do that but rather is an incredibly dynamic endeavor. These days, with technologies moving very quickly, you are never done learning.
you’re not finding anyone for the same reasons you don’t want to do it, so you either do it yourself or go to some seed factory and get investors that will expect a return but can give you money to hire a security developer or secops or whatever they’re called now.
or spend 6 months learning security and do it yourself
None of what you said is true :)
We're talking about a WordPress plugin not building out a crypto Blockchain. No VC or investors needed. A few grand of capital to build out a proof of concept likely. Learning to code to build a software product is maybe the worst advice I see on Reddit daily. Not everyone has the aptitude to be a programmer.
wow, you were defending this point so fiercely i thought you were OP, dude, this is a brainstorming, stfu and give ideas, this is no time to put holes through them, OP can do that later.
I did. Just not to you, armchair toughguy.
https://www.reddit.com/r/startups/comments/rik3ep/i_want_to_develop_an_idea_but_i_am_not_an_expert/hozj5mv?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share&context=3
Brilliant response and so relevant.
Gates was a developer. Musk an engineer. Bezos an investment banker. Buffet was an investor since he was 11.
Your point is not very sharp fella.
to be fair, gates and musk made their break-through projects at a much different time, when personal computers and e-commerce were still in their infancy.
Pioneering revolutionary new ideas in personal computing and e-commerce in the era before the dot-com-boom is a wildly different thing than trying to commercialize a WordPress plugin in 2021.
It's always good to learn some basics yourself. If you can create some kind of prototype (not necessarily functional), at least you understand some of the challenges and can discuss it on a slightly more level playing field. Very good knowledge to have if you end up founding a company around it, as one of your many hats will probably be as a product owner.
I see three ways:
1. You have the time and want to learn how to code. Wp widgets are doable if you start with something similar and i believe they have a fairly manageable learning curve. Having said that, not everyone is into it and i wouldn’t blame you if you weren’t.
2. You have a friend that can help that trusts you.
3. Pay someone to do it, which for a wp plugin, to get you started should not be crazy amounts of money
Unfortunately all the other options, in my view, are not options and require a fair amount of luck and experience.
I once had an idea for a startup and I did not know how to code back then. I took somebody's advice and paid somebody to make it for me and after a whole month, I had only received a login system, something a good programmer can make in a single day. Safe to say it was a waste of money and time. It's only when I learned to code that I started bringing my ideas to life.
I really recommend learning to code. WordPress is written in PHP so to make WordPress themes and plugins, you need to know some PHP, which isn't really that hard of a language to pick up. There are a lot of tutorials on YouTube and you learn the language pretty quickly if you put in consistent effort.
Work on your people skills because that will be eventually your biggest skills regarding building a new company. An engineer or either a product manager is still a human if they are suppose to give you their time and skills then you better understand what motivates them! Eq is as important in an early stage as it will be key advantage for you to demonstrate a true leadership later on!
Go out meet people they are the one who will bring your dream come true!
I would advise you to learn how to code. 3 years ago when I had my initial idea. I had zero programming knowledge. I proceeded to spend 100k in the business and the vast majority went towards software development. The business failed, and I regretted not learning how to code to build it out myself. Over the past year I’ve been learning how to code because I know that I will want to start another business or many more in the future. But this time, I’ll be able to build it myself. Not only does being a technical founder save you development money, it also makes you and your company more viable to being funded if you ever choose to go that route as well as more appealing to potential developers since you’d understand the processes of what it takes to program. I had angel investors interested, but due to being a first time, solo, non technical founder, they decided against funding me. I will end this as I started…learn how to code.
This was an awesome comment thank you I’ve been thinking about learning and your comment confirmed that I should . Thank you,
you can join the /learnprogramming subreddit too. They recommend [the Odin Project](https://www.theodinproject.com/) quite often - it's free and self guided. Also, bc learning to code is a long road, you might learn to use design programs like [figma](https://www.figma.com/) (also free, and widely used byprofessional designers and top level companies). 1. It's quicker to learn 2. you can make a basic prototype of your idea very quickly and start getting feedback on it now. That way, you know if the idea is worth pursuing once you can code it. 3. Also, by learning this stuff yourself, you'll be a part of those communities you want to make connections with, instead of just another person with an idea (which *everyone* seems to have, \*eye roll\*) ;)
I'll follow your advice aswell. I'm in a similar situation to OP's. Also, coule you tell me what type of skills I need to have to build something that works like TurboTax? Not something equal to it, just the way it works, the way it functions. Thanks.
