willstrimling

This is follow-up from: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2836268

Hello Ask HackerNews,

After thinking through all the responses I received on here and elsewhere, I've decided it would be beneficial to seek out a cofounder, but I'm not sure how to go about it because of my age.

I have an idea, I really want see through, but I have a problem. First and foremost, I have school starting in about a month. This will limit my ability to work throughout the day. Secondly, I'm finding a hard time thinking of a reason why someone would want to work with me. I come from a technical background, specializing in web languages like html/css/js/php/sql. This application to be made well would need to be coded in Node.js which I have little familiarity with. Furthermore, I'd need a designer, because I'm worthless at that. Where do i fit in?

What do you suggest I do to seek out a founder who is interesting in dumping time and committing to working on this project with me.

Background: I'm 15 years old, and I'm am semi-fluent web developer and designer. More importantly, however, I'm an aspiring entrepreneur. I have coded and created several of my own ideas from conception into late stage development, and am comfortable coding, managing projects, and working with a team.

Info: I have this idea, that I thing is huge, and everyone that I've told it to things it has massive potential, but right now, I'm not sure what I should do. To develop this idea, I believe its important that I have capital, and a team of people working on it, rather than just myself. Finding co-founders at my age is challenging to say the least, and I cannot afford to pay people from my own fund because I do not have one.

I have heard and fully understand that an idea is nothing without an excellent execution, so I am almost positive that seeking capital is the only way for ME to make this a successful venture.

After talking to mentors and friends of mine, I have started to draft a business plan, but I'm still skeptical as to whether or not that is the correct course of action. I thought I'd reach out to an angel investor or at least to someone who could help me obtain some kind of capital. One mentor warned me that my idea, because it’s almost not possible to patent this idea (especially because of my age), approaching an angel can result in catastrophe, if only because they can “steal” the idea and develop it themselves. Is this a real issue?

Anyway, enough background. My question is, what do I do to make this as successful as possible and actually get this idea into development?

Sub-questions: How do I contact an angel? Should I create a business plan first? Should I create an excellent elevator pitch? How do I get a meeting? How do I get someone to take my seriously? Is there any angels you can put me in contact with? Any other suggestions?

Hello Hacker News,

I'm in a bit of a frustrating situation.

First off, let me introduce myself. My name is Will and i'm 15, living in the SF Bay Area. I've been coding for a few years now, starting at 11 with C++, then moving to iPhone later that year and spent a while working as a freelance iOS Developer. Since 6 months ago, I've worked with PHP, HTML, and CSS, because I've interesting in creating my own Web Apps and really working with starting some websites/companies. I have a distinct passion for entrepreneurship and I really want to explore the realms of the business.

Anyway, now to the point. I've been encouraged by parents and by my own intuition to explore for a summer program at a college or a summer internship at a SF Bay startup. I really want to get into the community and learn from all those more experienced than me. I've done camps for middle school age kids in the past but I have always been too experienced for the camps.

What I'm asking: Is there any startups that you know of that are in the SF Bay Area and are looking for an unpaid intern who doesn't suck?

If not, do you know of any high-level college programs for teenagers with a passion for programming and business where I will be challenged?

I'm looking forward to reading your responses, and hopefully doing some awesome stuff this summer.

Thanks, Will