Case Study for YE

[KyleXY]

SORRY FOR THE LONG POST, NOTE: I DID NOT SPELL/GRAMMAR CHECK.

I am interested in conducting a case study for the members here, sort of for my own amusement more than anything as I think it'd be fun and make things more enjoyable. I mainly hope to eliminate some common myths which have already been proven thousands of times over and over again by so many other entrepreneurs out there, yet some members here seem to not really recognize these things. Not trying to say anyone here fails to see it but I think the term being relentlessly resourceful comes into play here.

Part of being a successful entrepreneur is to always be resourceful and to do so, you must be able to build a company without running into certain issues many of the members here often run into early on. While in some cases these things are unavoidable, the reality is, for many, they are avoidable. I hope to some degree with this experiment whether it becomes a success or not, helps some members here to really rethink their strategy and think outside the box, and encourage them to find alternatives to tackle some of the recurring problems I keep seeing from new and old members alike.

This experiment is for fun and to be helpful. I apologize if for any reason it comes off as being a dick. Please don't take it personally. So without further ado, here goes...

While I do have a track record and do have some connections, I want to make it clear I won't be using any of that here since I'm trying to prove a point. As a matter of fact, here are three things I want to at least debunk almost immediately as they appear to be issues for many of the members here:

1] Money. This seems to be a recurring theme. Many people feel like they need to raise money to get started or in some cases, to get their product developed even before they could launch. In some cases, they feel they need to raise capital to even get started at all. To be honest, in some cases (depending on the business type), this is valid, in most, it is not.

Since I'm a web entrepreneur, this is seldom true. While many people out there do raise funding, they generally do so after they've pushed the first product out so this isn't even a question to consider. Thus I'm going to limit severely the startup cost to what a normal person should be able to afford out of pocket. Currently, the only startup cost I have is some cheap shared hosting which averages out to be $6.95/month and automatically comes with a free domain name included.

While I want to note that this is not necessary at this point in time, it will become a necessity at some point and the cost is honestly cheap so it's not an issue for me and it shouldn't be an issue for anyone else here (or hopefully not) to be able to afford something that cost less than $10 a month to start. While I certainly agree there are ways to make money without spending a dime, I'm not trying to spend years to make a living here. The goal is to make something as valuable as possible in the shortest time possible with as little cost out of pocket as possible.

Therefore, the money issue and myth will be thrown out (unless you're really in the position where you can't afford this basic cost; at which point, I'm sorry and I genuinely mean that).

2] If you're like me and would like to get into a web startup of some sort thus requiring coding skills to some degree but you got none, fear not. While I can program, I'll pretend I can't and thus force myself to recruit other people to build my idea out for me as most of you budding entrepreneurs are running into this problem here. Since I can't leverage any connections and I am to put my shoes in that of every beginner entrepreneur, I will recruit people I do not know to eliminate any bias in this area.

This removes connections, current friends, and programming out of the picture. This should leveled the playing field for many of you at this point.

3] Knowledge. This is an area that is extremely difficult to remove since I know what I know and it's hard to pretend like I don't, unlike programming where I can just find someone else to place me for that. However, for this experiment, I will be doing a new project that I have practically very little experience in to level this playing field but something I am still interested in learning so to some extent, I've removed as much of this as possible. Things I can't remove is obviously past experiences on knowing how to build a successful company but in all honesty, these are things anyone here can pick up if they try.

So, in conclusion, given the above factors, I would like to get everyone's feedback on their thoughts of the experiment, where they like to see the results or don't give a rats ass. Or if you just plain think I'm a douche or if you think this will help LOL. Just figure it'd be something fun to do and hopefully help everyone out. Let me know.

I'll break down everything from start to finish on this project but only disclose what I can during the build as not to give away unnecessary information until the time is right. Given the development cycle and the fact that I need to recruit people, updates aren't going to be frequent for obvious reasons but I'm down to do this anyway if you're all game. Let me know. You can vote by simply replying to the poll up top or leave a comment below. Cheers.

[Encrypted]

"Hungry? Why wait? Grab a snicker =]" has my vote! lol I should probably read your post now.

[KyleXY]

LOL That's awesome.

[Chaseb731]

Very Intriguing.

I'd say it would be a fantastic idea.

[Encrypted]

2] If you're like me and would like to get into a web startup of some sort thus requiring coding skills to some degree but you got none, fear not. While I can program, I'll pretend I can't and thus force myself to recruit other people to build my idea out for me as most of you budding entrepreneurs are running into this problem here. Since I can't leverage any connections and I am to put my shoes in that of every beginner entrepreneur, I will recruit people I do not know to eliminate any bias in this area.

