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Digital Transformation Guide for Non-Tech Founders and CEOs

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Faheem Hasan
Digital Transformation Guide for Non-Tech Founders and CEOs

Today, technology can solve almost every problem of a common man. But what if the technology itself becomes a hurdle? For so many years, Non-Tech Founders struggled to accomplish tasks and run a company with a tech team working with them. Here, we need to understand that it was not technology that solved every problem. The humans behind the technology are the key drivers of change. 

The world is moving at a rapid and unexpected pace. This pandemic acted as a catalyst in the digital transformation of businesses around the globe. Even small and local businesses have enabled technology to aid them in their operations and sales. For Non-technical Entrepreneurs, sometimes this sounds like a hurdle in the path of growth. But humans have found a solution for this problem also. You don’t need to become a tech wizard in order to launch a globally successful business person.

Hence, in this blog, we mention some of the things that can act as a non-technical founder’s guide while building and running a startup that offers technical products. Also a list of non-technical founders of famous startups that are making big leaps.

Digital Transformation Guide for Non-Tech Founder

The famous dialogue from the movies Jobs “I play the orchestra” is the best example of why running a startup is more than just writing code. However, it is also important to know something about everything so that the person running everything knows what’s going on. Hence here we present the complete guide for non-tech founders that can come in handy.

 

  • Learn What’s Necessary

 

As mentioned earlier, a non-technical founder does not need to become a master programmer overnight to grow a small startup business. However, the person must understand the core principles and the reasons for which certain functions are being performed. Further, constant learning whether it’s technical or non-technical is the key growth driver for an organisation. Knowing the essence of the work performed helps the top management to be in touch with the employees more efficiently.

 

  • Technical Partner or CTO

 

This is one of the toughest choices for a non-technical entrepreneur as this can have a making or breaking effect on the startup. Having a technical partner from the start can be a great help for understanding tech for non-tech founders as there can be a clear bifurcation of responsibilities. But if there is no one as such, hiring a chief technology officer can be a great option. While the CTO can also act as a guide for non-tech CEOs in technical matters.

 

  • Visualisation is Important

 

There are enough talented developers in the world who can materialize almost any app or website idea into reality. What really takes effort is coming with a unique approach or idea for current and future growth. This requires that the leader has impeccable visualisation skills that can project product models that will have actual demand in the future.

 

  • Enhance and Adjust Your Vocabulary

 

Working with engineers can be a daunting task initially as a lot of technical jargons would be hurled around.  Hence it is important to introduce oneself to the necessary vocabulary and slangs used by different fields of work so that there can be better blending in with the environment. Additionally, there should be no hesitation in asking about what you don’t understand.

 

  • Nurture a Cross-learning Culture

 

Having a team of perfect people working in a company might be a good fantasy but in reality, this is completely the opposite. A new business startup runs with the collaboration of people having different skills and expertise levels. Thus having a cross-learning culture can help in learning from each other and fueling growth. This can be ensured by organising cross-department meets within the organisation.

 

  • Fill the Gap With Your Strong Points

 

The void created due to not having technical expertise can be easily filled by bringing in other skills to the table. This can be management, planning, sales, hiring or similar functions. Having expertise in any of such skills can get you rid of the feeling of missing out. For example, the proper management of finance is as important as creating a technical product. Not being able to make the product financially viable can waste the efforts of technical personnel.

 

  • Be the Link

 

Being from a non-technical background can also be used as an advantage by the founder. By learning the technical aspects of the business, the founder can become a great link between the engineers who create the product and the people who are responsible for marketing and selling it. As he or she can understand the point of view from both sides and make better decisions which are needed the most.

 

  • Be Patient and Consistent

 

Working with what you don’t understand can easily get frustrating at some point in time but keeping up with it is what entrepreneurship is all about. That is why even when a particular concept or idea goes over your head it is important to put constant efforts into understanding it. Ignoring a technical advancement in the field of the product you are offering can prove to be fatal in the long run.

 

  • Outsource Expertise

 

The best thing about the present times is that anybody can get expert services from the best around the globe. There should be no compromise when it comes to quality of product and hence it is good to hire development services when needed. This is because the world of tech changes constantly and quickly. Investing too much time to save costs can harm the organisation in the long term.

 

  •  Provide a different perspective

 

Many a time the developers come with a product that looks like something disruptive but when it reaches the market it is poorly received by the users. This is because the way of looking at things can differ between a technical and non-technical person. In such a scenario the non-technical founder can provide crucial insights from the perspective of an average user.

 

  • Focus on Communication

 

The biggest problem that can occur between a non-techie CEO and the employees is the lack of proper communication. Hence it is important to place proper translation helpers between the chain of commands. This can help both the employees and the CEO to understand each other with fluid communication.

 

  • Hone Presentation Skills

 

Being able to present something complex simply is the true sign of genius. This becomes even more important in the case of a startup offering a technical product to its consumers. Nobody cares what tech stake or programming language an app uses. What truly matters is whether it appeals to the users and fulfils their needs.

Popular Non-Tech CEOs

Breaking the old stereotypes relating to the background of the founders, today several startups are running successfully with non-tech founders on top. This includes startups whose valuations are in billions and many of them having a global presence. Here is a list of some of the popular startups run by non-tech founders.

 

  • Airbnb

 

Airbnb is currently one of the largest global peer to peer lodging services. It was found by Brian Chesky who worked as an industrial designer with a degree in fine arts. Brian has been named in Time’s 100 most influential people and is compared with the likes of technical founders like Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos. Learn more about App like Airbnb

 

  • StyleSeat

 

Founded by Melody McCloskey, Styleseat is the largest online marketplaces for beauty services where people can hire beauty services. Melody has a degree in French and in International relation which shows how far away she was from tech. StyleSeat currently offers a listing of 200000 stylists with operations in 15000 cities.

  1. Pandora Radio

A musician by passion, Tim Westergreen is the founder of the digital music solution Pandora Radio. Tim has worked as a musician, singer and recorder before the success of this startup. However, when his expertise in music was combined with technology, something truly exceptional came out. The startup has recently closed a 9 million funding deal propelling it further toward expansion.

 

  • Teespring

 

Despite having a degree in arts and history, Walker Williams created Teesprings along with co-founder Evan Stites Clayton. The site focuses on helping people to create customised merchandise and selling them. Teespring currently receives more than 100000 orders per month and is growing. Also, they have been featured by the famous startup incubator Y combinator.

Times have changed and anyone who has an exceptional work ethic with a unique business idea that adds value to people’s lives can work and build a startup. This has become possible with the availability of highly skilled and experienced developers with just a click of a button. The only important task is to hire a service provider that understands the project needs and can act as a guide for non-tech founders.

 

Maven Cluster is a leading Website development company in India comprising top industry experts. We are trusted by clients from all over the globe with our excellent website development services. Get a free consultation with our web and mobile app development expert for your web and mobile application development needs along with being your digital transformation guide.

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