How many of you YC applicants are non-hackers?

by joeguilmette on 10/13/2007, 8:02 PM with 11 comments

My friend and I are both pretty geeky, especially by comparison to normal people. We can both poke around in CSS, and set up a simple CMS. As far as code goes, that's the end of it though. We plan on working with developers, leaving the actual coding to them, while focusing on the overall flow and design of our site/apps.

How many other applicants are in the same boat?

  • by cstejerean on 10/13/2007, 8:28 PM

    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?

  • by reidman on 10/13/2007, 8:38 PM

    I do UI, design, HTML, and CSS. I can code and I've done a lot of work with LAMP setups, but I don't really consider myself much of a hacker (mostly because I don't really love hacking as much as I do design, and I'm definitely not as good at it).

    Understanding PHP/MySQL is nice because it allows me to communicate with hackers, but I wouldn't know where to start with anything serious like writing an API.

  • by webwright on 10/14/2007, 8:39 AM

    Hrm. So what would you do for the 3 months? Do you have the team you need to build what you want to build?

    FWIW, I'm not a hacker, either. UX, XHTML, CSS, JS, SEO and other assorted acronyms are my bailiwick (though I can dork around a bit with rails/PHP/etc). Of course, I've also dabbled in accounting, sales, etc.

    In my experience, a solid designer can easier keep pace with 2-3 coders (it's just that much harder to code something than it is to design it)... Which means (in my book), that a non-coder had better be prepared to do other stuff in the early phase of the project (notably SEO, SMM, and public relations).

    (by the way, checked out your portfolio-- nice design work!)

  • by ALee on 10/14/2007, 5:25 PM

    I'm the non-hacker (although HTML, CSS, UI, content, and the stuff outside of product is my focus) with two cofounders who are great hackers. So, I let the guys work their magic and then we all test together while I handle a lot of the user support and make critiques on the flow. I'm the guy who updates us on Battlestar Galactica and other developments in nerd lore.

  • by daniel-cussen on 10/14/2007, 2:37 AM

    You don't sound like you have enough nerd pride.

  • by rokhayakebe on 10/13/2007, 9:44 PM

    Me. but my co-founder is a coder.