From Cynicism to Optimism: How to Get Started as a Solo, First-Time, Non-Technical Entrepreneur
I have to admit. I was under a spell and couldn’t ignore it.
Inventing something. Charting your own path. Making life just a bit easier for others. And sure, the monetary rewards. All of these things sounded terribly exciting.
I’ll never forget it. It was July 2010 and I was studying Arabic in Cairo. On one insufferably hot day, I decided to take a detour and visit a Virgin Megastore, where I picked up a copy of Richard Branson’s book Losing My Virginity.
I was hooked.
It was easy to read Branson’s story and see others building businesses and think, “Why the hell can’t I do that?”
I felt that way for longer than I’d like to admit. Yet I didn’t know where to start. My lack of tech expertise seemed like a difficult hurdle to overcome.
If you haven’t yet created a business and are non-technical, I’d like to share some actionable insights from my journey that will make your path just a little bit easier.
An Emphasis on “Productivity”
You have to understand, I come from an extremely non-technical background.
I was a political science major in college. I’d always thought that I’d work in politics or journalism after graduation. Math wasn’t my strong suit and I wasn’t able to tell you the difference between Python and PHP.
So as a new non-technical wantrepreneur, I quickly discovered that there is a massive difference between visualization and execution. From that moment in Cairo, I began imagining businesses that I’d like to build.
Yet when it came time to actually execute, I had serious doubts about whether I would be able to succeed.
I knew that learning to code would be a good idea, and in fact, I took several courses on Swift development. Yet beyond dominating a few very simple projects, I felt like I was constantly hitting a wall. I became stuck and frustrated when I moved from guided study in e-courses to creating my own projects.
There was also the fear aspect. I tried creating side projects but was nervous about releasing a “subpar” product to friends and family, despite Reid Hoffman’s advice. My insecurities and self-doubt bubbled to the surface, preventing me from learning and moving forward.
And then it became easier to generate excuses. After Egypt, I worked in the cable news business for nearly a year before attending law school at the University of Pennsylvania. Law school was difficult and it was so easy to feel “productive” by working on my law school work rather than experiment on side projects.
That said, law school worked out well. After graduation, I began working at a large international law firm in New York City. I became a “Big Law” associate, so why should I spend time trying to create something new, especially since I didn’t have the technical skills or the time to devote to a project that (most likely) wouldn’t go far?
As my time became more limited, it became especially easier to push off possible side projects.
Rebirth
Nevertheless, my gut never stopped telling me that I needed to take a real shot at building a business. I knew I was being too cynical and Jeff Bezos’s regret minimization framework came to mind. I decided that I wasn’t making enough progress and that I needed to shock myself out of my cynicism.
After taking stock of my financial situation and realizing that I could take a risk, I left my job to build a company. I truly took a leap, as I pursued this new journey without technical skills or a technical co-founder.
That said, I founded Suspend The Rules, a news company focused on delivering killer talking points so that you can remember the news in the most pressing moments, whether you’re speaking with your boss or meeting someone new at happy hour.
The final chapter hasn’t yet been written. And I’m not offering advice on whether you should quit your job to become an entrepreneur: it’s such a large decision that offering sweeping generalizations would be dangerous.
That said, I wanted to provide some tips on things I did — or that I failed to do — that would have made my transition to a first-time, non-technical entrepreneur that much easier.
Granted, this advice may not work for you. But upon reflection, I wish I had realized these things from the moment I considered becoming an entrepreneur.
1. Don’t Let the Unknown Paralyze You
Acknowledge this simple fact: you’re going to have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. It makes sense. You’re going out on a limb and are trying to create something new.
The unknown can be scary, but there are things you can do to make it less scary. Most significantly, you can take stock of the tangible unknowns and intangible unknowns, and adjust to mitigate various types of risk.
As far as the tangible unknowns, the most pressing concern is how you’re going to survive while trying to create something new. This question obviously varies depending on whether you go all-in and leave your job or if you try building a business on the side.
If you leave your job, a lifestyle adjustment will be inevitable. Budgeting will (obviously) be critical.
If you can stay in your current job and experiment, all the better. Just make a conscious effort to dedicate time to work on your idea or project. Like I described in my story, it’s way too easy to put it off to the side since you want to be “productive” doing other things.
The intangible unknowns are mainly psychological.
I think a major challenge is that this sense of unknown intersects with the watchful eyes of friends and family. There’s always the risk that things don’t work out and that you’ll raise some eyebrows from those that love you the most. It can be tough to take another path, separate yourself from the crowd, and try something new, especially if you come from a “traditional” family.
However, once you start putting yourself out there, doors begin to open and opportunities emerge.
It’s an amazing thing.
Rather than the criticism and snickering that you think will happen, friends and family more often react in a positive way, volunteering to connect you to individuals who could help.
Even if you have doubts about your own abilities, others believe in you.
I recently spoke with Tess Vigeland, a former anchor at NPR’s Marketplace. She said that when took a leap of faith and quit her dream job at NPR without a backup plan, everyone around her was so sure that it was going to work out — when deep down she was so sure that it wasn’t. But by taking risks — like giving at the World Domination Summit about leaving her dream job — she unexpectedly received a deal to write a book about leaving a job with no Plan B and is now traveling through southeast Asia.
