bradmilne

Lots of good points. For me I know that I can get lost in the weeds. But I also should have stated that I believe you need to take the time to learn technologies and skills properly - and there's a time and a place for that. But if I'm trying to build a project I'm focusing on getting that project done. If I run into something that might be productive to spend more time on it later then I'll set aside time later. But otherwise there's just too much to learn and my project won't get built.

Thanks. I also think that there's a time and a place for deep-dive learning and to properly learn the technologies. The key for me is to understand when I'm 1) solving a problem so I can get back to building something and 2) learning a technology or a skill that I know I need to pay attention to.

Go through less information. A far, far superior developer to me once said 'An efficient way to find the answer your looking for is the most valuable thing a developer can have.'

1. Decide on what to build 2. Break the project down into small chunks (i.e. add dropdown) 3. When you get stuck, stop reading as soon as you find an answer that works and get back to developing

You can always go back and make it better later. Just make sure you're moving forward with your projects.

Apparently the Aussies are very good at this kind of thing. If you look up their anti-drunk driving commercials you see how they really care about the effectiveness if these things.

I think it depends on the faults you're talking about. If those faults in any way impact the business, then it's going to seriously affect how you view him as both a business partner and a friend.

In any case though, you're in a relationship with someone and communication is important. Your co-founder and you should be constantly providing each other feedback in order to be better partners. Be sensitive on how you word it when you bring it up, but if you stress that it's for the good of your friendship AND the business you've started, he should be able to take it in stride.

Agreed. You don't want to give up on Bootstrap because it's just so easy to use. My advice would be to spend the $20 or whatever it is on wrapbootstrap and get a decent theme that you can use for rapid prototyping without it looking like the stock Bootstrap theme.

I agree with geoffschmidt - domain expertise is difficult to acquire if you don't work in a large company and understand where the pain points are. Sales cycles are always going to be a hassle though and a fundamentally different skill set to acquire than building the tech.

Something I see neglected in the comments is emails. I assume you had a life before you started this venture and have met people in business and personal situations and emailed back and forth with them.

Your personal email list is one of the best ways to drive initial traffic and build awareness since:

1. These people know you and (hopefully) trust you 2. They're likely more willing to provide additional connections and introductions

When you have a rough estimate of when you want to launch your startup you should be emailing the relevant contacts on your list regularly to keep them up to date on what you're doing and when it will likely be ready. That way when you launch and are trying to drive traffic you already have an initial audience who can forward it on to their contacts.

Past that... yes you should definitely emailing relevant writers with your story, blogging, and generally creating as much great content as possible and seeding it online in the places that matter to your startup.