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Comment by porter | Hacker News Reader

It seems funny to me that so many people want to be software entrepreneurs, but refuse to learn about software.

Six months ago I quit my banking job of five years to learn how to program. I am taking discrete math, data structures & algorithms, and computer organization courses as a non-degree student. I am also up to speed with python/django/HTML/CSS/JS, or at least I know them well enough to hack a prototype together.

Programming is overwhelming at first, but seriously, it's not that hard to learn enough to test out your ideas.

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Most people are good at what they're good at, so it makes no sense for them to learn something they have little interest or skill in. The typical request from a non-tech guy is not in implementing a hard engineering problem like database management or search query structure, but in putting together what is typically a glorified e-commerce site or social site (digg etc).

Just happened to read Forbes write up on Reed Hastings (Netflix) as their CEO of the year. Turns out he has an M.S. C.S. from Stanford.

Jobs did some programming and soldering logic boards. Gates wrote a BASIC interpreter with Paul Allen. Zuckerberg was in Harvard C.S., I believe, and wrote the first implementation of Facebook himself. Bezos has a B.S. in C.S. and Electrical Engineering. Larry, Sergey, Jerry Yang all Stanford C.S. grad school drop outs.

So, I am having a hard time coming up with a spectacularly successful software company where the founders "just needed a programmer."

Facebook probably counts somewhat. The Winklevii needed "just a programmer". Too bad the programmer didn't want to be "just a programmer".

Well, Apple could be a counterpoint if we're just talking about current CEOs. Steve Jobs has never been revered for his electronics skills, and it seems he kind of snuck in the back door in early jobs at Atari and HP. His specialty was always sales, whether selling Apple computers or selling himself.

That said, if we're talking "founders," Steve Wozniak was built right in, and he's the computer guru we're looking for. Just giving the computational credit where it's due, on this one.

Steve had one competitive advantage: best friending Steve fucking Wozniak.

You know how that happened? They shared common interests, including knowledge of electronics, pulling pranks and passion for computers (yes, Jobs was technically competent enough).

And if I know one thing about %99.9999 of would-be entrepreneurs: they aren't best friends with someone like Wozniak.

So...we agree. My point is that where some of the other people mentioned had their masters degrees in CS, Jobs seems to have been more of a business-inclined hobbyist who really liked and could competently work with computers. I concur that his biggest strength as far as computer science went was that he happened to pal around and co-found a company with someone who was the most badass hobbyist in town.

Being friends with woz and hanging out at the homebrew club is a probably better education in computing than any degree.

Did you read the playboy interview that was posted recently? (http://www.playboy.co.uk/print/print-article/item77251/) Obviously we're going on Steve Jobs' word here, but he comes across as not nearly as hardcore as Woz but definitely technically competent.

Implementing a social or an e-commerce site requires skill if you don't want to deliver a me-too product that will utterly fail.

To be an entrepreneur regardless of the domain, you either have to have enough money to buy top talent or you need to be able to do the job yourself.

E.g. you will utterly fail to start a business that produces tasty eco-sausages if you have no idea how to: a) produce or buy eco meat or other ingredients and b) make tasty sausages or c) hire a chef working for a 4 starts restaurant that loves to make sausages

If you don't believe me, try it out.

Entrepreneurs that think coming up with an idea is enough, and "just need a programmer" are lying to themselves. But hey, they are free to try it out.

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