How do you go about meeting coders? I didn’t grow up in an environment where many people were interested by online business and applications so I have no friends are into coding.
I thought about going to local events but I’m pretty shy and afraid that I’ll literally be a nobody. I’m not even a coder, yet I’m trying to find a coder to become partners with? What can I say to make a coder want to partner with me? Is it really enough to be like “hey, let’s build a team. I can handle the business aspects of this while you spend your time doing what you love… Coding and we can maybe build a few great apps together. I have a decent idea to get started but if not, we’ll find more ideas”.
I’d love your input on how to approach strangers about building a serious team…
Where do you live? I met most of my (real-life) developer friends from going to Startup Weekend and similar events (not just general code meetups, though those are really fun too), where it’s expected that about half the room will be developers, and the other half will have other skills.
To meet devs online, I can also recommend the excellent Code Newbie chats to meet other new developers, or sticking around here and participating in conversations to meet more experienced devs.
Thanks for the advice I will stick around and participate. It’ll be a good way to learn a thing or two.
Also, I looked into startup weekend and it makes me pretty nervous. Since it’s a competition and I don’t have a business degree or anything… I wouldn’t be taken seriously.
I can handle the business aspects of this while you spend your time doing what you love… Coding and we can maybe build a few great apps together. I have a decent idea to get started but if not, we’ll find more ideas.
Programming is pretty hard, but it’s nothing compared with the difficulty of making a success of a business idea. So if that’s the side of things you want to handle, you’ll need to get a lot more confident, and develop a much stronger business plan, before developers are likely to be interested.
So I’d suggest you make sure you’ve done plenty of research that you can present when pitching, or talk to a business professional for some advice. You need to be pretty brave with these things, and so if you feel intimidated by something like StartUp Weekend, that’s a sign you’re not ready yet. (It sounds like a great idea just to throw yourself into that and get some great experience. That’s the point of it, I’m sure.)
Mind you, I totally understand where you’re coming from, but one has to face that reality. Few if any developers will want to risk their income etc. on a vague idea, presented without confidence and a strong, well-funded business plan. And you can’t afford to doubt yourself, so that’s the first thing you need to address.
What about coworking then ? It is perhaps less intimidating then StartUp Weekend. Look around your city you might find some where you could share and improve your idea and perhaps find someone willing to work with you. I have been involved in creating a website for one of those business so I have seen it working, they are usually organizing conferences on a wide range of topics.
I was also going to suggest Meetups.com, I have been to a few (not to meet coders, but for networking within the marketing industry and also just some purely sociable ones) and, in my experience, they’re a much more laid-back and informal environment to get talking to people, which I think is especially helpful if you’re shy.
Thank you for the tips guys I’m finding new motivation to meet new people who can possibly help with building such a team. I need to grow a pair and be confident.
Maybe all I actually need to get everything started is a graphic designer with who to build a mock up of the site/apps and then use that to find an investor to fund the actual build? I know a working prototype is better but it might be easier to find people willing to design for free/cheap than to code an entire app for free/cheap.
I will stick around and participate. It’ll be a good way to learn a thing or two.