[oscarleung]

Personally, I think you need a committed partner who can code. Like Steve Blank/ Eric Ries like to put it, a Startup is not a company - it is a hypothesis.

It's great that you have a business plan, but a business plan is a remnant of the 80s and 90s. What you really have is a hypothesis about how you believe the world is. You need to get your product out there to see if your hypothesis holds true. If you've done your research, it will be close to the mark. From there, you'll have to iterate your product until you've reached a product-market fit.

And to iterate rapidly, you cannot keep subcontracting coding. You're going to need a committed CTO that will be able to deploy code rapidly.

That's my two cents.

[whimsyjim]

It's funny you say that because I am on your side here, but a close mentor of mine who has successfully founded, raised venture funding, and sold 3 tech companies disagrees. He recommends doing as much as I can for now and then get funding rather quickly. I'm not saying he's right but he has some pretty good points to back up his recommendations.

The only problem I foresee with getting a committed CTO is finding one around my area. I had one incredible programmer who had just quit his job at Match.com, but he got offered a job he couldn't refuse with equity in the venture funded startup in the valley.

I guess I just need to start the process of finding the perfect fit. I'm probably going to reach out to Raleigh for this.

[oscarleung]

It can definitely be done like your mentor said. As a Rails developer myself, I'm kind of biased to coders being part of the DNA of the company and having a strong stake in it.

This is a great article on humbdledmba for non-tech co-founders: http://www.humbledmba.com/please-please-please-stop-asking-h...

They make a good point. The coder's biggest is fear is wasting his/her time. Do as much as you can to alleviate their fear. For example - start a blog, get a following.

I hope this is helpful for you.