The document discusses technical and non-technical co-founders in startups. It notes that technical co-founders focus on code commits while non-technical co-founders ask about overall progress. Interviews are included from technical and non-technical co-founders discussing their experiences. Key points discussed include the importance of balance between technical and business skills, focusing on execution over ideas, and how founders' relationships can impact startup culture.

1. Hacker To Founder
Filipino Technical Co-Founders at Work
22 August 2014, Geeks on A Beach
Paul Pajo, Developer Evangelist – SMART
@pageman @smartdevnet
http://developer.smart.com.ph

2. What’s the difference between a
technical co-founder and a non-technical
co-founder?

3. What’s the difference between a
technical co-founder and a non-technical
co-founder?
The non-technical co-founder asks “How’s everything?”
The technical co-founder asks “What did you commit today?”

4. A technical co-founders view of a startup:
for me, is all about being the industrial
partner of the company ensuring that the
service or the product be done correctly
- One Baguio based developer co-founder

5. Thoughts from a female technical co-founder
Well uh honestly as a woman I've had a very
difficult time being taken seriously here for my
technical skills like I'm working with machine
learning guys in Stanford
I've talked at Brown, been invited to MIT
to discuss what I'm building but the reaction I've
had has always been,
"Sooo....who's your technical co-founder?"
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6. How does having technical chops help in being a co-founder
(especially since you're actually the technical co-founder)?
it's like people have this image in their minds
that the ideal tech person has to be a nerdy guy
with a computer science degree... :))
and if you don't fit that image, well...
umm...most of what I know is self taught actually
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7. Do you think it's easier you're also the non-technical co-founder
or have you ever wondered that this could be
easier if there was someone focusing on the "business
side?
in my case I think it's the other way around. I'm
filling in gaps of the technical co-founder but I
feel more comfortable on the business end.
Granted, I developed the algorithm but when it
comes to implementing the algorithm with the
technology, it's still a learning process.
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8. Do you think it's easier you're also the non-technical co-founder
or have you ever wondered that this could be
easier if there was someone focusing on the "business
side?
I mean with Python it's relatively easy but in
terms of understanding the other things, it takes
a lot more concentration and effort. But it can be
done. You just have to have the discipline to do
things, I guess. And I'm also lucky the team I'm
working with now has been very supportive
about my learning process haha
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9. Good morning! How was that experience? Do you think it
would have been different if you had a technical co-founder
from the get go?
Well, it's given me a better understanding of the
skills needed (business and technical end) to
execute effectively in a start-up
and I suppose that balance is important,
understanding the tech enough to know its
limitations and at the same time being able to
translate the value of that technology into
something that regular people can
understand
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10. Good morning! How was that experience? Do you think it
would have been different if you had a technical co-founder
from the get go?
a lot of young people have this idea that they're
invincible, that they can do anything you set your
mind to, etc, and I suppose that's what makes a
kid's idealism so attractive but for me, you have
to also be realistic about "changing the world"
because you have to understand your
limitations.
You can't be "the best at everything." But you
can find the "best people at everything" and put
them in the right places in your company.
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11. Good morning! How was that experience? Do you think it
would have been different if you had a technical co-founder
from the get go?
for that last part, I don't deal in what-ifs I guess.
So I've never really stopped to ask myself,
"What if I've started with a technical co-founder?"
I suppose it's easier for me to just do
things based on the resources I have than look
for the resources I don't have.
And just between you and me, it was actually
more difficult to get things done when I did have
a technical co-founder. :)) It's really remarkable
how many young developers today suffer from
"the Next Mark Zuckerberg" syndrome. :))
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12. You have a close friend that's like you - she has awesome
customer post-it validation using a Javelin board and has
some money to bootstrap - should she wait, to find a good
technical co-founder or stick with a pitch? Or another
alternative?
I suppose it would be a case to case situation
depending on the strengths and weaknesses of
the particular situation. If she has the skills or the
time to learn, she can bootstrap or pitch. If not,
then it might be a better idea to find a good tech
co-founder.
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13. Developer #1 Thoughts from a recently funded Philippine
startup 
Health care is a very serious problem in the Philippines and having to work for a tech
company that wants to revolutionize it, made work feel less like work. I've been learning
a lot since I joined especially in terms of all the things we, developers, tend to overlook.
Raising venture capital, client relations, investor relations, scaling, expansion, product
development and much more.
Although not yet a founder of a big startup, just being in a dynamic company such as
<StartupName> has inspired me to look at entrepreneurship very differently.
As much as ideas and apps are great to have, execution and detail-orientation are key
skills to possess. Most successful founders certainly have always kept this in mind.
Sometimes, I'd like to think we call them "Founders" because they literally "find" the
details and solutions most people don't usually discover.
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14. How different is a technical co-founder's view of a startup
VS a non-technical co-founder's?
"So here's my definition of a startup. A human institution designed to create something new under
conditions of extreme uncertainity.
And, of course, the importance of disruptive innovation in creating something that is truly different
than what came before."
One of the unique characteristics of a startup is its culture. And I'm not referring to the shorts, pizza
and beers. Your startup culture is the collection of people making decisions everyday.
And some have said, 80% of your culture will be defined by your founders. Its about, how well a
particular feature was executed, what process' are available to make that execution work.
There will be differences between the tech and non-techs. But its about coming to terms with a
linear understanding of getting things done that counts.
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15. maybe you can use your current startup context
also, does it help that your non-technical co-founder is
your brother? based from you experience, you think that
set-up would work in other startups?
I would say definitely. Founders will argue at many times in
their startup lifecycle. I do admit, some of our arguments do
get aggressive. But at the same time, concerns are
addressed more thoroughly.
Sometimes an aggressive argument, can turn into an
intimate one and sometimes they can remain aggressive.
But when the storm calms, things get done more
productively. And everyone is back on track professionally.
Having someone related to you in the team also introduces
a BIG amount of trust and dedication (up till 3-6am) without
complaints.
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16. maybe you can use your current startup context
also, does it help that your non-technical co-founder is
your brother? based from you experience, you think that
set-up would work in other startups?
It's this kind of will that makes a team strong. We learn
something new about ourselves everytime we end up in
a heated discussion and then we pick up the pieces
and suddenly we are a more effective unit.
So going back to your question. As long as the
founding members are "culturally" fit. Fit to commit to
the long hours, execute and to sacrifice.
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17. Thank you
@pageman @smartdevnet
http://developer.smart.com.ph