I'm currently in the early stages of founding a new messaging service called Ferris. In the first six weeks, I have developed a prototype, acquired 1000 users (with very high satisfaction ratings), and have began the process of building out my team and finding investors.
I also don't know how to code.
It's important to focus on your strengths, instead of what you don't know. Before you write a single line of code, think about business models, or try to find investors, start by developing an understanding of the problem you are solving and who experiences that problem. If you can clearly answer "What problem am I solving?" and "Who experiences this problem?," then you will be able to spin a story about why what you are doing matters.
That's important.
When you have a clear understanding of the impact your product/business will have on the world, then your ability to recruit team members and investors will greatly increase.
How should you go about answering these two crucial questions? It's an iterative process of prototyping and talking to potential customers.
When you first start, you should recognize that everything you think you know about your product is an untested assumption (no matter how certain you think you are). Start by listing everything you assume you know about the problem/customer /how your product solves this problem.
For each assumption in your list, find a way to test each of these assumptions to uncover whether they are true or false.
When an assumption is found to be true - congrats, you have just solidified your understanding of what you are building and why it matters. When an assumption turns out to be false, don't take it personally. Go back to the drawing board, adjust your model/list of assumptions accordingly, and try try try again.
I'd be more than happy to talk you through this process in more detail. Let me know if you would like to set up a phone call.