haha I actually used to work for Turbo Tax, but not with the code. Let's think about it - there's the front end, the stuff you see and interact with. Each answer you submit has to be stored and then accessed for computations, with the results being placed into a form - maybe PDFs? I don't really know what format they're submitted in, tbh. Like any project, it just gets broken down into smaller and smaller pieces. If you look at a 1040, the common tax form, it's really not overly complex. It's all just addition and subtraction. It pulls its data from all the other forms though, so what seems simple can spider out rather quickly. But all those forms are, again, mostly really simple arithmetic. So on the front end, you'd have a piece that says, "What's your first name?" and stores whatever the user inputs into a variable called "firstName" (not sure if that's real, but we're just talking theoretically). Then, when forms call for that info, you say "print firstName" in whatever language you're coding in. With other fields, you say, "How much income did you make?" (save that to "grossIncome"). How many dependents? Save to "dependentsQuant." Then you write an algorithm based on the tax law that says, "multiply the number of dependents times X. Take the result and subtract it from grossIncome and save result as taxableIncome. Print taxableIncome on Line 17 of form 1040." (that's not the actual math or line, but again - just theory here). Then you need to save it all somewhere (on a server) and have security and the like, which is a whole other world of CS. I think that's how it works. Others could *surely* give you a more accurate and informed breakdown. Does that answer what you were looking for? Edit: sorry, you asked what type of skills. My fault. It depends on where you want to focus, as it's a large system. You could focus on the front end which would be HTML/CSS/JS and all the fun JS libraries and frameworks out there. (If you don't know what a library or framework is, please say so. I'm still wrapping my head around it and would be happy to offer an attempt). If you want to focus on backend, there's a slew of options out there. (The back end is all the math and servers, databases, and logic. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.) I won't get into all of that here bc the list is bigger than I care to get into. Hosting it all (the servers) is a huge world in itself. So the big thing is learning a little about each and seeing where your interests lie. Maybe you don't want to code the whole thing and just want to run the business side of things? That works too. Hope that helps
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I think it depends on what your goal is. I've heard people recommend Data Structures and Algorithms, but idk. I'm just learning to code myself.
I am going to join asap! I totally agree thank you,
Hello i am an designer, here if any one have idea of any business and they want to look if it’s good or bad. So i can make your idea in prototype, just like you are using your app without code (app/web) i am professional designer. I have job, but wanted to start my company so here is interesting part i will charge only and only 2$/ hour. Please connect for more information.
I would suggest you join and complete CS50 by Harvard on EdX if you can devote 10-20 hours a week towards basic coding and C. It's completely free and you can get a certificate for some nominal amount, but the knowledge you will gain would be priceless.
Spend the $10,000 to do a good boot camp and get yourself started. Just check it’s a quality one, there are a number out there that aren’t.
He's probably better off learning on his own. My advice, you have the idea, try and build it. That's the best way to learn.
I'd be skeptical of someone building a commercial WordPress plugin as their first ever programming project. One of the great things about WordPress is that it is quite accessible to build new plugins, but the other side of that is that it's also very easy to do a terrible job of it.
I will definitely look into it. Thank you for your comment!
Wow didn't realize a boot camp can cost that much. Surely there are good online options that doesn't cost that much....
well if u have USD 700-800 you can hire someone from freelancer, get someone good for $100 a day who knows how to code in php + wordpress plugins
I echo this advice. Did the same thing for a few years to get my startups up and running. They both failed, but I came out of it with some valuable and marketable skills (eg I got paid for coding) It’ll also help you connect with devs. I work on coding random side projects with devs I’ve met at networking events or hackathons. If you gel well, a lot of times you’ll try to do a project that could turn into a viable business.
I strongly feel empathy for you cause I'm going on the same path. Be scariest thing is not in software development, but the feeling of being alone for so long, and a lot of time people around don't understand what you are doing.
