I have an idea for an app...

[macmacman]

I know, I know. I'm not the guy that has an idea... "so it's like Facebook".

I have started and sold a business, and started another.

I am technical and have managed the development of apps (web based) in the past and managed ecommerce sites.

This idea is ok. It's in travel. One of those ones which won't blow you away if I told you, but it has legs.

But where the hell do you start? I know a software development company that could build it - just a rough native app build in iOS to show how it works. This will probably cost about £15-20K.

But then what? Ideally you want a couple of developers to work on it full time. Pay them £40K each with some equity, or less and a bigger equity. Then you'd need more staff to help with promotion and marketing etc.

I guess there are people out there that can put a team together to do this and move fast. Like most apps the barrier to entry isn't the idea. I think everyone could think of an app idea that would do well. It's the building of it and getting it used.

Are these people basically investors? So you'd give away a chunk and they would get cracking on turning your idea into a proper app.

 

[obscure]

I used to work in video games. I had a FAQ on my website and one of the most consulted Questions was "Why no one will buy your game idea (or want it for free)."

As you pointed out everyone has at least one idea. Anyone with the capacity to make an app probably has several ideas. Just like any other company these people need to be payed. If they could afford to self-fund an app why would they spend that on doing your idea over their own? Even if you gave them 90% equity you would still be grossly over valuing your idea and they would have 10% less equity than if they just used their resources to make their own idea.

App development is no different from any other business. You want someone to make something for you you pay them. There are no rich app developers sitting around waiting for your idea to come along. Substitute Bread for App.

"I have a great recipe for some new bread that I know will do well." - Do you think rich bakers are going to be waiting to make your bread for you? You want it made you pay them.
You want an app made.... you pay them.
If you don't have the money to pay them (and several £million for marketing) then you have to go and raise finance.

So your real question is not "How do I go about getting an app made" (you pay them). Your real question is "How do I raise finance to start a business?" The answer is the same as it would be for any business.

 

[macmacman]

Thanks Dan. I'm just not sure how much I would need to raise. I know it would be £100k. Ideally I'd want someone to help me in these early stages. Look at my designs and the idea and come up with a plan. Yes a big part of that will be going out to raise finance. Something I've never done before. I've always self funded my businesses at the start, as they only needed £10k.

I get the bread thing, but it's a bit different to traditional businesses. For a lot of businesses, you can replace some skill with hard work or develop the skill quickly. Make bread in bulk... ok so I know how to make a loaf of bread now, I've spent some money on equipment, now I need to work all ours through the night to make bread ready for the morning. For apps it's different....I have £10k of cash and time to work hard, but I can't make an app. It would take me years to develop the skills needed. Or I needed £100k to employ a team of developers. For most people it stops at the idea, when it comes to apps. For most businesses, the idea is just the start.

 

[mattk]

I also get a hot flush when I read people saying their idea "has legs" but they need to spend tens of thousands of pounds to get a rough and ready app developed.

Have you read The Lean Startup? You really should be looking to build a Minimum Viable Product, mainly out of cardboard and sticky-back plastic in order to build a base of active users. Once you have those users and ideally an income steam, then look to roll out the big guns and spend money on professional app development.

The reason most ideas don't get off the paper they are written on is because people try to run before they can walk.

 

[macmacman]

I also get a hot flush when I read people saying their idea "has legs" but they need to spend tens of thousands of pounds to get a rough and ready app developed.

Have you read The Lean Startup? You really should be looking to build a Minimum Viable Product, mainly out of cardboard and sticky-back plastic in order to build a base of active users. Once you have those users and ideally an income steam, then look to roll out the big guns and spend money on professional app development.

The reason most ideas don't get off the paper they are written on is because people try to run before they can walk.

Hmm thanks. I know a lot about being lean in business. That doesn't really work with app development. It's a bit like saying make a hover out of cardboard and bits (yes I know James Dyson did that) but then getting 100 people to use it itt and love it. It won't work properly so they won't love it.

It's a bit chicken and egg. Which is a shame, as so many people have good ideas, but they will never come to light.

I believe even the smallest of ideas, can be successful. The idea is the easy bit. So every idea in my mind has legs.

 

[mattk]

I would say it works even more in app development than it does anything else. You can build a very simple front-end and then have a minimum wage worker behind a curtain doing the magic. This is a much cheaper way of proving your idea without going to the expense of building a fully automated integrated app with all the bells and whistles.

 

[obscure]

.....For apps it's different....I have £10k of cash and time to work hard, but I can't make an app.

No really it's not.
Bakers weren't born knowing how to make bread. If you know how to make it it is because you learned. App developers weren't born knowing how to make apps. If you don't have the necessary skill to make an app then start learning or raise finance and start paying someone to make one.

 

[Kenny Blair]

I am in a similar situation, I have a number of ideas for apps (though, as has been said before, who doesn't? )

I don't have the time nor skills to develop them myself, so I am going down the route of outsourcing the job via freelancing sites.

There is an admin overhead managing the freelancers, and frequently a bit of a language barrier, but for around £1,000 I am getting an ios and an android version built . They are not perfect, more the MVP mentioned above, but if the apps prove successful I can have them redeveloped.

Of course, your app may be more complicated than mine, but happy to discuss with you.

 

[macmacman]

Thanks Kenny. I think I am going to get an MVP version done. Looking at doing the graphic design for it myself. Anyone got any recommendations on software to use? Looking at Sketch. Looks like you can link images to each other with a bit of animation so you can click on button and goes to different pages. Perfect if you can't code!

