I’m a developer, and last year another guy and I partnered up on a large project (14 sites) that neither of us would have done without the other. I build the sites and provide the content. He provides funding – though at quite a discount. In return I get 10% of all sales, keeping up the monthly maintenance and marketing. There were already existing sales, and sales have increased since we’ve been going. If he sells the sites I created he’ll give me 20% of the sales price because my income will have vanished.

These kinds of arrangements are difficult because often the non-developer doesn’t understand that good developers are NOT going to want to invest hundreds of hours in your project for the hope of some commission at the end. If your project isn’t already making some money then – it’s a big jump of faith for a developer to start dedicating a lot of time to the project.

The developer has to trust the other party and vice-versa.

There must be a contingency plan in effect for the future. The developer must get a % off the sale of the sites… he/she can’t just lose all the monthly income because the other partner (owner) decides to sell one day.

Finding these arrangements is difficult. Start with friends and acquaintances. There’s a lot of trust issues, but if you find the right partner – it’s a really great way to go.

Excellent article and I’m going to re-read it here in a minute. Will grab your RSS feed too.

I may revisit web apps in the future, but for now I’m sticking to blogging and content publishing in general because it’s what I really know.

That kind of money can certainly facilitate the first steps, but is no assurance of success. In that same company I had contact with another person who had worked in a company which burned through 500M USD in just six months during the excitement of the Web bubble leaving behind nothing but the example of what not to do.

I believe this applies specially to startups which have not been able to raise any significant funding, which is likely to represent most of them in the near future. Having funding, you would still be left with the, not so easy, task of hiring an effective developer or development manager.

Still… In all the companies you mentioned, the key point was an a vision of how something could be used or extended in a new and unique way. This seems to be the key trait of the successful web entrepreneur.

So, while being a developer or having a good one in your quarter does help, it is a consistent vision of where you want to go and achieve that is essential.

Thanks!