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Not sure what to do with my startup idea

news.ycombinator.com

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Not sure what to do with my startup idea

#1

Post by coingig »

I have a pretty good idea for a mobile app that I want to develop that is based on musicians and their news feeds, it is not something revolutionary but it is missing in today's world and actually something I would use everyday.

I am not a coder but my forte is in digital marketing as I have been doing it for 8 years and pretty damn good at it.

Building an app today is something that is all the rage so I know hiring a coder is going to be very costly once programming and design are included.

Anyone have advice on how I can go about doing this, should I partner with someone that can code, take the risk and invest the money to have it developed?

Re: Not sure what to do with my startup idea

#2

Post by issa »

In an ideal world, you could partner with a developer who would built it in exchange for equity. There are ways to make that happen...go to meetups, put an ad on craigslist, etc. Just remember that developers get these sorts of offers ALL THE TIME. Make sure you stand out.

Personally, I'd be wary of spending my own money on paying a contractor to build something. It will be expensive and there is no guarantee of a good outcome.

Good luck!

Re: Not sure what to do with my startup idea

#4

Post by coingig »

issa wrote: post #2

In an ideal world, you could partner with a developer who would built it in exchange for equity. There are ways to make that happen...go to meetups, put an ad on craigslist, etc. Just remember that developers get these sorts of offers ALL THE TIME. Make sure you stand out. Personally, I'd be wary of spending my own money on paying a contractor to build something. It will be expensive and there is no guarantee of a go…

Thanks for the help! Yea this would not be my first startup so I know developers are approached everyday with tons of ideas to get involved in.

I got accepted into Startup School so I'm looking forward to seeing who I can meet up with that could help me out.

As for as spending my own money, you are right, I have done this before and ended up being super expensive and outcome was not that good.

I know there are many of talented coders on here so if there is anyone that is interested in hearing more I'm more than happy to speak with them.

Re: Not sure what to do with my startup idea

#5

Post by coingig »

Deluxo wrote: post #3

Not a startup guru here, just a coder. Please take into consideration that a good programmer wouldn't put best effort for cheap as well. I think you should search for programmers with enthusiasm + skill combo. Good luck!

I definitely agree with you, to get a very good coder to put their best effort it will not be cheap so maybe looking for a partner could be my best option.

Re: Not sure what to do with my startup idea

#6

Post by onechik »

I understand you pretty well because I'm in the same situation now. So what I've done? I've created something like a prototype using Prottapp (design was made by my wife in Adobe Illustrator). Another tool for this is Balsamiq. After this I'm going to create a crowdfunding campaign for further developing as I don't have enough money for it. May be you can try to do the same

Re: Not sure what to do with my startup idea

#7

Post by byoung2 »

hiring a coder is going to be very costly once programming and design are included

You should start learning about coding now, not with the intention of building the app yourself, but with the intention of becoming more knowledgeable about what the developer's job entails. If you find a developer and say "build me an app" you might get estimates like 12 months and $50k. If you know that you just need a news feed, you can say, "can you take this jQuery mobile template and wrap it in Phonegap, and create a simple database to store a data feed from the following sources, you might be able to get it done in a few weeks for $300 [1].

https://medium.com/@morphmail/the-first-300-a-startup-launch...

Re: Not sure what to do with my startup idea

#9

Post by coingig »

byoung2 wrote: post #7

hiring a coder is going to be very costly once programming and design are included You should start learning about coding now, not with the intention of building the app yourself, but with the intention of becoming more knowledgeable about what the developer's job entails. If you find a developer and say "build me an app" you might get estimates like 12 months and $50k. If you know that you just need a news feed, you…

Good idea, I have some basic programming language but not enough to code something like this completely on my own. I'll start reading up on Phonegap and seeing how I can narrow down exactly what I want to get it a cheaper price as well.

That Medium story is awesome, thanks for that!

Re: Not sure what to do with my startup idea

#10

Post by coingig »

onechik wrote: post #6

I understand you pretty well because I'm in the same situation now. So what I've done? I've created something like a prototype using Prottapp (design was made by my wife in Adobe Illustrator). Another tool for this is Balsamiq. After this I'm going to create a crowdfunding campaign for further developing as I don't have enough money for it. May be you can try to do the same

I just signed up with Prottapp and I'm going to do some designs so I can see what I want exactly, thanks for that recommendation.

I appreciate your help, this is definitely going to help me a lot.

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