Putting aside the internal fear can be difficult, but rest assured that you have supporters out there. It’s not as bad as you think.
2. Shift your thinking from consuming to doing
Passivity is a killer if you’re thinking of becoming a first-time, non-technical entrepreneur. It’s so easy to feel “productive” by simply reading articles, blogs, or books on starting a startup.
And granted, it’s great to be a voracious reader! You can learn from the mistakes of others and pick up some of the vocabulary about product, sales and marketing.
But it’s so easy to confuse reading with progress.
I was especially guilty of this. As a lawyer, I love to read and analyze information. Yet I spent years reading about entrepreneurship so that I would “be prepared” once I took the leap and tried to create something new.
In retrospect, this was such a poor decision. Experience is the best teacher.
Especially if you’re non-technical and want to become an entrepreneur, you need to build something, anything. If you have to start with a simple landing page, so be it. Draw out your vision on a napkin or, if you’d like, use wireframing software to sketch it out to others.
While you can (and arguably should) learn how to code on the side, you need to get in the habit of launching things, even if they don’t turn into a “startup” or if they aren’t the most technical.
For instance, I started an e-course that helps prospective law students decide whether law school is right for them. I created slides on Google Drive, purchased a $50 Blue Snowball microphone, created a curriculum, and uploaded my slides and recording to Udemy.
Sure, it’s not the next killer app. But it’s a product I created and released into the world, and it helped me gain confidence as a young entrepreneur.
By constantly releasing products, you will get faster at doing it and will learn from your mistakes. You’ll also develop relationships with other creators by asking them to comment on your projects and offer suggestions.
You’ll get into a habit of creating and will avoid analysis paralysis — which, at the beginning, is critical.
3. Leverage your domain expertise and your skills
I don’t have a problem with blue sky thinking — it can be useful early on when you’re developing startup ideas.
But as first-time, non-technical entrepreneurs, I think it’s especially important to leverage our prior experience and skills.
Many new and seasoned entrepreneurs have a difficult time attacking incumbents in an unfamiliar industry. Instead of placing additional roadblocks in front of you — learning about the major players, business models, customer needs, and cost-effective solutions — I’d recommend working on an opportunity in an industry where you do have domain expertise.
Most importantly, you’ll identify opportunities to innovate, as one of the best ways to find startup ideas is to identify problems that you’re facing in your job. You’ll get started faster and will feel more confident compared to starting a venture in a totally unfamiliar industry.
And just to be clear on that last point: domain experience doesn’t necessarily mean that you worked in that industry. We’re looking for any passion or expertise, whether you’re a simple hobbyist or if you’re a contributor to some Internet community on an esoteric topic.
As non-technical entrepreneurs, we also have unique skills that we should leverage when starting out.
From my perspective, I recognized that I enjoy writing and that I have experience in the media and legal industries. I was — and still am — an avid news consumer. Relying on these skills, domain experience, and opportunities that I saw in the marketplace, I decided to pursue a startup in the news industry.
Ultimately, when starting our ventures, I think that we have a better chance of success by capitalizing on our domain expertise and unique skills.
4. Focus on Building an Audience and Validating Your Market
This is a huge task that is not only critical for your startup but a task that you can pursue on day one. In fact, you’ll largely increase the odds of finding a technical co-founder if you can show him or her that there is market demand for your product or service.
To do this, try gathering sign-ups on a landing page, or if you have a B2B startup, letters of intent from companies. As a non-technical founder, you’re likely going to be the visionary, head salesperson, head marketer, and/or head problem solver. Embrace these roles.
But above all else, make sure that your idea has a market and that customers are desperately seeking your solution.
You’ll not only save yourself time by foregoing an idea that has no market, but you’ll put yourself in a better position to find a technical cofounder.
While I hesitate to recommend books (see point two above), Steve Blank’s The Startup Owner’s Manual and Tomer Sharon’s Validating Product Ideas are good guides. But I beg you: use these books only as reference materials as you’re working to validate your market, rather than simply consuming and thinking about what you will be doing one day.
5. Start blogging or podcasting
Finally, this is a great way to get in the habit of launching products. It requires little technical talent. And beyond that, it’s a great way to self-document your journey and reflect on lessons that you’ve learned. Hell, it can even help with “personal branding” if you’re so inclined.
As for me, I thought it would be useful to start a podcast for people looking to take more risks in their careers — whether they’re entrepreneurs or not. I was my own ideal audience and wished there was a podcast that discussed strategies on how to fight fear and live boldly.
Podcasts are fairly easy to produce and it’s a great way to dip your toes into creating something new. All you need is recording software — I use GarageBand — and a mic.
Even if it doesn’t take off and become the next Serial, it will develop your interview, microphone, and marketing skills. It’s a great investment, even if it does limit the number of hours that you can work on your main idea.
Take Action
It’s early in my story as a first-time, non-technical entrepreneur. It has been quite a ride, and I’m so excited for the future. Sure, it’s unknown, but there is so much opportunity out there.
Ultimately, if you are non-technical, embrace the skills you do have while looking for others to compensate for your weaknesses. While success is certainly not guaranteed, take action now. You never know what might happen.
Adam is the CEO of Second Order Capital Management and the author of an upcoming book called Reversed In Part. Reversed In Part is an upcoming book on law school graduates who have designed stellar careers outside traditional legal practice.
