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10 Tips for Moving From Programmer to Entrepreneur

userscape.com — #1 - Code is 5% of your business - "I see developers getting caught up in code. Spending countless hours making a function perfect or building features which show off the latest technology. The best code in the world is meaningless if nobody knows about your product."

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  • dalewj, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6sorry but to me that seems like things you should do as a programmer everyday, not jsut as your own boss.
    • bpapa, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Not really. Most of those things listed are the types of things that management and other members of a team are concerned with. When you get paid to work from 9-5 to write code you don't have time to be getting caught up in all of that.
    • tsteele93, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Can you say "myspace?" HORRIBLE programming. Great marketing. Going to be hard to take down. Hope someone manages though.
    • mercprog, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0I think there are so many more things you need to do as an entrepreneur, that you didn't need to worry about while programming. So much that I started a website just to help the transition.

      For instance did you ever have to sell an product or service while programming? I guarantee you will need to once you become an entrepreneur. Here is an article that may help. http://www.mercenaryprogrammer.com/Articles/DontSpeakCommunicate/tabid/442/Default.aspx

      Good luck all entrepreneurs
      - Dave B
      mercenaryprogrammer.com
  • haggie, on 10/12/2007, -3/+171.) Put money saved by living in parent's basement and not dating into savings account to pay business start-up costs.
    • tHePeOPle, on 10/12/2007, -6/+5your forgot the next two steps...

      2. ???
      3. Profit!
    • dtfinch, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1I've finally completed step 1. :)
  • MagicBobert, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4It's more geared toward the propeller-head types than it is programmers who already have a grasp on the reality of business. That said, it is a pretty good summary of what to watch out for as you transition from code-monkey to business tycoon.
  • sulaco, on 10/12/2007, -0/+16"is often asked to do far to much with far to little"

    11. Learn the difference between "to" and "too".
    • JCaptainP, on 10/12/2007, -12/+2Spoken like a true coder.

      Get a girlfriend and stop worrying about some guys spelling mistakes?

    • ianlandsman, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4That's OK I took it as constructive criticism and made the fix. Also fixed the spelling error in the very first line which it looks like you missed ;-)
    • felchdonkey, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6JCaptainP - a true coder would never have pointed out spelling mistakes, they would have committed them.
    • kodek, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4" It’s not surprising since IT is often asked to do far too much with far to little."

      Still missed the second "to"
    • nirvdrum, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Agreed. Incidentally, your writing is probably the first thing your potential customers are going to see. If you're not willing to take the time to proofread documentation and what not, it doesn't build up a warm, fuzzy feeling that you're giving as much attention to the code either . . .
    • Avalontor, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2@JcaptainP - why the question mark?

      Normally I would agree with you, but because the topic is about moving into the business world, I think Sulaco has a valid point. It's funny how some people in suits can notice all the little things and make a big deal about it.

      Note: not spellchecked because of Error: "Not in Dictionary" is missing.
    • JCaptainP, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1The question mark was my mistake.

      I think that I had a flash back to my old computer science days, where some students thought it was important to make commentary about inane things like this.

      ---------------------------------

      On another note, I think that this article is very pertinent especially regarding the patience point. Statistically, they say that 1 in 9 businesses fail. Yet the average entrepreneur only starts a single business, fails, and then believes for the rest of his/her life that it is not a viable solution. If you stick with it, and are willing to learn via experience, you will eventually become a successful entrepreneur.
    • sulaco, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4@JCaptainP

      I was being completely serious. Grammar errors in code comments might slide, but they will not when you send that proposal off to your clients. My girlfriend was the one who pointed out the mistake, btw.
  • willistg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2There's some good advice to be had in a book called "A Good Hard Kick in the Ass" by Rob Adams.

    Seems all these articles showing up on digg as of late related to entrepreneurship are just rehashing it.
  • wildmXranat, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Its true that college and university institutions have the resources for the willing students to get ready for transitions like this. Its unfortunate that a lot of successful programmers read half-baked advice like this and would consider it novel.

