Question Details	Asked By	Asked On
Education for a software business	neo_the_one	06/02/03
Education for a software business I want to open a software business and wonder what type of education should I get. I am a Computer Science student, I need to study 2 more years for my BS. I have 1.5 working experience in software field, I study pretty good, 80% of my grades are excellent, others are good. I like software development and after 1.5 years decided that being just a programmer is not for me. I like to feel being on top, to do my own software, to run my own business, where there will not be an angry, paranoidal boss and salary limits and doing what I am told to do, not what I want really to do. Do you think this is a healthy motivation? I have some ideas on chess playing programs, chess teaching software, AI programming ideas in the field of machine learning. I don't want to be among those 95% of failed startups according to statistics. I want to prepare myself well before opening a business. That's why I want to pay attention to my education. What type of education should I get for my software business? I want to get BS in computer science and BS in business, open a business or working in a software company for some time and then opening a business, while going for masters in computer science and then in business. Do you think it is a right educational path? I want to make some small software by myself and then if it becomes profitable, I will hire more employees to develop more software like this, I dont want to take any risks. Do you think this approach is logical?
Answered By		Answered On
voiceguy2000		06/02/03
You will not like this answer, but the truth is that the key to success in today's software world is marketing. Thomas A. Barratt, the legendary advertising director for Pears' Soap in London during the late 19th century, is quoted as having said, "Any fool can make soap. It takes a clever man to sell it." The same thing is true with software. From an educational standpoint, you need to decide whether you want to learn the business and marketing stuff you will need to know in order to establish a successful business, or whether you can count on getting partners and collaborators who will fill in those gaps. Given the choice, I would exmphasize the business and marketing side, because hiring technically qualified people to handle the actual programming work is relatively simple. The hard part is conceiving and testing viabl products, and figuring out how to market them in a way that will have sufficient impact.

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