Where in the world are they?
How come skilled web designers and programming talent is hard to find? And more importantly, how do you find these “web gurus”?
Everyone has ideas for the next web 2.0 startup.
But what most people lack is a person to make those ideas reality. Who are these people?
Web designers and programmers. For the sake of brevity, I’ll refer to them collectively as “web gurus.”
Most people don’t have a problem writing a 60+ page business plan, strategizing or researching their market.
Why?
Because with the tools available today, it’s really not that hard. Time intensive? Yes. But do you need an MBA to plan and research? Absolutely not.
Instead, the biggest problem most entrepreneurs face is actually finding a web designer or programmer for their startup.
Why great web designers and programmers are hard to find:
1) Simple Economics: Web gurus are hard to find because supply is less then demand. Economics 101. The startup community is full of idea guys, which is great; however, the community lacks web gurus.
2) Bigger companies offer innovation and prestige: If you had a choice between a steady, stable, profitable, prestigious, fun environment vs. one filled with uncertainty and stress, what would you choose? That’s what most web gurus face when they think about working at a Google vs. a startup.
3) Low risk tolerance: The term “entrepreneur” derives from a french word, which literally translates to “undertaker of risk.” Simply, many web gurus lack the willingness to accept risk, and instead seek a steady stream of income. Why not? They usually get paid very well.
Great, you know why they’re so hard to recruit. But a better question: how can you find them?
How to find great web designers and programmers:
1) Don’t look outside: Talent in the web is found on the web, not at networking events. If you’re looking for a service business guy or vulture consultants trying to sell you stuff, go to “mixers.” I swear, every time I attend a mixer, I end up with a consultant or financial adviser offering me something I already know how to do.
Web gurus are not at these events. Why? Because they’re coding or working against the clock on something that will change the world.
2) Open-source forums and projects: You can find some major all-stars within the open-source community. These guys code because they love it. Wake up! That’s a god-send. Think about it: A congregation of people that you’re looking for, that are doing what you can’t do, and they’re doing it for fun. If you’re not pouring over these communities, and you’re looking for a web guru, you’re doing yourself a diservice.
3) Twitter: Post a message on some well-known tech geek’s twitter (like Chris Pirillo’s), and let them know you’re looking for a web designer for your project (pitch it, too). Basically, get in front of the people they follow. Also, use tweetdeck, and keep an active search panel open with the following terms: designer, html, css, coding, php, ajax, progamer, progamming, web design
4) Programming blogs: Post and become active within the programming blog realm. Check out alltop’s programmer topics if you need to find some leading blogs in this space.
5) Craig’s List: Believe it or not there are hungry web designers and programmers that live on Craig’s List.
6) Facebook (Yes, web gurus do have friends). Make use of the search feature (like tweetdeck)
This list is by no means exaustive. In fact, I may even create a wiki for it if enough interest is shown.
Hopefully this helps you out. In the end, it’s going to take hard work, thought and constantly making your venture appealing for others. Whenever you’re asking a person to become a part of your project, ask yourself, “If I was in their shoes, why would I show interest in a stranger presenting this idea?” Chances are that your idea only sounds great to yourself.
Make it sexy, make it fun and make it a can’t-miss opportunity. Combine this mentality with the strategies outlined above and you shouldn’t have a problem finding web gurus.
Good luck 
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I have a different problem. I am a Web programmer, and so is our partner. We have been developing our prototype for a while, but: a) we are both old enough to have families and require steady income, which means there is no way to dedicate 100% — not even 20% in reality — of our time to working on the startup; b) where we live, there is no business angels and next to none VC funds to ask for money.
But I’m just venting here — we’ll continue to slowly work on our project until we are to make some money out of it.
Vent all you want. I hear ya
If you want, send me some info on your project (via the “contact” form). Love to hear about it
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