Its actually free, most of the time. Anyone can read your source code if you have a web application. Indeed thats how alot of us work now, there is no harm in extending other peoples code (as long as you respect the license). Its called Open source. Linux was built this way, so are many other apps. Vertical expertise on platforms, yes there is some demand there. We do not need php developers anymore. We need wordpress experts, linux experts, facebook application experts, and iPhone/Mac coders. Coders with deep, geeky knowledge of one platform.
There are facebook clones, twitter clones, clones of clones. What does that tell you? It tells you that there are enough developers out there who can build your application or idea (which is usually the first, and simplest problem).
So Mr tech entrepreneur, while you are hip, cool, geeky, techie,etc , your problem eventually is never going to be the technology. You’ll figure that bit out. You need a guru marketer(s), and amazing, honest, decently dressed sales guys. Sell, sell sell, share, sell, market market market. Your brand, your domain, your service. That is the cycle you want to establish right after your beta is out there. So, whats your barrier to entry once your app is out there in beta? How will you make money (please dont say just advertising!) , kill the competition and build your brand? Not a very techie problem, but one you need figure out before version 3, nonetheless.
Then wait for it all to dissapear. Just like you use email, if your users use your app/service/product, and once it fades away into daily life, its timeless. And so is the revenue 
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December 2nd, 2008 at 11:32 am
I strongly disagree with you. Hiring the suits is the worst thing that you can do to your startup.
December 2nd, 2008 at 11:46 am
I think what could work here is not to hire the suits but to offer them stake in the product thats how people join a startup. You have to give them something attractive even if the product fails after a year or so but these suits will work the best of their abilities.
December 2nd, 2008 at 9:47 pm
how will your product/service sell without the “suits” ? someone will have to wear a “suit” eventually, ie go out there and sell and promote it? You might make a million usd a year without a suit but what then? I’m speaking from the Pakistan context…
December 3rd, 2008 at 2:13 am
But the startups in Pakistan dont realize the importance of having sales resources or people having experience in selling services. And we lack the right kind of people who can help startups in selling their services.
December 3rd, 2008 at 2:21 am
Hello Mohtashim,
Your post does bring an interesting question that I have been thinking about recently: was it because Bill Gates was really good at coding that Microsoft grew, or was it because of his business skills picked up from his family who were into banking and wealthy?
Was Apple flight to success because of their technical prowess or because of their marketing ingenuity?
I think it would be extreme to say that it was technical skill alone. However, I also consider it extreme to say that it was marketing alone.
I believe that these companies had the right mix of both technical prowess and marketing ingenuity. History is filled with a number of companies that tanked because they could not deliver on the technical side. The reverse is also true. Twitter is still struggling to announce their business model because their service is unstable and they are trying to improve their repute: no one wants to pay for a bad service.
On a final note, MBA types/suits are poison for a startup. Their training is geared towards larger scale enterprises and till your company reaches that size, they will be of no use. The best tech companies are made by engineers, history is your witness.
December 3rd, 2008 at 3:31 am
Thanks for the insights Nash. You’re indeed right that a balance of marketing/technical does the job right. the best tech companies are founded by engineers, no doubt. Stanford is the birthplace of Sun, Google, and a host of other world tech leaders. In all cases, essentially, the business school( brewing ground for MBAs) in hand with the CS school there brought these companies out. So an MBA does not mean a ‘traditional suit’ , maybe in 1955 in the US or in Pakistan in the 1980’s. PS for the record i think ’suit’ is a very negative and racist term to use.
Looking at just us in Pakistan, i think we have figured the tech HR bit out, from a training point of view. Training reliable, strong, technology focused marketing teams we have not.
December 3rd, 2008 at 7:42 am
I think the problem is that all these “developers” making clones are NOT the ones who can design the whole system end-to-end.
I agree with Nash here.
I think every startup (and i am talking about web startups here) needs to make sure that their website IS the ultimate tool to make that sale. If my ecommerce website is poor on SEO and visually sucks, then I am going to loose on the hardwork that my sales team is doing over the phone.
December 3rd, 2008 at 10:04 pm
web startups yes. but there is alot more money, in Pakistan, atleast, to be made with the traditional startup.
December 3rd, 2008 at 10:06 pm
even tho i disagree with the MBA-bit. Once can always use a savvy marketer/MBA at some point. Would you not want a mini-seth godin pushing you site. you have to -get- people to your site through the noise for them to be able to try the site out. I think its never, ever about the technology or the engineers as it is about the right mix, which includes that MBA at some point.
December 4th, 2008 at 8:02 am
You would be hard-pressed to find an MBA-type who would understand blogging, social networking, instant messaging, twittering etc. Unless, that MBA was a former engineer.
December 4th, 2008 at 11:22 am
Yes, former engineer MBAs are the only kind one should consider for tech companies
Heard of Kraysis? theres some LUMs MBAs (former engineers)running that shop. and it wont the best startup in Apicta this year.
December 27th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
you can use a standard translator service to see it on other languages, such as babelfish.yahoo.com
here is the blog in french:
http://babelfish.yahoo.com/translate_url?doit=done&tt=url&intl=1&fr=bf-home&trurl=http://ittazee.com&lp=en_fr&btnTrUrl=Translate
October 21st, 2009 at 3:32 pm
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