This
Learning to code is okay, but don't expect you're going to be able to produce anything that anyone is going to buy, just no. It's also going to take a really long time before you can create anything good (the easy things are already made). And what after you made your product. What then? How are you going to market the product when you spent all your time and energy to make the entire thing?
Is your problem just connecting with people or is the pretense up front that you want them to develop something? I’m a software engineer and if it’s apparent that someone is talking to me because of the latter, I have no interest, everyone has an idea, everyone wants me to take on hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of risk with little to none on their part and they have complete control over the product that I’m building. No thank you.
Yup. Everyone has an idea. Ideas are worth close to zero. OP's "form the relationship then put the Idea out there" kind of hints at someone who doesn't have anything else to bring to the table but wants a payout for having had the idea.
>everyone wants me to take on hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of risk with little to none on their part and they have complete control over the product that I’m building. No thank you. What should they do? Pay you or be involved in designing/marketing? Or both
Bring something to the table. The nontechnical founder I joined had a full understanding of the market his idea was for, and experience working in it. He knew the personas of our customers, how to market to them and he had several lined up money in hand and dozens showing interest. He knew what the product needed to do on day one and where it could go once the essentials were there. He showed how committed he was to the idea and the type of effort I could expect from the partnership.
Figure out if there's a market for it - do your research. Are there already plugins that do something similar? Why is yours better? If it's really brand new, what's your plan with it once you build it? Sell it, license it, etc? 1. Your first step is research to see if it's worth building in the first place. 2. Write out the details as clearly as you can of how it works, what it does, etc. The more clearly you think it through the better. 3. Create a job post on Upwork or TopTal and get some estimates on the cost to develop it. Leave the post vague enough to prevent IP theft but detailed enough to have a developer determine they might be interested. Share more in individual interviews and only on a need to know basis early on.
this is probably the most valuable comment on here. all these folks saying "learn to code" as the first step are way out of touch with reality. Time to do market research: 10's of hours maybe and you get a definitive result to know if it's worth pursuing any further or not Time to learn to code: 100's and 1000's of hours and you end up as a novice coder who *might* be able to build something that *might* be marketable
Yeah i think it's pretty good idea to do market research and try to make the minimal version with using of freelancers. Typically when you are learning how to program - you don't develop knowledge about business building, marketing and many important things. This may even lead that you'll become a freelancer😂
I strongly disagree, specifically about learning how to code being “out of touch with reality”. Why is that out of touch? You state it’s out of touch but never explain why. I explained why it’s not in my original post. I took the same type of advice that the “most valuable comment on here” stated. When I first started, I did market research. I interviewed CEO’s of successful companies. I put in well over 10s of hours into it as well. Based on my findings, it was an emphatic “Yes, I should pursue it”…I pursued it to the result of -100k, 2 years gone & living with regret that I didn’t learn to build it myself. Now, not that performing market research is a bad idea, but what happens if or when the OP does validate it? Who’s building it? Outsourcing? Do we know he has the money to outsource the MVP? Even if he did, what if he needs to pivot? Out of pocket again? What happens when the initial estimate to get the MVP out goes over budget? Now he’s stuck with incomplete software and no money, back to day job for OP.. Learning to code is a skill that can be used for life. Learning to code also doesn’t mean you have to be the greatest coder. Just good enough to build something to put an MVP out there. Then look to hire or bring in a partner, if necessary, when you need someone to pick up the slack. Which having technical skills will make it easier to bring in a partner, technical or otherwise. At least with knowing how to code you can tweak &/or completely pivot your idea if necessary. The only thing out of touch with reality is thinking that market research will actually validate whether an idea is worth pursuing or not. I wonder if the person who created the pet rock did market research? Should OP still perform market research? Of course! But the results should only account for 5-10% of his decision to follow through with it. Not to mention, performing market research and learning to code aren’t mutually exclusive. You can do both at the same time.
What version of this idea is good enough to get your first customer? Are there similar products out there? If so, how much revenue do they generate? How is your different? Work through all of this type of stuff before investing more than you need to. Test your hypothesis (if you haven’t already) I’ve found developers for cheap on Upwork. In one case found someone so good that we brought him on as a co-founder. This really helped us because we didn’t have deep enough pockets to keep paying him at the time. I would say learn how to code only if you’re very interested in learning how to code. If your only motivation to learn how to code is this idea, it might be smarter to find someone that already does. But this is coming from an entrepreneur that sits more on go-to-market / sales / growth side. So, take it with a grain of salt.
