Technical versus Business aspects of a start-up
… or the forces of light versus the dark side. Will leave it up to you to decide which is which.
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I was chatting with David Megginson the other day and the topic of business versus technical aspects of a technology start-up came up. In general terms the technical side of the business is thought of as more fun, informal and solving problems. The business side is more serious, profit motivated and perhaps somewhat more formal. Both are absolutely essential for a successful start-up.
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The drivers of the technical side of the start-up are; to solve a problem, provide a solution and use some really cool technology. Engineers and software developers love a challenge and finding ways to solve problems real or perceived. Technology is an essential ingredient in a high growth knowledge based start-up.
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The drivers of the business side of the equation are to address a market need, real or perceived. Sales, marketing and business development folks work at getting the technology solution adopted by the market and customers.
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Which is more important?
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IMHO market acceptance is the far BIGGER challenge. The issues around technology and developing a solution are finite and in the realm of the development cycle, which is very early in product development. The issues around market acceptance are far more complex and in the realm of people, highly subjective and persist far longer into the development of a business. There are only so many ways to fix a line of code, however, trying to satisfy the wants and needs of customers is highly complex and there is no exact science around finding a solution.
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Just my 2C.
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Ian Graham
Building the first version of a low-traffic web site is relatively easy, just like writing a business plan or doing market research. The real work, in business or tech, is still ahead of you.