Chapters (Powered by ChapterMe) - 00:00 - Coming Up 00:17 - Why Business Folks Need Great Technical Co-Founders 00:32 - Technical Founders 01:52 - The Intersection: Great Business Founders and Hiring Amazing Technical Co-Founders 03:32 - Making The Point Explicit 04:44 - Advice From Personal Experience At Twitch 05:06 - Great Software Companies Are Built By Great Software Engineers 06:54 - Equivalent In NBA 09:18 - Where Do I Find Technical Co-Founders? 10:31 - Thought Experiment: Ask The Best Person You Know 11:28 - How Not to Pitch: Come Up with the Idea Together 12:18 - Being An Amazing Recruiter 13:26 - Offering An Adventure: Building A Company Together 14:17 - Pattern: Successful Non-Technical Founders Are Great Recruiters 14:59 - Outro

My 2 cents if you're a non tech founder looking for a tech founder - learn to code. Even if you just get a surface level understanding, it'll be easier to evaluate potential cofounders, discuss technical challenges, and tech people will respect you more when you can truly appreciate their trials and tribulations mastering the craft.

I was making $110 hourly as a software engineer and I dropped my full time job when my co-founder proposed 50/50 equity in our partnership building the product from his idea. 2 years later we are making 1M in ARR (bootstrapping) and it’s was worth it the entire sacrifice in this journey

Started out as a non-technical founder. I made the decision to become technical a couple years back. I have learned an incredible amount and feel fully comfortable developing our product, outsourcing pieces when I get stuck. GPT has been an incredible learning tool, which has accelerated my learning immensely. Waiting for the magical technical co-founder to appear that shares your vision/passion will likely not happen. The best advice I can give to a non-technical founder is to make the mental switch and become technical. The sooner you do it, the better off you’ll be.

I started my tech company as a single mom, with hardly any money and no backround in business or in tech, but I had a vision. Finally after six years of perseverance and learning much along the way in both business and tech, we were discovered by one of the biggest names in Technology. Trust me, if I can do it starting from less than nothing... it can happen for anyone who puts their heart and action into it.

I was a non-technical founder. Learned how to code, it's been the biggest asset. It unlocks agility + opportunities to explore more things. I would always recommend knowing how to bake the cake if you're starting a cake shop. But if you're funded well, know someone close, it's always of course better to let someone else do it - regardless, knowing how tech works will still go a long way.

Gentlemen, this conversation was timely and needed. In addition, your channel is one of the avenues that made me improve my tech. obsession. Respect to Y-Combinator.

Finally a mature convo on the topic. Thank you for your honesty

There are tech founders who are looking for business/operations co-founders. I was in this position personally and I am sure many startups out there are in a similar situation. Would be cool if you guys can dedicate an episode for this topic. Thanks

I'm not technical but I'm very passionate by solving my problem. I've already talked to potential customers and discovered they also have this problem. So I'm learning code by doing the MVP. Great video! Now let’s back to work

Yet another good episode from YC! I have two thoughts listening to this: (1) as a non-technical founder, it would be useful to have deep domain knowledge and network in certain area where you want to tap into with your startup - this is what makes you non-fungible as a business developer. (2) technical co-founder needs to also be a good leader. So many great software engineers out there struggle when it comes to hiring a technical team and managing people... Programming skills are simply not enough.

I think the key to Justin Kan's success in recruiting is that he did something, he had proof of concept, he didn't just have an idea.

Great video. The relaxed yet energetic tone, and collaborative discussion between you was fun to watch.

thank you so much for this video! I found a co-founder thanks to it. your podcasts are amazing and so useful for rookie entrepreneurs like me!

I've been waiting for this video for so long!!! Please make more on how business cofounders can provide value in a startup

One of the most inspiring non tech founder is Tope Awotona, the CEO of Calendly. There are countless videos on youtube explaining how he did it.

This was absolutely brilliant. Great learning source this channel is.

My background is Hardware Development and Robotics, 2 months ago I decided to transition into Software Development and started learning JavaScript. I don't have the "best" ideas, but i have some interesting products in mind. My objective is to be able to code a MVP to test it at a small scale, then if I like it and see opportunities, start scaling it up. Great stuff YC thanks for sharing

Hey Dalton and Michael, Hey YC, thats one of the best videos I have ever seen from you guys. It ranks right up on the top. Spot on! :)

Great technical cofounders are very important. Even if the other person is also a technical cofounder. The point that they mentioned which is big is if you believe what’s your building is something big then you’ll do the necessary stuff to make it happen. If that means it’s time to get a great technical cofounder to part of the journey then that will be done. Just like a million of other critical things that’s needed to be done throughout the journey of the company. In my opinion if it’s a worthwhile problem to solve then getting a cofounder, learning to code or understanding a new technology will be among a long list of important things that must be done and will get done. If not then the issue is not even wether or not someone is a technical founder but rather they’re not committed in their own company. However there are stories of non-technical founders finding great technical founders which is difficult.It’s still important to understand the coding part of it. Basically the people with no technical skills that managed to get great technical founders have a big advantage (even over a single technical founder) and it’s the biggest way to validate the company early on.

