How many of you YC applicants are non-hackers?

Re:How many of you YC applicants are non-hackers? by cstejerean on Saturday October 13, 2007 @04:28PM (#67425)

Well, there is a big difference between poking around in CSS and creating a design for the actual site. On the other hand basic programming is not really complicated especially if you are technically inclined and are willing to learn. You'll probably have to leave the heavy lifting sooner or later to experienced developers but I would recommend learning to do some code yourselves. Getting developers this early on will usually cost you either money (which you might not have) or a ton of equity.

I would personally recommend picking up some Python and maybe Pylons and start hacking some webapps (others might recommend Ruby and Rails, etc). How else are you going to build a demo from the 15k that YC provides?

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Re:How many of you YC applicants are non-hackers? by joeguilmette on Saturday October 13, 2007 @04:51PM (#67437)

heh well i mean YC is only one avenue for success, and it certainly doesn't make sense to tailor our plans and/or our idea for YC. if we're the right fit for each other then it will work out,and if not there is no sense in forcing the issue. we don't have a demo yet simply because we haven't felt as if we'd done enough research and thought enough about what we're doing and for whom until this point.

it's pretty serendipitous that we stumbled upon YC about 4 days before the application deadline :)

we're working with a family friend who has had quite a bit of success in the SV startup world, and he seems fairly convinced he can introduce us to a friend who can do some work for us as a favor, and a perhaps a bit of money or equity (certainly not founder status).

furthermore, our concept doesn't really require any intense programming in the first iterations. it won't be until we actually prove the concept (via a barebones site) that we will need 'heavy hitters' to take things further, and by that time we feel like we will have acquired at least some funding based upon how well things have been progressing thus far.

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Re:How many of you YC applicants are non-hackers? by cstejerean on Saturday October 13, 2007 @05:28PM (#67450)

You have a good point. I was trying to offer advice regarding applying to YC, but certainly there are other avenues and if you can find someone to do a prototype without too much cash or equity then you're set. I imagine it might be hard to recognize great developers when you get around to hiring, but if you can get someone you trust to help out it might work out. Good luck!

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Re:How many of you YC applicants are non-hackers? by joeguilmette on Saturday October 13, 2007 @05:42PM (#67458)

i mean, yea, we definitely have out work cut out for us.

best of luck to you as well :)

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