The original idea: http://iwbyp.chris-granger.com/
Hehe, you got me. That actually is where I first got the idea.
Tell HN: I will build you a working MVP for $2,345
21–30 of 89 posts
Re: Tell HN: I will build you a working MVP for $2,345
#22Back when I was running a web development company, I toyed with this idea a few times, but couldn't find a way to do it and not lose money. Hope your experience is different. Good luck!
Interesting, what happened that made you lose money? Were you pouring more time into the projects than you were getting paid for?
That's usually how it works.
Re: Tell HN: I will build you a working MVP for $2,345
#23> I'll get half the site working, demo it to you, give you all the code thus far, and you'll pay me $1,172.50. You should ask for 1/4 up-front, before you write any code.
As someone who isn't used to taking upfront payments, my question is, are people actually willing to do that?
Re: Tell HN: I will build you a working MVP for $2,345
#24I like the idea, but: $2,345 / (40 * 3) = $19.5416666667/hr I guess if you're just starting, that's decent money, but I don't think I could run with the same idea myself. I'd probably need to add a 1 to the front of your number.
To be honest, I said 3 weeks just to be safe (the old rule of doubling what you think you need). The plan was also to work on multiple projects in parallel. You're right though, I am just starting off, and already feel a bit guilty asking for anything north of $5k.
Don't feel guilty. If you're price is too high you simply won't get leads. Better 3 high-paying customers than 10 low-paying customers: less support time.
Re: Tell HN: I will build you a working MVP for $2,345
#25Back when I was running a web development company, I toyed with this idea a few times, but couldn't find a way to do it and not lose money. Hope your experience is different. Good luck!
Interesting, what happened that made you lose money? Were you pouring more time into the projects than you were getting paid for?
I didn't actually go ahead and implement it - I just couldn't make the math work. In my opinion, there are too many unknowns with this model - you're quoting the price of a project without knowing all features, talking about design iterations, supported browsers, and a million other things. And if you substantially increase the price after getting the requirements, clients won't like that, because the most important number for them is the first number you tell them - in this case, $2,345.
I could go on, but I don't want to discourage you. You should try it, just be careful not to lose money. Also, if you're in the western world, make it $10,000 or $20,000, that's a more realistic number :)
Re: Tell HN: I will build you a working MVP for $2,345
#26Re: Tell HN: I will build you a working MVP for $2,345
#27> I'll get half the site working, demo it to you, give you all the code thus far, and you'll pay me $1,172.50. You should ask for 1/4 up-front, before you write any code.
As someone who isn't used to taking upfront payments, my question is, are people actually willing to do that?
Yes, definitely. I just did that for two projects in the past week; but it was 1/2 up-front. Albeit, they were close referrals. YMMV if it's potential customers who don't know you.
Re: Tell HN: I will build you a working MVP for $2,345
#28> I'll get half the site working, demo it to you, give you all the code thus far, and you'll pay me $1,172.50. You should ask for 1/4 up-front, before you write any code.
As someone who isn't used to taking upfront payments, my question is, are people actually willing to do that?
Think of it this way- you're either paying them up-front with your time and work or they're paying you up front with some cash.
As somebody who has been burned badly by somebody who didn't pay up after work was delivered I can tell you do not ever work before getting some fee up-front (preferably the entire amount). If the person can't afford to pay you before you start, you probably don't want them as a customer.
Conversely, those who are ready, willing, and able to pay are the best and most lucrative customers to have (and you can charge a lot more than $2300 for your services).
Re: Tell HN: I will build you a working MVP for $2,345
#29Maybe you can roll the numbers up a digit for each successive job… Having done "MVP" work before, I wouldn't undervalue your work like this for to long or you'll be facing burnout quickly.
Hm, I'm hearing that a lot. Is $2,345 really that little? I've been living near the poverty line by choice, and $2,345 lasts me about two months. In either case, I guess it would turn off half the visitors if I just changed the price right now.
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Re: Tell HN: I will build you a working MVP for $2,345
#30> I'll get half the site working, demo it to you, give you all the code thus far, and you'll pay me $1,172.50. You should ask for 1/4 up-front, before you write any code.
As someone who isn't used to taking upfront payments, my question is, are people actually willing to do that?
Yep. For sure. Just signed my first contract with an up-front. I took 10%, but I've heard of people doing 25% as standard.