Love this ! So happy to hear this, thank you for this ! Great advice will persevere to get the best CTO

I am someone who is technical and I get approached often on YC's co-founder matching platform. I have never once had someone ask me if I had any ideas for a startup. It's always been, I am building x and I will give you y % of the company if you build it. 10/10 I have said no I wasn't interested or if I did take the meeting because I thought it was a cool idea, the vibe was off. For example, a few people had no conviction in what they were building or they came off condescending in the meeting or they simply stated that they were in charge and that I was essentially their employee for no money and a small amount of equity.

We love you Michael and Dalton!!

Tech founder seems to default to software in YC. I'm in biotech, i watch a lot of your videos, and im not sure what i should dismiss or take with a grain of salt? Can you do a video on biotech / industrial biotech / chemistry / engineering type startups specifically? What are some typical key differences in these type of startups ? Founder dynamics ? Funding? Product market fit? Dev time? Common businees models? Etc? Would be great to hear YC's perspective on this area 😊

I started as a sales person, got technical skills and can now build (and have started a company in the process). I’ll say this: the hardest part is selling / marketing. If you can sell, you’re likely a good listener. This is the most important part of building a great product. Find a technically strong co-founder who not only can code but can interpret and understand. Then, go and setup as many conversations with people who have the problem you’ve theorized on & work together with your founder to build the solution. If you both execute on your respective roles; you finding the people with problems / co-founder building to solve the problems. You’ll find some form of success. Side note: if you’re coming with the idea you better have deep understanding of the problems & people associated with it.

This was excellent and exactly the path im on. I went to school for ancient history (BA Classics), then education and religion (MA, MEd). When i realized i wanted a different career, i found the next logical path - marketing. Once in marketing, i started learning "technical marketing" (seo, analytics, etc.) Now im in product marketing, impacting roadmaps, up close with customers, and getting a "seat at the table" with technical teams - helping turn their ideas into language and launches people love. Its taken me 4 years to get here, and itll likely take me several more to find a solid cofounder and launch our own product - but im on the path and thats what matters. TLDR take the first step. 10 years from now youll either be doing the thing or wishing you tried.

I tried first as a non-technical and i came to the conclusion that I want to be able to build the product myself in the beginning at least. And i landed my first junior role.

It's always a pleasure to watch your videos, I deeply love it and I 😁😁😁get a lot of knowledge out of them. Your best fan from CAMEROON

so timely. exactly what i was looking for

It is a no-brainer. You need a great tech co-founder. You need countless iterations and the velocity to get to product-market fit. Only a great tech co-founder can deliver it.

The problem I have is not knowing how much technical a technical cofounder has to be. I know how to read code especially now with ChatGPT, I can write basic c#, basic JavaScript, can do a little bit of game dev, 3d viz, I know how to do basic Arduino and fix 3d printer and could potentially build one with open source software. But I still think I need a technical co founder for a saas.

Most-awaiting video. I love you both guys. Thanks alot.

Hands down one of the best and most practical videos on youtube! For free! Talk about 1 m dollar advice for 9.99

Knowledgeable video thanks sir love from India 💞💕

I am following you guys and I just searched guide and saw that you just published.

Building a tech startup without technical skills definitely presents its challenges, but it's not impossible. This video offers some valuable insights for non-technical founders like myself. One crucial aspect emphasized here is the importance of taking initiative and learning as much as you can about the technical aspects of your startup. However, it's equally essential to recognize when you've reached your limit and need to bring in experts. You have to have both sides of the coin. You have to be willing to do it yourself and then not be afraid to hire those smarter than yourself. Surrounding yourself with a talented team can elevate your startup to new heights, filling in the gaps in your knowledge and expertise. It's all about finding the right balance between self-reliance and collaboration."

So much value here ❤

This topic is one of the best !

I would happily pitch (in the exact same way we spend time pitching to VCs) to a forum of potential engineers. Surely there is something like this??

I got the next ai bigidea and I believe it will change the world in a whole. I got no skills but however I am working on it it. Thank you for the advice, It will go in handy for me to get a technical cofounder

On point! I am working on a project as a non-technical founder and I have been able to recruit excellent people to bring it to life. Thank you guys! 1Q 2024, when the product is on soft-launch I will apply to YC.

