A Twist To Y Combinator’s ‘Demo Day’: Pitching To Programmers

A year ago, the title would have been "Incubator has startups pitch to programmers, not investors".

Let's not overlook the big differences between working at most start-ups and working at most companies:

1. Every programmer, no matter how good, is at least a little insecure. Every one of us doesn't know something. Is the something you don't know going to make or break the next project? In a start-up, there's rarely a safety net to catch you, but in a larger company, there's probably a better chance that someone else can help you along.

2. It takes a special mentality to work in a less certain environment. This is more a matter of personality than skill. My mentor was fearless. He used to say, "I didn't know I couldn't do it, so I did it." This attitude, as much as skill, determines how well one would thrive in a start-up.

3. What happens when things go wrong? (And they will go wrong.) The ability to recover from problems in a larger company is a great asset. In a startup, it's a necessity. I've met many enterprise programmers who could crank out great code between 8 and 5, but melted under the pressure of an all night emergency. They would never survive in a startup.

4. What happens if you don't feel well or if your mind is "someplace else"? In a larger company, you could coast for a day or two (maybe more). That's rarely an option in a start-up; time lost is time lost forever.

5. In a larger company, you can do quite well whether you have deep domain knowledge or you're a jack of all trades. In an early start-up, you better be both.

6. Ever wonder why waterfall development refuses to die, even though it's not as effective? Because so many of us have to have a road map in order to function. "Road map" personalities don't fare nearly as well in roadmapless environments (many start-ups).

7. A start-up programmer must have at least a little maverick blood. If you believe everything you hear and do everything everyone else is doing, how can you differentiate yourself? In a larger company, you may not have to. In a start-up, you probably do.

8. Is there something you simply have to do? Then you probably belong in a start-up environment. It's tough (although not impossible) to get the same opportunity in a large company.

9. Do you think the work is really cool? I know lots of good enterprise programmers, but have trouble thinking of very many who think their work is cool. They like their jobs, but work is "just a paycheck". Not the type of people who would thrive in a start-up.

10. Do you do a happy dance whenever something works for the first time? Then you may be more comfortable in a start-up than in a big company.

I would love to see investors put more effort into demonstrating the value that they bring to young companies - over-and-above capital. Quite often it's hard to get anything more than some pretty intangible statements on the topic.

I spent 9 months of my precious life schlopping round VCs in London (well, it was 2001...). Sitting behind expensive oak tables in ostentatious board rooms pitching for investment. Listening to what was in too many cases downright arrogance on the part of the investors whose understanding of the market was at best surfacial.

I think much of this world is gone (thankfully) but wouldn't it be nice to hear the <i>investors' elevator pitch</i> for a change ?

Seems to me that the obvious solution is to recruit outside Silicon Valley. You'll probably find candidates willing to relocate if it gets them back to work (though a good proportion of them may be recent grads).

In my experience recently, employers are demanding a hire who has every single bullet point, no exceptions.

I believe one of the more entertaining job listings I saw last year required someone who had written embedded firmware, as well as Adobe Flash animation.