Let’s first find out what language some of the unicorns use:
Uber – Java, Go, Node, Python (link)
Airbnb – Ruby on Rails, Javascript, NodeJS, React (link)
Netflix – Java, Go, Node, Javascript, Python, Ruby (link)
When we spoke with startup’s who were aspiring to bring their bright idea’s to the market, we heard many of them wanting to try the latest and cutting edge languages and Frameworks.
For example, Dart and Flutter, Rust, Kotin, Elm, Elixer
We don’t say that these languages are not useful, every programming language was created by someone who saw a pain point in existing a language, what we wanted startups to see is beyond the fact of the languages the founders are comfortable.
Here are some points to remember when selecting programming languages for your startup:
- Ask the question What makes me go to the market soon? Use the answer to choose the direction.
- Research the market for talents and start with a language for which you can find the talent pool quickly, later on, it will be easy to train them as you grow.
- Many startup techies we spoke with had a mindset that Java is not for a startup. This is a myth, you can start with Java (Netflix for example).
- Choose a language which you can start with easily and quickly rather than which you know.
Always remember startups are not a one-time idea that becomes a web or mobile app, but are expected to grow and change to make a profit, and so should the technology used.
In our experience, we found that a product or project developed has 6 months to 2 years of life, beyond which it must be fully replaced (Fun Fact: Our body replaces all cells into new every 7-10 years, you are a completely new person inside out with the same consciousness every 7-10 years)
If you look at the history of unicorns mentioned above you can very well see that many started with a widely-used programming language and later on shifted towards other languages when time goes by and depending on their shift in business and their growth.
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