[mhuffman]

I get what you are saying but disagree with your original premise.

It is akin to saying, "It is silly for a programer to not already be a businessman (businesswoman) when seeking a partner, because there are books and websites online and in just a few days he ought to be able to get by in the business world".

It is nice for you that you made an MVP for yourself. Likewise it is nice that you have plenty of business contacts, etc.

However, my point is that it is absurd to think that just a few days of intense study will turn a programmer into an MBA or and MBA into a programmer.

People recognize this and that is why they seek people that are strong where they are weak. So together they are more than individually.

[crdb]

Months, not days (really, this "I want it tomorrow" culture is quite harmful). And yes, I do think developers who become co-founders or C-levels should take some time to familiarize themselves with basic legal and financial concepts as well. Things like optionality and the time value of money, and protective provisions. And basic accounting. And, in our case, international tax and labour laws. Helps when those discussions come up. Helps filter out incompetent but slick sales types (after all, Sturgeon's Law also holds for businessmen).

Nevertheless, it's not black and white. I personally think that being familiar with a little bit from all the fields that you will eventually touch as a founder, is immensely value adding. But if you have a good network in a trustworthy environment, you can get away with not.

[mhuffman]

There is a huge difference between knowing enough on a subject to do a "bullshit test", and what you recommended in your top post, which was for businessmen to go learn to program and make their own MVP. While an admirable goal, that seems ludicrous for most.

Obviously, if you are going to be an entrepreneur, you need to know your business, and that includes the high-points from all divisions, but that is a far cry from your first recommendation.