    A smart and intelligent person will be able to filter out the mistakes pointed out in the article as they seem like common sense judgement calls.
  • ivko, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2Rule #0, use Amazon Web Services
  • Maniaca, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6Tip #11: Shower.
  • h3smith, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Well not always.

    If your product is ***** enough that people stop using it then you have screwed yourself over.

    It escapes me how myspace has users with the lapses in QA it has.
  • toxonix, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Wait, roll that back..
    Rule #1: If you really are a coder, you probably wont like running a business. Market research, taxes, money, etc. are things that you need other people for because they are tedious and boring.
    These people are probably all around you if you already work in a good sized tech company.
    Make friends, see who is interested in your idea(s) and start a little something on the side.
  • cabazorro, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I started reading the a article and then I saw the :) emoticon at the end of one paragraph. "this is one audience I don't want to be part of" I though and quickly forget the carefuly crafted bussiness drivel.
  • Kazrog, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2If you have a product that's well designed for its target audience, serves a need in a new/better way, and is well coded, it's going to sell itself. Marketing can only do so much. No point in hiring business people if your product isn't going to stand out from the crowd.
  • dtfinch, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1On the first 3 tips, my feeling seem to be the exact opposite.
    1) Without code, you have no product. Without better code, you can't compete.
    2) Graphical design is important, but not more important than a working, competitive product.
    3) Reaching long term goals depend on accomplishing short term tasks. You shouldn't market what you don't have to sell. You won't sell anything that way.

    He seems to argue that you can build a successful software business without building any software. A startup that follows his advice would have nothing worth buying. The world is full of vaporware startups, that make spectacular promises, claim to be in a constant state of near-completion, and go broke without ever releasing anything.
    • brilliant, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1True that, but I felt that you have taken a different tangent. But I think the author is not trying to say that you shouldn't code at all but instead he is saying you shouldn't focus way too much on your code, which from a business point of view I agree wholeheartedly.
      Look at the most succesful companies out there, more often than not you will see that their products are not the best in the market but they are the more business savvy amongst the competitors.
      >1) Without code, you have no product. Without better code, you can't compete.

      Again, he is not saying that you should roll out half-assed products to piss your customers off. You should start a working product, doesn't have to be the best.
      Packaging (the design) is very important as it conveys the value and professionalism of the product. Take a look at packagings of Apple computers. Some Apple fanboys even experience orgasms just by opening their package.
      >2) Graphical design is important, but not more important than a working, competitive product.

      The bottom line is the old adage "Work on your business, not in your business"
    • tsteele93, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Sorry, your #1 is only partially correct. It SHOULD be that way in a perfect world, but it is not. Myspace is my first example. It is not good code, it is not even decent code. It is bug-ridden, kludgy, counter-intuitive code - and it is arguably one of the most successful web-apps on the planet.

      Microsoft has huge, bloated code that is often buggy and difficult to use. They tend to copy other innovations, or buy other companies in order to play catchup with the rest of the market. Yet they are the standard for most businesses and people.

      Once you accept this, you are more likely to succeed. Study those two (and other) companies and ask, "Why did they succeed with poor code?" You are going to find that good code is a NICE feature and a great goal to strive for, but not the most important thing in a program. In fact, you'll find that if you spend TOO MUCH time on perfect code, you won't win because you'll have neglected some of the other things that are more important - like timing, marketing and interface intuitiveness to name a few.
  • kanesbane, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I think this article makes a good point. You have to find the correct balance to succeed. You can't spend all your resources (i.e. time) on one aspect of a venture when there are 10 other aspects that need to be considered as well.
  • imblogger, on 07/21/2008, -0/+1yeh now days young entrepreneurs are growing
    check more young entrepreneurs on
    http://www.starentrepreneurs.com/
  •  

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