Not knowing how to code is not a valid excuse to not to be able to develop something. If you're building a website or a game, or some other web based idea that depends on your ability to code.. you should either be learning to code or you shouldn't be attempting to start it up.

However, if we're simply talking about a basic website to conduct business from.. then I don't see an issue here.

[KyleXY]

I agree but I've learned through years of experience that certain things are not designed for certain people. Not everyone can learn to code even if they tried hard. Their strengths lies elsewhere and fact is, many great entrepreneurs out there who can't code or design have gone on to found ways to build great businesses regardless, including companies in the tech and web space. I firmly believe playing by your strengths over fixing your weaknesses.

Not saying that many of them can't learn, but for simplicity sake, let's just say this experiment will help them see the alternative to both. That said, I'm a self taught developer. Many of my friends are too. So that option is there for those who want to take that route. For those that don't, for those of you who finds coding is not for you whether you simply can't learn it for whatever reason or you just simply hate it, the alternative is still there.

[Encrypted]

I suppose this is true. I was just making a point. So many people try to go .. "hey! I have an awesome idea for a website but I can't code.. will you code it for me and we can be partners!?" It just doesn't work like that. You'd have to have a pretty damn AMAZING idea for me to waste my time coding a site for you in return for a simple "partnership". As a developer, why would I partner up with someone, do all of the work, and only get 50% of the revenue? Idea's are a dime a dozen.

[KyleXY]

Sometimes true, sometimes not. I totally see where you're coming from though. However, I would like to say that most of the most successful dynamics for entrepreneurship, especially examples in the Valley are notorious for being one business partner and one technical partner. The reality is a programmer can't do everything himself and there are advantages outside of coding that a business partner may bring to the table. The key is to finding someone as good on the business side as someone good on the technical side. The truth is, most people are neither great at business skills or programming skills and excelling at both is extremely difficult. Most overestimate their abilities in each area. This is a real problem for many first time entrepreneurs.

And in some aspect, like how some business guys can't code, some coders can't do business. It's a fair tradeoff and really just depends on the situation and the people. For those that can pull it off, that's great. But seldom do. Look at Steve Jobs, can't code or design or build worth snaps. But one hell of a visionary and marketer for sure and while he can't do the things he envision himself, he certainly can get the talent to do so. Finding good talent and good people, is a skill of its own, one that is most often overlooked by inexperience entrepreneurs as well. Things like these are not so obvious but if a partner can bring that to the table, they're every bit as valuable as a developer. Again, it's situational and it'll always depend. There's no right or wrong here. Your situation may indeed be different but not everyone will have that luxury.

For what it's worth, I'm going to pitch as a business partner in this little experiment anyway with no coding involved to prove that single point that it can be done. Therefore we'll see where this goes and whether or not it ultimately really impacts the final results anyway. And I can give objective feedback on both sides afterwards as that would be a much better comparison than arguing one direction or another at this point. One thing I would like to note though, having two people do stuff is more valuable as it can speed things up significantly.

[Chaseb731]

As I read Kyle's commentary, I'm getting really excited to see where this goes. I know you've been successful so It'll be interesting to see how you handle different situations. I'm sure I speak on behalf of many when I say that it'll be a great learning experience for not just you, but for the readers as well. Good Luck!

[Gaulkin]

I fail to see the basis of this, as you said people have heard it 10000 times before and trust me you will not have any effect on a non believer. People change when they choose to change and no outside source can change that.

[KyleXY]

Yeah, it's may not change anything in the end. As I've said, if for nothing else, hopefully it's something fun to do. Aside from that, it really will depend on the individual.

[KyleXY]

Looks like not too many people care for this experiement. For those that do, feel free to PM me your email. I'll just create a simple email list and post updates there rather than reply on here. Cheers

[akula]

yea i'm a bit over the whole business advice thing...cbf

[generationy]

Good luck man! One thing I would say is that even if you don't have the ability to code a large or advance website, partner with a friend whom you trust. We have seen numerous entrepreneurs in history that have split the responsibilities to create an effective business. Apple with Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Paul Allen etc. and even recent entrepreneurs, all partnered to maximize their strengths. In fact, some venture capitalists prefer working with a business development and technology person team because that seems to be the most effective partnership. Just make sure you are fair and appreciative of the work being done by your partner, otherwise problems will arise.

You can also search for websites that do outsourced work for a fraction of the cost in countries such as US and UK. Try those!

Good luck Man!