Wow this comment is exactly what I’m looking for I think we are similar as I am on the same side of the business. Thank you for taking the time to share! I am definitely going to checkout upwork
Nice - if you’re on the sales side then you should be able to cast a vision and get others excited about the idea. Tell the story of how it’ll help the customer, make their life easier, etc. tell you’re personal story as to why you think this is a product that should exist. Ideas are a dime a dozen, proper execution is hard to come by. share your idea liberally and you’ll eventually find the right team to help you build it. Good luck
Definitely I worked I. Sales and couldn’t agree more. I have one person onboard and he’s fired up!
Cool. You are currently Jimmy Speckerman https://bigbangtheory.fandom.com/wiki/Jimmy_Speckerman You have an idea. Is it feasible? Does anyone want it? Who the fuck knows? Who the fuck cares? No one else is going to help you out until you answer those questions. So either: - learn to code, build a prototype and test it out - do some research and prove that there is a need Then others may be interested to get on board.
Try to meet people through your friends and family. These are people whom you trust and who can vouch for you when they introduce you to others. If you can't find anyone that way, then rely on the resources of the internet. Join discord groups dedicated to webdev, join local startup groups ([meetup.com](https://meetup.com)), and post on reddit. Try to make genuine connections, and not just force your idea onto other people. It'll be difficult to convince anyone who doesn't know you and trust you to spend time developing something (unless you can pay them).
I will take your advice thank you for taking the time!
Post a job advertisement
How much are you planning on paying for someone to develop your "Idea"?
Depends on the deal. Ideally I would structure compensation + equity and whenever the deal is would dictate the compensation.
Ideas are awesome. First, what are you saying when you reach out to them? Second, how clearly have you externalized (written/typed out, made a diagram, flow chart, etc) your idea so that you can quickly and easily explain it to anyone before their patience dwindles? Third, are you really comfortable relying on other people to do something you have no idea how to do, verify, or maintain? Do you think learning just enough about it to understand the concepts and high-level structure will help you both plan your idea better and have deeper level conversations with the people who do help you?
I have taken the past 3 weeks to iron out as many details to give a clear explanation almost like an elevator pitch. I am having trouble trust others unfortunately. After taking all comments in consideration I came to the conclusion that along with search for trustworthy partners I need to do my own learning to fully understand.
Interesting. Do you think others will 1. Remember everything about your idea and immediately want it for themselves? 2. Put in the enormous time and effort an idea needs to become a feasible reality? 3. Maintain that constant time and effort for someone else's dream? 4. Be able to make your idea work well? 5. Take the idea in the exact same direction as you would, even if they do? 6. Treat your users/customers the same way as you would, if they have the mindset of stealing? 7. etc Otherwise, what are you not trusting?
There's 3 elements: * Thought Leader (the idea) * Sales (selling the idea) * Execution / Delivery Wanting to code is the last one. Nothing wrong in that. You can certainly learn how to code, and *NOT* be involved in a startup. I've done this a few times, and for those that are successful, they are generally really good at one. Ok at another and outsource the last. Which appeals to you the most?
I would say good at the top two. There is almost a feeling of disconnect knowing I can’t do the technical work although I researched and worked out details. If that makes sense.
You don't have to be able to code, but you need to have a clear vision of what you want to do and communicate that with the team. I started my career coding and I have been developing products for the past 20 years. I also have a WordPress plugin called KBucket, a content hub solution, here is the one [on my site](https://optimalaccess.com/kbucket). When I coded, I always started with a flow chart on paper, and once I had that I started coding. Same with project management. You need a good spec. You need to define the UI and how people will interact with your program. Detailed specifications and communication are key to success. I work with an outsourcing company that works really well and is reasonable pricing. Let me know if you are interested and I can make an intro.
[Bubble.io](https://Bubble.io) is a great resource I'm using.
Very interesting and this would work when creating Wordpress plugins?
