#non-technical founders

[techcocktail]

With vs. Without: To Build An App Without Code

[unsolicitedreform]

The Other 95 Percent

I am intrigued by tried and true entrepreneurs. The energy, fortitude and modicum of insanity it takes to tackle a problem that could very likely leave you broke and despondent. Something that will help people better their lives in some way and give the you the satisfaction of saying: I built that.

Whether you are setting out to cure cancer or make it easier to get your car fixed, as an entrepreneur, your contribution to society is integral to the comforts we all enjoy. I would say to our existence at large and yet we as a culture do not cultivate entrepreneurship so much as we celebrate it. Glorify it on the pages of tech blogs where readers mostly argue the merits of how much funding a company has raised as opposed to the viability of their business model.   In the last hundred or so years, the entrepreneurial ecosystem (I hate using that term but it applies) has changed very little. The platform has mostly existed with entrepreneurs at one end and those with the resources, that is capital and connections to get to scale, at the other. The advent of the accelerator, pioneered by Paul Graham with his Y-Combinator model, has made it easier for some, select entrepreneurs. However, the large majority of entrepreneurs would not be considered for an accelerator. Those folks, given the attention and access, having the ability to build and run companies, are mostly excluded from the platform as it exists. And it is here we find the fuel for the fire that can be used to burn market inefficiencies, lighting our path towards a thriving post-industrial economy. To be clear, accelerators are a fantastic resource for those with a technical expertise or partner having the same, who can clearly and concisely convey their concept. They can now bring their vision to market in a way that reduces the number of costly mistakes that are likely to make in the earliest stages. This evolution, combined with an ever-lowering barrier to entry on the back on free and/or cheap technologies has fundamentally changed what most encapsulate as entrepreneurship. And it is exciting.

But, what I am suggesting herein is that while accelerators are undoubtedly a net positive, their advent has in my opinion revealed a larger and completely addressable kink in the process. One that is an opportunity for early stage investors and entrepreneurs alike. Even and especially those non-technical founders currently kept at a distance from building businesses in an economy where the web is central to any scalable model.