You Don't Need to Know How to Code to Found a Successful Tech Startup

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While knowing how to code certainly helps if you’re trying to start a tech company, it’s not an absolute imperative. Entrepreneur Perri Gorman is living proof of that. Despite her non-technical background, Gorman is founder/CEO of Archively and recently co-founded inbox organizer Unroll.Me. She spoke with The Huffington Post’sBlake McCammon about her success and the sorts of skills that overcome a relative lack of tech savvy:

“There is so much hype in tech about formulas and the way to do things but that is all BS. There is no formula. In fact, if you stick to a formula you will probably fail. The nature of startups is that you have to roll with whatever is thrown at you. So my secret? I don’t listen to anyone. I just do whatever it takes to do what I want to do. I also know when I don’t know something and I find someone who does to help me.”

When she moved to Silicon Valley, Gorman knew few in the industry and was hamstrung by her lack of tech expertise. Still, she managed to harness her past business experience, many well-formed connections, and undying tenacity to find success as a proverbial stranger in a strange land. She hired teams of talented people while focusing her sights on networking and design. While investors initially balked (she says tech-founders make investors feel more comfortable, which sounds about right), Gorman managed her team and resources in a way that eventually attracted support.

Gorman’s basic advice is to focus on what you do best and then build your enterprise around those skills. If you’re an astute salesperson, let that be your specialty. Storytelling, after all, is important in the tech business, as you’re always trying to connect with and persuade other people. Give people a reason to listen and they’ll eat up your every word.

For Gorman, what’s most important is that she never gave up on herself and her ideas:

“You have to find the magic door in the brick wall. You have to make crafty decisions to keep going and figure out how to make things happen. If you have this, the resources, including engineers, will show up to make it happen.”

Check out the whole interview (linked below) and let us know what you think.