Many entrepreneurs have a lot of viable and exciting tech business ideas but are afraid to make a move because they do not know how to code.
It may be easier for a Technical founder to build the MVP of their product. However, that does not mean that non-technical founders lack options.
Steve Jobs of Apple, Jack Ma of Alibaba, and Reid Hoffman of LinkedIn were all non-technical founders who went on to build billion-dollar Tech ventures.
An essential quality of entrepreneurs or founders is the ability to communicate their visions and ideas to their teams and get them to execute such ideas with precision.
Hence, if you possess this skill as a founder, you should understand the need to bring in those with technical expertise to turn your idea into a product. In other words, as a non-technical founder, you can build your startups by co-opting those with technical knowledge to create your products.
How to Build a Tech Product Without Knowing How to Code
Someone must write the codes to bring your tech product to life, but it must not be you. Here are the ways you can work with others to build a Tech Start-Up even when you don’t know how to code:
Work with a Technical Co-Founder: One popular option for building a tech start-up as a non-technical founder is to find a Co-founder with enough technical expertise to develop your solutions.
For instance, Reid Hoffman worked with a much more technical co-founder, Eric Ly to build LinkedIn.
If you intend to seek investments, having a technical co-founder will boost your chances of convincing investors compared to building alone.
The major responsibility at first will be to get a co-founder with enough knowledge for the kind of product you want to build and to get such a co-founder completely sold out on the mission. Once he buys into the vision and benefits from the idea, the journey will likely become more efficient.
Also, you have to work out a formula for sharing equity. There are different ways to determine this, primarily according to how much money and time each co-founder invests in the business. However, the choice lies with you and your co-founder. You can opt for a 50/50 split of equity if that works for you.
Importantly, you must choose a partner you trust. Misunderstandings between co-founders can spell the end of a business at its early stages. Hence, you must perform your due diligence on the potential co-founder you onboard.
While choosing your co-founder, consider the person's technical skills, how much they understand and buy into the long-term plans, their ability to lead and grow a team, and their commitment to building the idea.
Meanwhile, it can be difficult to attract a top talent to work with you on your idea, unless you have a track record of previous achievements in your field, or you are into a Tech-complimentary role.
How to Discover Technical Co-Founders to Build Your Tech-Product
Some of the ways to find a Technical Co-founder for your business include:
Start From Your Network: Look in your network for someone you have worked with before, as mutual trust and understanding have already been established.
Meet Someone on Co-Founder Matching Programmes: Institutions like Y-Combinator have co-founders matching programmes to match entrepreneurs who can successfully launch a business together.
Network With Developers at Tech Events: You can also meet a potential co-founder by networking with tech folks. Visit co-working spaces and strike connections; attend Tech conferences, Demo days, and other Tech meet-ups/events where developers gather.
Hire a Freelancer or Dev Shop: If no member of your founding team has technical expertise and you do not wish to build your business with a Co-founder, you can hire a freelancer or dev shop to build out your Minimum Viable Product (MVP).
A popular example of a product built by Freelancers is Wanelo, an online community for stores and products.
WANELO’s founder, Deena Varshavskaya was a designer with prior experience working with freelancers and developers. With this experience, she acted as the product manager and helped build the MVP.
However, the downside of working with a freelancer or dev shop is that it can get expensive, especially when you seek experienced hands and high-quality products. This can take up a significant part of your initial investment budget.
Again, as a founder, you need to learn as much about your product as possible, get reviews, and iterate as fast as possible. Working with freelancers does not guarantee the fast and frequent iterations required to build a product your target market truly appreciates.
Also, there’s a possibility that when the business finally hires an in-house Developer, the new hire might not approve of how the product was built. This will likely require rebuilding the product, leading to a waste of resources.
Importantly, ensure you clearly describe what you want to your freelancers and stay in constant communication with them throughout the duration of the contract.
Use Low-Code or No-Code Tools: If you can’t hire freelancers or Dev Shops, you build your MVP with low-code or no-code tools like WordPress and Squarespace, which are available to the public.
Low-code or no-code tools allow non-technical users to build simple tech products using an interactive graphics user interface. Most of the tools available have drag-and-drop features, which enable users to build out the first phase of their solutions quickly.
A good example of a product built with no-code tools is Dividend Finance. Dividend Finance provides financial services for residential solar and home loans. It was built using a combination of no-code tools, including Bubble (for the web application) and Airtable (for data management).
Another example is Landbot, which is a platform for creating conversational chatbots without coding.
Hire Technical Staff to build out the products: Another option we recommend for non-technical founders is to build an in-house engineering team by hiring developers and other key personnel.
You must decide on the roles to hire. How many Engineers do you need? Do you need a product manager, or can you act in that capacity for now? What about a QA Engineer?
However, you must understand that hiring an Engineer can be time-consuming and expensive. It takes an average of 1 to 3 months to hire a good Engineer, and the cost of remuneration can lay a significant burden on your business.
Meanwhile, after hiring your first engineer, it is relatively easier to get more talent from the Engineer’s network.
Outsource the Technical Responsibilities to Team-as-a-Service Firms: A growing way to build your Tech products as a non-technical founder is to outsource the Technical duties to a Team-as-a-Service firm.
These firms offer expert services that can transform your ideas into MVPs with guaranteed high quality. Working with Team-as-a-service firms provides quick turnaround time and the best hands for your business needs.
Tribesquare is a good example of a Team-as-a-Service company with a track record of building high-performing teams. Tribesquare’s teams have built and managed products that have been accepted into top accelerator programmes worldwide, making the company one of the established Team-as-a-service firms around.
What Is The Role of a Non-Technical Founder in a Tech StartUp:
What would you be doing in a tech startup if you can not code as a founder?
As a non-technical founder, while you figure out how to delegate the technical sides of your business, you should understand that you must play several roles in the initial stages. The roles may range from business development, strategy, marketing, and fundraising to other leadership roles.
Specifically, a Non-Technical Founder can play the following roles:
- Serve as the Product Manager
- Oversee business development
- Lead marketing and sales
- Lead fundraising activities
- Manage organizational value
- Coordinate hiring and onboarding activities.
Final Thoughts
As they say, great products are built by great Engineers and Technical teams. If you’re looking to work with a highly effective team to develop and launch your products, reach out to Tribesquare by filling out the request form. Let’s help you build a highly performing and stable technical team that delivers high-quality technical products.
For more information, visit Tribesquare to see how we can assist you.
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