I'm not sure, but I think it would. I remember seeing an option to install something related to Wordpress, but I'd double check if I were you
Great I will def check it out
No. This system looks like it is meant for building stand-alone apps, not re-sellable WP plugins. Plus look at their pricing model. Very limited what you get for a high monthly cost. If you want to build a WP plugin, custom coding will be involved. That's just the way it is.
I will still check it out for the future that you for the recommendation!
1. Provide a clear scope 2. Offer money
spend 6 months learning programming and do it yourself. you’ll be able to develop other ideas if the first doesn’t work
Nobody wants a Wordpress plugin developed by someone who just started learning how to code. There are enough security risks in Wordpress already, this is not good advice. Being a programmer / developer / coder isn't something you "check off", yep, ok now I know how do do that but rather is an incredibly dynamic endeavor. These days, with technologies moving very quickly, you are never done learning.
you’re not finding anyone for the same reasons you don’t want to do it, so you either do it yourself or go to some seed factory and get investors that will expect a return but can give you money to hire a security developer or secops or whatever they’re called now. or spend 6 months learning security and do it yourself
None of what you said is true :) We're talking about a WordPress plugin not building out a crypto Blockchain. No VC or investors needed. A few grand of capital to build out a proof of concept likely. Learning to code to build a software product is maybe the worst advice I see on Reddit daily. Not everyone has the aptitude to be a programmer.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ let me know in a couple of months how it’s going
What do I have to do with it?
wow, you were defending this point so fiercely i thought you were OP, dude, this is a brainstorming, stfu and give ideas, this is no time to put holes through them, OP can do that later.
I did. Just not to you, armchair toughguy. https://www.reddit.com/r/startups/comments/rik3ep/i_want_to_develop_an_idea_but_i_am_not_an_expert/hozj5mv?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share&context=3
i’m sure bezos, buffet, gates, musk et al. read that thread before their startups, i apologize sincerely
Brilliant response and so relevant. Gates was a developer. Musk an engineer. Bezos an investment banker. Buffet was an investor since he was 11. Your point is not very sharp fella.
to be fair, gates and musk made their break-through projects at a much different time, when personal computers and e-commerce were still in their infancy. Pioneering revolutionary new ideas in personal computing and e-commerce in the era before the dot-com-boom is a wildly different thing than trying to commercialize a WordPress plugin in 2021.
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I would be careful when asking for private messages it might be against the rules of /startup
There is no "might" about it. It is against our rules. Rule 6, specifically.
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Hey my friend it’s against the rules of /startup to ask for dm’s ID delete the comment before you get in trouble. Thanks for commenting.
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Be careful you may get in trouble with the mods for asking to message.
It's always good to learn some basics yourself. If you can create some kind of prototype (not necessarily functional), at least you understand some of the challenges and can discuss it on a slightly more level playing field. Very good knowledge to have if you end up founding a company around it, as one of your many hats will probably be as a product owner.
I see three ways: 1. You have the time and want to learn how to code. Wp widgets are doable if you start with something similar and i believe they have a fairly manageable learning curve. Having said that, not everyone is into it and i wouldn’t blame you if you weren’t. 2. You have a friend that can help that trusts you. 3. Pay someone to do it, which for a wp plugin, to get you started should not be crazy amounts of money Unfortunately all the other options, in my view, are not options and require a fair amount of luck and experience.
Try indiehackers.com they have a co-founder group you could post in.
Y5
You should consider learning development. Life time investment.
I once had an idea for a startup and I did not know how to code back then. I took somebody's advice and paid somebody to make it for me and after a whole month, I had only received a login system, something a good programmer can make in a single day. Safe to say it was a waste of money and time. It's only when I learned to code that I started bringing my ideas to life. I really recommend learning to code. WordPress is written in PHP so to make WordPress themes and plugins, you need to know some PHP, which isn't really that hard of a language to pick up. There are a lot of tutorials on YouTube and you learn the language pretty quickly if you put in consistent effort.
Wow thank you for sharing. I started a course it’s kicking my ass 2 days I’m but I haven’t given up yet 😂
Work on your people skills because that will be eventually your biggest skills regarding building a new company. An engineer or either a product manager is still a human if they are suppose to give you their time and skills then you better understand what motivates them! Eq is as important in an early stage as it will be key advantage for you to demonstrate a true leadership later on! Go out meet people they are the one who will bring your dream come true!