[sk5t]

> You can pretty easily hire someone to write code if you have the cash

Perhaps if you have quite a gigantic pile of cash. In most cases, trying to outsource your company's core product development is a recipe for very severe disappointment. The technical cofounder's role is to understand absolutely as much about the business as possible, and constantly integrate that evolving knowledge into the product. It's not really a job that stops and there is almost no way to compensate someone by the hour to do it... without a dragon's hoard to start.

[ryanwaggoner]

Yes, but all that is just as true for the role of actually getting someone to fork over money. Witness the huge graveyard of interesting ideas built by talented engineers who can’t sell or market to save their lives.