vision

Becoming an Entrepreneur as a Software Engineer Vol 2

This is part two of my discussion and thoughts on seeking to become an entrepreneur as a software engineer.  These are my current thoughts on the process and how to achieve my overall goals in becoming an entrepreneur.  This entry centers on the belief that becoming an entrepreneur occurs in several distinct phases.  Currently, I have identified three core stages.  During each of these phases our rolls and responsibilities change and grow drastically.

Stage 1: Working for someone else

This stage is the simple “do work” stage.  We work to fulfill someone elses vision, we work to complete their goals and bring life to their ideas.  We work to solve their problems.  Since we are, at our core, this state is the default for most workers in industry.

Stage 2: Startup

This stage where we work to get our company off the ground.  We are working to fulfill our own vision.  We have identified a product or service area and are actively working to produce something.  We may or may not have a small team but at worst case we are the pitchman, sales rep, accountant, architect and coder all in one.  We are still the problem solvers, just with more hats to wear.

Stage 3: Liftoff

In the other stages we still participated in the day to day work being done, in this one we have progressed to something else.  What that may be is up to the structure of the company.  We have at the very least transitioned from problem solver at the code level to problem solver at the company level.  We are actively deciding the direction of our company and product.  We transitioned to a form of problem creator for the people in our company.

Posted by Chad Dotson in Programming, Software Engineering, Work, 0 comments

Becoming an Entrepreneur as a Software Engineer Vol 1

This is the first post in what I plan to be a series.  In these posts, I will explore ideas in entrepreneurship.  It’s a given that working for yourself, while it brings many risks, can bring many rewards.  I believe that it is one of the only ways to achieve freedom from the daily grind and to meet long term financial goals.

Benefits Of Working For Yourself

  • Achieve – The sky is the limit.
  • Vision – Your the one with the vision (for the company and/or product).
  • Destiny – You make your own destiny.
  • Freedom – You call the shots.
  • Profit – As owner, you reap the rewards.

What I Think Works

My thoughts on what works will probably change a lot over time, but currently I think one of the best ways to become a successful entrepreneur is to develop applications, websites, devices, etc that are an improvement to a larger company’s product in the hopes that they buy out your company.  For example, $10 million is a lot for an individual working the daily grind, but pocket change to large corporations.  Buying other companies is at the heart of how Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, or any other major companies acquire new technology and features so it definitely works for some people.  Think of whatever your company is bought for as excellent seed money into the next.  The big “but” here is don’t undersell either.  If you can see a larger valuation for your company/product, stick with it and don’t take a buyout.

What Doesn’t Work – Writing Books

Apparently, writing books isn’t as profitable as you would think.  If you listen to the Entreprogrammers podcast, you’ll hear just how much they make on their books.  While I don’t remember the exact numbers they say, it wasn’t a lot (only a fraction of a good year’s salary).  It’s enough to make me think that unless you are some big publishing company its simply not worth your time and effort.

Posted by Chad Dotson in Programming, Software Engineering, Work, 0 comments

Presentation Is Everything

PRESENTATION IS EVERYTHING

There is something that learned over the past couple of years, presentation is everything. It is quite possibly the most important element in all we do.

Presentation from the aspect of leadership can mean the difference between shared vision and unengaged worker bee. Presentation from the aspect of a product ( in my case software product) means the difference between phenomenal success and utter failure of a product.

In short, no matter how good or revolutionary your product is, if it looks bad, it will fail. To have a physical product example, look no further than the current mobile phone market. Look at two products: one you like and one you hate. What are the specs of each one? Are they comparable or does one have an advantage over the other. Now, for arguments sake, lets say the more “cool” one has a better physical appearance and a more flashy user interface but the one that is less “cool” looking and has a plain user interface has better specs and capabilities, which one would you buy? I’m betting (and society proves) that the “cooler” one with the more flashy interface wins out more than the other device. I’ve got no facts in front of me to prove this directly, only experience and my own beliefs.

FIXING OUR SOFTWARE

So how do we fix our software? Well here are some design concepts to keep in mind.

  1. The API and/or the user interface for software must be intuitive.
  2. The software features must be discoverable. This means that users can learn to use the software by using the software. There is not a need for an involved manual to pick up the software and begin using it.
  3. The software must be easy to use. This is an ambiguous and loaded statement I know, but never-the-less it must be true. Just think about the software you are writing from the user’s perspective.

These are some of my most important concerns for a software product because if a user cannot easily pick up your software and start using it immediately, then you will have problems with adoption within your targeted user base. As with the mobile phone example above; if you have two pieces of software equivalent in terms of capabilities and specs, but one is presented a lot better and is more user friendly, which would you choose?

Going Forward

What we’ve learned here can be summed up in the two following statements. Software must be intuitive, discoverable, and easy to use. Also, presentation and appearance are quite possibly the most important part of software.

Posted by Chad Dotson in Doing Things Better, Featured, Key Concepts, Software Engineering, 0 comments