Dan:
So that’s what they want, but that’s not good because then there’s nothing to make you different.
Tom:
No.
Dan:
There’s no unfair advantage of being able to develop…
Tom:
Not at all.
Dan:
… Or being able to design, and so the founder is much better focused on the customer.
Tom:
Yeah the rest of it. Yeah, and they could sit there if they knew how to develop, and they could just be developing the entirely wrong thing.
Dan:
And that’s what people do. That’s what people do.
You know, our million star ideas that we’ve had working together…
Tom:
So many. So many.
Dan:
… We’ve gone straight into trying to design a building because that’s what we can do, and then we’re finished.
Tom:
I don’t know if we are finished, but that’s what we can do.
Dan:
Well they better be finished.
Yes, if you’re able to develop, it’s dangerous because you would just sit down and start coding, and that’s not the way to start.
Tom:
No not at all.
Dan:
You’ve got to go out meet the customer. Leave the developing and designing to the … You’re going to be too busy, and that’s the thing to get good at, is listening. Working out to find out if your idea is right, learning how to deal with that feedback, learning how to process that back into the product.
Tom:
Yep.
Dan:
So yeah, you don’t need development skills. What you need is really good empathy skills. If you’re going to develop anything, develop a way to understand what people are thinking around you and your problem space.
Tom:
Yep.
Dan:
And how to do right by them, because you can pay for development, but you can’t paid to find out. That’s got to be you. You’ve got to be the person there with the customer. That’s you’re goal as founder.
Tom:
Yeah, you’ve got to understand them very, very well.