mannymanman

Hello HN! I'm working on a project that I want to scale and turn into a startup. While I do that though, I continue to work as a PM at a FAANG to pay the bills.

Leaving my job is not possible at this stage, so I'm wondering if people have any advice on how to make the most of my time here.

I'm non-technical, so are there any non-technical founder skills that can be learnt on the job? Is being a good PM enough prep for being a non-technical founder? And what about learning how to code? Is it wise to change roles and become a SWE? I'd think coding on the job would help with scaling my project when the time comes, but I don't enjoy coding as much as I'd like to.

I have recently developed a keen interest in coding and technology in general. I was suggested by a friend to go through Harvard's CS50, which I did, and now have a decent understanding of some basic data structures and algorithms. Now I want to learn more skills that will help me build projects independently from start to finish, and eventually create my own startup.

Since this is YC's official forum, I figured that folks here could give me solid advice on what technologies I should learn to start a startup. I have a vague idea that knowledge about web dev (React, Javascript etc.) and cloud (AWS) is in high demand in industry, but are they the first things I should pick up? What about mobile apps? And blockchain? Where should I start? What area is the easiest to pick up and has the most resources online?

Thanks!