[kriptonic]

Thanks for asking.

I work as a web developer. I have been building eCommerce sites since I was 15~, I'm 23 now! I can do frond-end and back-end development, although I think I'm better at back-end development. I have good experience with HTML/CSS/Javascript, PHP/MySql, Java & Node.js. I also have some experience in building AI systems using ANNs, GAs, etc.

[karmajunkie]

Congratulations, you figured it out.

You don't know anything.

Come on man—you're 23! how many real problems have you even encountered in your life? Let me rephrase that in a way that sounds less dismissive of any personal problems you may have in your life (which are important but not the basis of a startup)—how many problems have you encountered in your life that could be solved by technology or automation that are also shared by people with money who are willing to pay for them?

Get a job that pays well. If you can get a job that pays you well enough to save a little something AND lets you work part-time, that's even better. Take the extra time to work on your ideas, work on learning a new language, read up on things you know nothing about. Because THAT'S where successful startups play. Until you get out and see the world around you, you're not going to see problems you can solve. Its the biggest mistake I made in my 20's, and the biggest mistake I see most people your age making. Work at a crappy job for awhile, learn an industry that has a lot of sucky parts to it, and figure out how to make them better.

Also, FWIW (and something I wish I'd figured out a lot sooner)—most of your friends probably don't share your values, so find some that do, and things like paying your rent and going on vacation to Germany with your girlfriend is as much her responsibility as it is yours. Don't be that guy.

Email's in my profile, feel free to contact me for lots of cranky-old-guy advice.

[sizzle]

Your advice really resonated with me aswell, thanks for sharing your wisdom.

[cushychicken]

Do you mind if I ask where you're located? These sort of skills are definitely in demand in plenty of early stage startups that have a toehold, but not a solid position, in a business environment. I'm shooting from the hip based on other responses you've mentioned so far, but it sounds like you've never really had a "real job", where you're putting your skills to work for someone else. Would it be so crazy to suggest you try working for someone else's startup before going off all on your own? That takes a lot of the pressure off of you to have all of the big ideas, but still allows you to work on plenty of interesting problems and see how a business is built.

It sounds to me like you've got plenty of technical experience and might need a little more of the business side of things - how to show the things you've built are valuable. I'm in Cambridge, MA, and I can say with certainty that there are plenty of software shops around here that would claw over each other to get to someone with your skillset.

I'm the least experienced entrepreneur on this website, but if it's help of that sort you need, you've definitely come to the right place.

[sharemywin]

so you build ecommerce sites for yourself or others? how much do you know about marketing them?

[kriptonic]

Hello.

Both. I learnt to program at 15 when I taught myself PHP to set up an eCommerce site that could automatically create new voice server instances when a user placed an order. I guess you could say that was my first startup.

Since then I've worked with a few different companies on eCommerce sites doing a bit of everything including marketing. I have quite a lot of experience with SEO, pay-per-click and social media marketing. One of my failed startups was a social media marketing startup.

[steele]

pick up java, ATG/hybris -- or demandware might be closer -- join a professional services workforce, have them pay for your certifications etc