[tapiwa]

I think it really depends on the type of product you want to build.

My take on the matter is to learn just enough tech to be almost dangerous. Or put another way, you need to understand enough about technology to (a) understand that it is hard. This alone will make you a better manager/cofounder. (b) be able to sift the wheat from the chaff. The problem with business only types is that they are more likely to pick 'coders' who promise the earth than those who can deliver.

Learning to code is great. Learning a lot about the various technologies out there is great. Building simple programs is great.

That said, programming is hard. You will not be a great coder in 6 months, or a year. If your problem is non trivial you will need far more knowledge than you can pick up in a year of dabbling.

I suppose my point is that you need to balance the need to come up to speed with technology with the need to actually deliver a working product.

[evac]

I agree it'll largely depend on the product I want to build. Fortunately for me, what I want to build is relatively simple technology compared to what I see a lot of programmers capable of making, and the most complex part is probably the psychological framework that I spent the past couple months researching and designing before I could even get started on the technical part.

I'm also aware that my coding skills will never outmatch someone else who probably started when they were 12 or something, at least not in a year. At the back of my mind, I know that programming will be hard, but at the front of my mind, I think my ignorance would probably be very useful for pushing me into something I can't turn back on.