 

[mattk]

I know this might sound a bit old school, but have you considered pen and paper? You also seem to be jumping straight in to designing the app. I'd suggest, especially if you are considering engaging with a third party to build your MVP, that you document (again on paper) what the outcomes of your app will be. This will help you articulate that you are trying to achieve with your development team.

 

[DG web consultancy]

Does experience of managing development mean you yourself are a web developer at least to an extent or more a project manager?

For me if I had a specific "killer app" in mind I'd build a version of it as a web app so I have something I can hand off to a developer to produce an iOS version or Android version for me.

Failing that I thought it'd be as simple as just breaking down each part of the functionality so you can hire someone to build based on that. Personally I would aim to get the absolute minimum viable prototype to start with, that way you get to know whether you like working with that developer first without committing too much into that project. Worst case scenario is you will have some kind of starting point ready for someone else to develop further even if you still have to redo it from the ground up, although it would be the cost of getting a proof of concept.

 

[Mr D]

I would say it works even more in app development than it does anything else. You can build a very simple front-end and then have a minimum wage worker behind a curtain doing the magic. This is a much cheaper way of proving your idea without going to the expense of building a fully automated integrated app with all the bells and whistles.

The old 'this is the planned machine' trick - build a visual front and have the processes done by people behind the scene. Used by many inventors and designers over the years.
As you say far cheaper method of showing what the end result will be like without building the end result.

 

[Noah]

The old 'this is the planned machine' trick - build a visual front and have the processes done by people behind the scene. Used by many inventors and designers over the years.

Also very popular with perpetual motion machine designers; equally ethical.

 

[The Byre]

The app-boat sailed a long time ago.

Find something else to do!

 

[Alan]

I have a number of ideas for apps (though, as has been said before, who doesn't? )

I have never had an app idea.

 

[Deleted member 308634]

For me if I had a specific "killer app" in mind I'd build a version of it as a web app so I have something I can hand off to a developer to produce an iOS version or Android version for me.

If you have some development skills (enough to build a web app) then I would try looking at Ionic framework, this lets you build Apps for iOS and Android without having to know the native developer languages for those devices.

 

[Bronco78th]

Im going through this process. Had an idea for an App first thing I did was to get my plan, both the app and brainstorming who would buy it down on paper and write it out.

I then attempted to create a very very rough prototype myself, even though my app was way beyond my own technical skills just creating the interfaces and the basic functions was enough to plug and foresee potential pit falls in my idea and design.

After more rethinking and solving those pitfalls I had previously discovered, I then went out and asked around for external help to develop my idea further. Got a prototyping company on board and around 9 months on (a year from start, as a spare time project) We are working on the 3rd prototype of my idea and looking to start marketing after this prototype as all the main issues will be resolved.

Can't comment any further as thats as far as I am, maybe come back in a year

Kind Regards,
John

 

[macmacman]

Thanks John, that sounds exciting. Be really interested to know more when you know more! Good luck with it

 

[billybob99]

The app-boat sailed a long time ago.

Find something else to do!

This guy has no clue, just saying.

That aside, you need to read the lean startup by Eric Ries - or understand the basics of it at least and build your MVP and go through that build, measure, learn loop.

Everyone thinks they have a top notch idea, myself included, been in this space for close to 10 years, worked with many many startups and unfortunately the majority have the dreaded "this app does not exist" after a year or so.

What you think is a good idea, and what your potential users think is a good idea, turn out to be completely different things.

It's much easier to spend a fraction of the £15-20k you estimated building an MVP that does the core thing well.

If it gains traction then you can always build on it. There is nothing worse than spending £20k building something that nobody wants.

The beauty of building an MVP is that you don't need a 100 page specification document and fancy mockups. I've had startup founders come to me with simple pencil and paper drawings.

Most ideas are pure $hite at the end of the day, I'm sure a ton of people have the same idea, a fraction of those execute it and execute it wrong, you'll probably get one or two that get it right.

If you have an idea, and are serious, its easier to hire your own freelancer, agree the deliverables and have something you can actually, install, use and then market.

And if you want a proper app, and aren't going down the native route, then React Native is your best bet, everything else is just pure bs.

 

[billybob99]

I also get a hot flush when I read people saying their idea "has legs" but they need to spend tens of thousands of pounds to get a rough and ready app developed.

Have you read The Lean Startup? You really should be looking to build a Minimum Viable Product, mainly out of cardboard and sticky-back plastic in order to build a base of active users. Once you have those users and ideally an income steam, then look to roll out the big guns and spend money on professional app development.

The reason most ideas don't get off the paper they are written on is because people try to run before they can walk.

Missed this, should have read this more carefully before I wrote all my stuff.

100% spot on.

The Lean Startup and the other 4 or 5 books in that series are top notch I must say.

It's like AirBnB when they built there concierge MVP, at this time they were pretty well funded and could have just done it, but they decided to do stuff manually behind the scenes to validate if the need for their new services was real, before they even wrote a single line of code.

Nowadays most people have an idea, get a quote, spend time trying to raise money, that's it.

Really its about figuring out how to test the idea quickly, with the least amount of cash. Ironically the startups that did this, end up raising serious cash from investors.

Purely because the idea actually got traction, and was worth funding to fuel growth.

I think having developed apps and managed apps in a corporate environment and being a startup founder yourself and doing it are completely different things, and a completely different mindset.