I think not.

It’s counterintuitive to ignore your strengths as a founder (ie: sales, marketing, etc)

The founders I speak with who want to learn to code assume it will help them understand their developers more. This is slightly true, but it’s an opportunity cost against time spent selling/promoting the product.

Products fail more due to poor PMF, not because founders can’t code.

Hiring developers who can communicate is a bigger force multiplier. (a hard requirement for me)

A technical project manager is even more ideal for providing the buffer between the founder and developers.

Curious how non-technical people on the fence of learning to code feel about this topic.

(if it’s a passion you seek, that is a different argument. code away)

  • SaltMaker23@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Naaahh, even experienced coders are usually shit at building an product from scratch.

    By the time you can hold your weight, it’s already too late.

    Play your strengh, time is the most critical asset of a company you can’t waste it learning a skill that is impossible learn from zero to master in a 2 years.

    It’s always nice to understand things because it makes discussions sooo much easier but you don’t need to code.

    Anyway after a year with your cofounder don’t worry, you’ll understand a lot about code and requirements because your tech founder will be annoying you constantly about that:

    This works like this [proceeds to monologue for 30 minutes], We can’t do this, we can’t do that, we’d rather do it like this, we’d rather do it like that, this is easy, this is hard, this is easy, this is expensive, technical debt …

    “Off course I know him, he’s me”

    • Darryl-D@alien.topOPBEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      even experienced coders are usually shit at building an product from scratch.

      Facts!

      They know how to engineer in circles. but can’t ship a product to save their life. It’s also a mark of maturity.

      For some people, coding is the goal.

      For the mature, it’s a means to an end, shipping a product is the goal.