Aye, the thing that a non-technical founder can bring to the table is industry experience and connections.
One small company I worked at was run by former investment bankers. They knew VBA obviously, but that was it (the app was C++ on Solaris). But they knew the foreign exchange business inside out, and "sales" consisted of them having lunch with their mates (which BTW bagged us 7 of the top 10 FX banks as clients.... no programmer could have done that).
My advise is that you have to sell the idea to programmers same way you would sell the idea for investors. You have to do your homework, have some plans, and make clear what you expect from them and what you can bring to the table(eg. money, connections, expertise). You won't go to investors asking for millions with a idea written on a napkin.