Live data from Hacker News

Tell HN: I will build you a working MVP for $2,345

prototypefor2345.com

81–89 of 89 posts

Re: Tell HN: I will build you a working MVP for $2,345

#81
post #71

This is a fantastic opportunity for someone to build a marketplace that connects folks who need a quick MVP built with freelance developers. You could go a step further and break it down by back-end, front-end, design only, or all of the above (because maybe you already fill one of those roles yourself). You can bake in the idea of a cash/equity split if the freelancer was interested as well. The idea would be to lim…

You should pay Brandon $2,345 to build a working MVP for that idea ;)

Re: Tell HN: I will build you a working MVP for $2,345

#82

Chris Granger does (did?) offer a similar service[1]. I think his price (5000$) is more sustainable for a developer, but I'm not sure how the market is for this kind of work. Chris, if you are reading this, please share your experience with us. [1] http://iwbyp.chris-granger.com/

I got/get lots of offers, but in general the projects were pretty uninteresting (so many clones), people didn't really know what they want, and I found that what people really needed was someone to think through their ideas with them, not a prototype.

At that point in time 5k was reasonable. The price would go up quite a bit if I were doing it now though. But I doubt I'd do it again - the work didn't end up being as exciting as I thought it would be.

What I would consider doing in the future is the "idea consulting" I discovered most people ended up needing. I have a knack for pulling things apart and putting them back together in interesting ways :)

Re: Tell HN: I will build you a working MVP for $2,345

#83
post #69

How can you commit to a fixed amount to execute on an idea that requires an unknown number of iterations, re-evaluation of initial assumptions, and customer feedback? Maybe this is possible IF your customer is a sensible designer who can iterate in parallel with you and has a realistic sense of what an MVP is and isn't. If your customer is just some schmuck with 2.5 grand to throw around and no product experience, yo…

I sit down with each person and agree on a specific list of features they want before I get started. I say explicitly on the site that the $2,345 is only for one iteration.

I think the definition of what constitutes a single iteration is subject to personal values and tendencies. E.g. I myself have a hard time calling a task "done" when it simply meets a rough guideline that was specified in text ahead of time. For me, it has to be better than just satisfactory. And that's before adding the customer's expectations into the mix. Hence, I would be a horrible candidate to try this. But I have met devs who are the other way around, and you may well be like that. I do think it's bold of you to give this a shot.

Re: Tell HN: I will build you a working MVP for $2,345

#84
post #81
post #71

This is a fantastic opportunity for someone to build a marketplace that connects folks who need a quick MVP built with freelance developers. You could go a step further and break it down by back-end, front-end, design only, or all of the above (because maybe you already fill one of those roles yourself). You can bake in the idea of a cash/equity split if the freelancer was interested as well. The idea would be to lim…

You should pay Brandon $2,345 to build a working MVP for that idea ;)

Hah, I'd just do it myself, but I was going to suggest he build his own MVP to scale his own service!

Re: Tell HN: I will build you a working MVP for $2,345

#85
post #23
post #19

> 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. A client that doesn't pay up-front doesn't have any skin in the game. It makes it easy for them to walk away.

Also it serves as a negative filter, weeding out cheap or incompetent clients. Like any other business, finding good customers is vital to your flourishing.

Re: Tell HN: I will build you a working MVP for $2,345

#86
post #23
post #19

> 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?

Unless I know the client well, I get a 20 hour retainer up front (which is about as much as I usually bill any single client in a week unless I really like the project.) I send them a bill every week, and while I'll give them a little credit on getting it paid, I won't go more than a week without getting the retainer paid up unless we've got some history.

Sometimes you have to be firm on it, but trust me, beats the hell out of trying to collect 10-15k in outstanding invoices when your mortgage is due.

Re: Tell HN: I will build you a working MVP for $2,345

#87
post #71

This is a fantastic opportunity for someone to build a marketplace that connects folks who need a quick MVP built with freelance developers. You could go a step further and break it down by back-end, front-end, design only, or all of the above (because maybe you already fill one of those roles yourself). You can bake in the idea of a cash/equity split if the freelancer was interested as well. The idea would be to lim…

mvp.builders, mvp.sexy, and mvp.ventures are all available. I'll probably snag one before the end of the night :)

Re: Tell HN: I will build you a working MVP for $2,345

#88
post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know you were joking, but I once had a guy complain about just that. I contributed a (very basic) search feature to some FOSS software and a user complained because it "wasn't as good as Google". My response was something like "If I could write a search engine as good as Google in my spare time, I'd be living a lifestyle somewhat more luxurious than the one I actually have."

you could have used Google API to index that site, https://developers.google.com/custom-search/docs/api

Unfortunately a lot of the users had and have proprietary/sensitive content, so opening it up to Google wasn't an option.

Re: Tell HN: I will build you a working MVP for $2,345

#89
post #42

I love the idea - but I wonder why the price? it does seem really low. At 19 bucks and hour pro rata, you are not storing up cash to get through the hours when you are not earning, like marketing, talking to clients, understanding what they want. It did get me thinking though - really good luck.

3 weeks is just to buy me some runway. I was hoping to work on multiple projects in parallel.

Unless the projects are carbon copies (in which case automate) this will never work. The context switching will kill any productivity. You can work in parallel by threes - one in sales funnel, one in development and one in maintenance mode. And that will be tough.
Post reply on HN