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Lessons from 15 Years of Indie App Development

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Re: Lessons from 15 Years of Indie App Development

#91

Post by deze333 »

diggan wrote: post #51
criddell wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn’t a big part of your userbase into new age stuff? If you think of it as nonsense, how do you earnestly try to serve them? Aren’t they asking for features you think are bunk?

> Isn’t a big part of your userbase into new age stuff? If you think of it as nonsense, how do you earnestly try to serve them? Aren’t they asking for features you think are bunk? A chiropractor uses maps of human bodies to understand where things are, even though they use the information differently than doctors and surgeons, both groups base their understanding on the same facts. I'm guessing the same can apply in…

Exactly that. Instead of fighting belief systems, offer something that is useful for different practitioners. There is massive amount knowledge that can be made interactive and broaden our understanding of reality we live in. And there is an aspect of fun and unexpected discoveries once one decoupled themselves from any kind of ideology. Be outside the box.

Re: Lessons from 15 Years of Indie App Development

#92

Post by deze333 »

manx wrote: post #17

Can anyone recommend good learning material for the non-tech part? I'm good at building stuff, but not on the other parts.

In my experience, building user facing products requires understanding of user interaction and general human affinities. In the indie developer context, the knowledge of making the app “relatable” is often more important than underlying engineering fits. I have shared some ideas in the discussion at the top of this page (the Time Nomad discussion)…

Re: Lessons from 15 Years of Indie App Development

#93

Post by wqtz »

I’ll be the jerk here: I’ve stopped reading articles that include the word "lesson" unless they provide tangible impact metrics—like how much money you actually made as an indie dev. I have skimmed the article and to me it is generic. It might sound harsh, but that’s the reality. Hacker News has become nothing more than a launchpad for new apps and services. These posts are often just veiled advertisements, like yet another "Show HN: Timelines.app."

Re: Lessons from 15 Years of Indie App Development

#94

Post by [deleted] »

hermitcrab wrote: post #68
indieofone wrote: post #11

I would add this advice: 1) start by working on your apps on the side while working another job, 2) while working said job, save and invest. Over time this can provide the cushion necessary to jump to full time indie.

I saved up enough money to last a year and then lived off that while I developed my product full time. By the end of that year I was making close to what I made in my old job. 20 years later and I'm still working for myself.

[deleted]

Re: Lessons from 15 Years of Indie App Development

#95

Post by indieofone »

LVB wrote: post #87
hermitcrab wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Windows is a bigger market. So I think it is more a question of 'is the extra work to sell on Mac justified'. It is hard to give a precise answer, because: -I don't know how the sales exactly split between Windows and Mac (my licence covers both), but I have an idea from downloads. -It is more work to develop cross platform. -Cross platform development always results in some compromises. But, on the whole, I am happy…

What framework did you settle on?

I know it to be Qt

Re: Lessons from 15 Years of Indie App Development

#96

Post by indieofone »

hermitcrab wrote: post #71
LVB wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll say, this has been the worst part of my little indie dev adventure. I knew I'd be uncomfortable with a lot of it, but I also didn't realize how flat out bad I am at it. I've spent so much time fiddling with keywords, refreshing splash pages for app stores, making a good landing page, buying ads, adjusting paywalls, etc. But the uptake has been depressingly low. A few people downloaded the app, but not only have…

IIRC quite a large percentage of apps in the Mac apps store have 0 downloads. You definitely can't rely on the app store to do your marketing for you.

I have done OK on the Mac App Store, but I can tell you that selling two or three copies in 1 day is enough to make you top 5 in the Education Category.

Re: Lessons from 15 Years of Indie App Development

#98

Post by hermitcrab »

hermitcrab wrote: post #81
cageface wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you found the extra work to also sell on windows to have been justified by the sales on that platform?

Windows is a bigger market. So I think it is more a question of 'is the extra work to sell on Mac justified'. It is hard to give a precise answer, because: -I don't know how the sales exactly split between Windows and Mac (my licence covers both), but I have an idea from downloads. -It is more work to develop cross platform. -Cross platform development always results in some compromises. But, on the whole, I am happy…

Should also mention that I am very experienced at cross-platform development.

Re: Lessons from 15 Years of Indie App Development

#99

Post by saagarjha »

indieofone wrote: post #77
auspex wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just be careful of inventions assignments. If you live in the US you probably signed paperwork that says anything you invent or create is property of the company you work for. If you signed one of these and hack on the side… successful business could be owned by your previous company. You can always ask that they release the IP which requires the lawyers to officially sign it over to you. Before you quit your job mak…

I think it would only matter for something that is quite significant. And in that case, you would probably quit long before it mattered.

Careful, you can still be sued by your past employer even after you quit.
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