Hmm ... I usually struggle with the idea of a "non-technical" co-founder seeking a technical co-founder to ... basically execute on the idea. Having more of a technical background, I like the idea of recruiting business specific skills like sales and marketing thinking of it like a different kind of wrench rather than a caste.

Thank you, you just helped me.

This was my questions! thanks!

Thanks Dalton and Michael! -Nathan

Could you make a episode on the other side? How can an engineer find a great business people?

I'm an artist, a designer, an account executive, a consultant, and developing my technical skills. Actively, looking for someone to go on an adventure with me! It's so hard however... but I'll keep searching

Love these startup "crunch topics"s

Alright, you convinced me.

Okay, let me tell you, I really like spending my hours on KZfaq here on this channel. Seems like so much value coming out from here than mind numbing shorts or reels.

Good explanations! 👍

Non-tech founder with one [failed] proptech startup under my belt built by a friend's dev shop. Learned a lot but mostly - I need to learn to code. Just finished CS50 Python.

I am a full-stack dev with knowledge in AstroJS, sveltekit, Nodejs Express, Serverless(best) drizzle orm and some edge sqlite database. I don't have good soft skill due to my anxiety would love to be a CTO😅.

Hey YC.. why don't you start a small online meetup kind of a thing where non tech founders can pitch their ideas (small presentation with a pitch deck) in front of tech people for better matching.. this could be on a regular basis and has potential to make lots of meaningful connections..

Much needed video! Also noticed some of the ideas came from Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacsan.

"changing the people you know" is an interesting sentence. I got the meaning, but it took a moment because there are two possible interpretations.

Isn't there another option by now for a non-technical founder: Learning a no-code tool such as bubble, building the first version of the software yourself, onboarding a technical co-founder once the idea has been validated and the first users are onboarded?

you guys are having too much fun😂😂that's a good job

This is the closest thing to an impossible task. It is literally easier to learn SOME tech skills than try to manage getting by without having any. It helps in your business decisions, your strategic process, picking better employees, and making a better product. Business skills are very necessary. But the skillsets are Yin Yang: you need balance.

Spoken to lots of engineers over the last few years and have also gotten a few to offer to work on what I’m working on right now. I think a lot of non-technical cofounders overweigh the importance of knowing how to code as the factor for getting a technical cofounder to work with you. Technical cofounders tend to already be very good at coding and building software solutions - what they need from you, the non-technical cofounder, is a problem to solve and traction around solutions to the chosen problem. They want to know that you’re not just going to be thinking of ways to do things without actually talking to users who have the problem you’re trying to solve. They also want to see traction from a no-code solution if possible, which can be done with tools like Carrd for a landing page and a bunch of other tools you can use to build a community of users before you even write a single line of code.

I'm a technical co-founder who had to learn how to be a non-technical co-founder. Now I can kill a presentation but my coding skills are a bit rusty. I want someone who is even more technical than me and wants a co-founder like me, since I have a deep understanding of coding and can actually write half-decent code and build a cool UX myself. On paper, I have all the skills I need. But it'd make it a whole lot easier to get help. Reply to this comment if you'd consider.

The general consensus from the comments is that even if you are a non-technical founder, it is good to form some base level of coding competence. What language would you suggest learning?

Much needed

I predict this will be the most popular vid on this channel

It's the same in big businesses. The management sees engineering as a cost center, not the product.

Love this video 🎉

I have visualized a CTO for my company. He is 100% the ideal candidate. He doesn't want to because he needs money right away and can't work based on just equity.

I thought you would say that the best non-technical founders would be people who have business experience in their specific domain, but I guess recruiting is more important.

How would you expect to onboard a technical co-founder without product market fit?

In today's world, the motivation of good engineers leans more towards a stable income than venturing into uncharted territories with a friend and an "idea." While having a technical co-founder who shares your vision is indeed blissful, does Y Combinator's emphasis on having a technical co-founder imply that it is more crucial than addressing the actual problem? If a founder can assemble a skilled technical team with equitable incentives to develop a product that effectively tackles the problem, could this serve as a viable alternative to having a traditional "co-founder"? Let's not overlook the element of time. While spending 12 months in search of a committed co-founder, competitors may be actively pursuing product-market fit and securing seed funding. On the other hand, one might coerce a team into building a YC-acceptable company, only to find that success is not guaranteed solely by a technically sound product.

