Of course you can, provided you surround yourself with the right people Consider this: AirBnB's founders were not programmers; they were design guys. Now, it's a billion dollar tech company. If you have a dream to build the next big app or web startup, you'll need to know what the journey entails. The things that no one will tell you about, that you can learn only through experience. That being said, there are a few things you need to consider before you pursue this as a second career: 1.) Outsource or build the product in-house? 2.) Target the right market. 3.) Search for a technical cofounder