How To Build A Tech Startup With No Technical Skills

Based on the thousands of companies YC has funded over the years, the biggest common element between all successful startups is having technical talent on the founding team. But what do you do if you don't know how to code? You may think you can get by using no-code tools, part-time consultants, or dev shops to bring your startup idea to life. But that thinking is wrong.

In this episode of Dalton & Michael, we’ll discuss exactly why that is and why recruiting a technical co-founder is the single biggest way to create value as someone trying to start the next big thing.

00:00 - Coming Up
00:32 - Technical Founders
01:52 - The Intersection
05:06 - Software Engineers
09:18 - How to Find Them
10:31 - Ask The Best
11:28 - How Not to Pitch
13:26 - The Adventure
14:17 - Great Recruiters

[chapterme]

Chapters (Powered by ChapterMe) -
00:00 - Coming Up
00:17 - Why Business Folks Need Great Technical Co-Founders
00:32 - Technical Founders
01:52 - The Intersection: Great Business Founders and Hiring Amazing Technical Co-Founders
03:32 - Making The Point Explicit
04:44 - Advice From Personal Experience At Twitch
05:06 - Great Software Companies Are Built By Great Software Engineers
06:54 - Equivalent In NBA
09:18 - Where Do I Find Technical Co-Founders?
10:31 - Thought Experiment: Ask The Best Person You Know
11:28 - How Not to Pitch: Come Up with the Idea Together
12:18 - Being An Amazing Recruiter
13:26 - Offering An Adventure: Building A Company Together
14:17 - Pattern: Successful Non-Technical Founders Are Great Recruiters
14:59 - Outro

[bengorman]

My 2 cents if you're a non tech founder looking for a tech founder - learn to code. Even if you just get a surface level understanding, it'll be easier to evaluate potential cofounders, discuss technical challenges, and tech people will respect you more when you can truly appreciate their trials and tribulations mastering the craft.

[peterbloomingdale]

Started out as a non-technical founder. I made the decision to become technical a couple years back. I have learned an incredible amount and feel fully comfortable developing our product, outsourcing pieces when I get stuck. GPT has been an incredible learning tool, which has accelerated my learning immensely. Waiting for the magical technical co-founder to appear that shares your vision/passion will likely not happen.

The best advice I can give to a non-technical founder is to make the mental switch and become technical. The sooner you do it, the better off you’ll be.

[GabrielSestrem]

I was making $110 hourly as a software engineer and I dropped my full time job when my co-founder proposed 50/50 equity in our partnership building the product from his idea. 2 years later we are making 1M in ARR (bootstrapping) and it’s was worth it the entire sacrifice in this journey

[Sara-wbbs]

I started my tech company as a single mom, with hardly any money and no backround in business or in tech, but I had a vision. Finally after six years of perseverance and learning much along the way in both business and tech, we were discovered by one of the biggest names in Technology. Trust me, if I can do it starting from less than nothing... it can happen for anyone who puts their heart and action into it.

[goyashy]

I was a non-technical founder. Learned how to code, it's been the biggest asset. It unlocks agility + opportunities to explore more things. I would always recommend knowing how to bake the cake if you're starting a cake shop. But if you're funded well, know someone close, it's always of course better to let someone else do it - regardless, knowing how tech works will still go a long way.

[jaffarbh]

There are tech founders who are looking for business/operations co-founders. I was in this position personally and I am sure many startups out there are in a similar situation. Would be cool if you guys can dedicate an episode for this topic. Thanks

[magicalpodium]

Gentlemen, this conversation was timely and needed.

In addition, your channel is one of the avenues that made me improve my tech. obsession. Respect to Y-Combinator.

[OntologyofValue]

Yet another good episode from YC! I have two thoughts listening to this: (1) as a non-technical founder, it would be useful to have deep domain knowledge and network in certain area where you want to tap into with your startup - this is what makes you non-fungible as a business developer. (2) technical co-founder needs to also be a good leader. So many great software engineers out there struggle when it comes to hiring a technical team and managing people... Programming skills are simply not enough.

[polinas.]

thank you so much for this video! I found a co-founder thanks to it. your podcasts are amazing and so useful for rookie entrepreneurs like me!

[mdh.]

I've been waiting for this video for so long!!! Please make more on how business cofounders can provide value in a startup

[janoschrix]

Hey Dalton and Michael, Hey YC, thats one of the best videos I have ever seen from you guys. It ranks right up on the top. Spot on! :)

[TheKing-mmfn]

I'm not technical but I'm very passionate by solving my problem.
I've already talked to potential customers and discovered they also have this problem.
So I'm learning code by doing the MVP.
Great video!
Now let’s back to work

[vukasinmancic]

I think the key to Justin Kan's success in recruiting is that he did something, he had proof of concept, he didn't just have an idea.

[samirelzein]

Finally a mature convo on the topic. Thank you for your honesty

[tenzinrose]

I started as a sales person, got technical skills and can now build (and have started a company in the process).

I’ll say this: the hardest part is selling / marketing.

If you can sell, you’re likely a good listener. This is the most important part of building a great product.

Find a technically strong co-founder who not only can code but can interpret and understand.

Then, go and setup as many conversations with people who have the problem you’ve theorized on & work together with your founder to build the solution.

If you both execute on your respective roles; you finding the people with problems / co-founder building to solve the problems. You’ll find some form of success.

Side note: if you’re coming with the idea you better have deep understanding of the problems & people associated with it.

[jovelnom]

One of the most inspiring non tech founder is Tope Awotona, the CEO of Calendly. There are countless videos on youtube explaining how he did it.

[GlobalVentures-TSkillsLLC]

Building a tech startup without technical skills definitely presents its challenges, but it's not impossible. This video offers some valuable insights for non-technical founders like myself. One crucial aspect emphasized here is the importance of taking initiative and learning as much as you can about the technical aspects of your startup. However, it's equally essential to recognize when you've reached your limit and need to bring in experts. You have to have both sides of the coin. You have to be willing to do it yourself and then not be afraid to hire those smarter than yourself. Surrounding yourself with a talented team can elevate your startup to new heights, filling in the gaps in your knowledge and expertise. It's all about finding the right balance between self-reliance and collaboration."

[katriengrobler]

Love this ! So happy to hear this, thank you for this ! Great advice will persevere to get the best CTO

[vry.design]

Okay, let me tell you, I really like spending my hours on YouTube here on this channel. Seems like so much value coming out from here than mind numbing shorts or reels.