Happy New Year! My name is Raph from Orlando and Sydney. What's your opinion on starting a meditation app company with using zero coding tools? I just graduated from University of Sydney, and I majored in Product Design. My plan is to hire some Chinese programmers on the side as well. I would love to receive a constructive feedback from both of you. Cheers! Much love.

If you are non tech co founder and you want to learn tech saas. What program should you learn first?

Would you kindly share your thoughts on responsibility and equity between “visionaries” who have some idea and require engineers to build the prototype, build the product, put everything into production, take responsibility for SLAs? What are the expected roles and responsibilities of each party that warrant sufficient “skin in the game” to determine a fair split of equity?

I love your energies

I've always been of the opinion that a predictor of success of a tech enabled startup is the understanding the founder has of the problem being solved. 1) if the startup solves a technical problem/ is differentiated on the technical implementation, a successful startup will have a technical founder. 2) if the startup leverages technology to solve a business problem, the best founder is one who best understands the problem There are far too many startups where founders are mismatched to the problem being solved. A technical founder may make a solution looking for a problem, (look at the flood of useless tech adjacent startups) while a business founder may not understand the investments and development needs to differentiate a technical tool.

What are the best ways that people who don’t have a tech background to learn technical skills? Many people recommend coding bootcamp but I want to know if that is truly the most effective option or should I try to teach myself?

Hey there! Love your content and really appreciate it! I'm planning to apply for the summer class, but I'm a single founder with just a prototype of the app. I don't have a CTO to build it, and I don't have any numbers like sales or revenue yet. It's still a new idea I'm bringing to life. Do you think this will affect my interview? Any insights would be greatly appreciated!

Just make sure you are truly great at whatever it is you do. If it's sales, be a phenomenal enterprise sales person who can close the big deals before end of quarter. If it's marketing be a fantastic story teller. If it's leadership, be the type of person people would follow to the gates of hell. If it's networking, help the company raise money from the biggest names in the industry. Just make sure you are great at SOMETHING and bring your part, don't be the "generalist", that has zero differentiation from 80% of America and no added value. If the technical cofounder has specific skills you should as well.

I m an accountant by training and cant code to save my life. I had a vision and hired a full stack engineer to build an AI app for me. I am about to launch the product. This tech co founder need is over stated. Hire a good tech guy and give him stock.

amazing video

"I got a lot of heart, Michael!" You're so effing funny! Haha amazing line. Yes. Put me in coach! lol

what are your thoughts on using no-code tools like bubble or flutterflow initially to build the initial version of the product?

I'm a 10x engineer wasting my time on boring jobs and I'm looking for a diligent co-founder. Let's build a company together.

Non tech founder hired a developer. Biggest regret of my life i learned my lesson hard

does this advice still apply if someone is good at coding (no tech job background, but does have a master in CS) in this times with chatGPT, claude, etc?

So my question is, what to do when he/she failed to convince people to become their technical co founder, no everybody is in Silicon Valley where software engineer are willing to take risks of no pay for a possible big future income ?

are we able to start a software company after the AI is it possible to generate more income in technical field after AI

I think the opposite question is more interesting and difficult... how do I build a tech start-up when the *only* thing I have is tech skills and no business or legal experience?

Yayyyyy people who don't know what they are doing often do the best things! It's the energy I think haha.

What if I am a technical person, but I am looking for another technical cofounder? I am currently developing the MVP, but I know I need a technical cofounder.

But however I got an issue what is the best equity split to offer to my technical cofounder?

hmmm . couldn't i create some no code webpage and app ? have the AI help me along the way until I can get funding and then hire a techie ? my startup needs lots of research and the software and hardware would be based on it , it being in the health sector

How do I find a great technical person that could join me as a founder? How would I think through what level of ownership interest I should give up?

My question now is what level of skill the technical co-founder needs to have. For instance I am a new mid level developer, Can I make it by with a non technical cofounder or would I need a sr engineer as a cofounder (which I know would be best)

Does anyone knows how to become a tech founder as someone who is a devops/solution architect in current working position? Is coding necessary to become a technical founder/cofounder?

Beautiful ❤️❤️

I didn’t even know there were people out there thinking they could have a tech company without the tech founders haha

You probably need some _understanding_ of the technology you are dealing with in any situation. Call it a skill or no. You can also just _use_ a technology to make a product or a service, but still it's better to understand something essential of what you use, to know how far it can go, to be able to compare it to other available things, etc.

What if a solo founder has both business and technicall skills?

I've been a brick and mortal business owner. I want to venture into tech, but for more than a year, I can't find a co-founder here in our province. I found some online, but they are not very committed. The path I'm trying to take is learning no code tools, then building an mvp, finding product market fit, and then looking for a tech co-founder. Any thoughts on this?