Sorry to tell you, no they can't. There's a thousand business dudes with ideas that need implementing for every one that can code. And there's a shit ton of people who claim to be able to code but couldn't solve FizzBuzz.
I'm just back from startup weekend: there where at least 5x more "idea guys" than coders. This rate seems to apply
everywhere. There are certainly way less people who can code than people who can have ideas, though someone who has good business ideas is just as hard to find, or usually fits both categories.
I think his point was that there's a lot more to a business than just shipping the product, although it's obviously incredibly important to do that well.
Marketing and sales is what makes a business at the end of the day, and if I was a "business guy" that's what I would spend 100% of my time focusing on, not wasting time reading tech/vc blogs.
Facebook, Groupon, and PlentyofFish wouldn't be where they are today if their founders were just hackers with zero marketing instincts.
Defined as a percentage of the whole, there are a very small number of people in the world that can competently code. And I didn't say having an idea makes you a business dude, I said business dudes with ideas, hopefully you can see the distinction.
Sorry to tell you, no they can't. There's a thousand business dudes with ideas that need implementing for every one that can code. And there's a shit ton of people who claim to be able to code but couldn't solve FizzBuzz.