I posted a comment on the blog, but I might just as well begin the discussion here.
I'm working on a fun project with friends that we would love to see fly (We're applying for YC by Tuesday probably !). As a developers, I relate best to the technical kind of dept.
It's interesting to read about other kinds of depts that you will have to pay back when you deal with a startup, pre-launch, and post-launch.
Funnily, they all seem as important to keep track on.
Financial dept => game over.
Personal dept => burn out => game over.
Mental dept => burn out => game over.
Technical dept => quality/productivity freefall => game over.
Let's map them the to the assets of a startup.
Out of these four kinds of depts, 2 depend on the people and not the skills.
Financial depends probably equally on skills and people.
Technical dept being mostly skills related.
I think it illustrates well why having a great team synergy is so crucial to success.
I would argue that with how fast things are moving (and they are only getting faster), accumulating technical depts can lead you very quickly to lose customer (because you can't meet their expectation 'right now').
That can quickly lead to game over with the competition out there.
I'm working on a fun project with friends that we would love to see fly (We're applying for YC by Tuesday probably !). As a developers, I relate best to the technical kind of dept. It's interesting to read about other kinds of depts that you will have to pay back when you deal with a startup, pre-launch, and post-launch. Funnily, they all seem as important to keep track on.
Financial dept => game over. Personal dept => burn out => game over. Mental dept => burn out => game over. Technical dept => quality/productivity freefall => game over.
Let's map them the to the assets of a startup. Out of these four kinds of depts, 2 depend on the people and not the skills. Financial depends probably equally on skills and people. Technical dept being mostly skills related.
I think it illustrates well why having a great team synergy is so crucial to success.
What other depts can you think of?