My company develops apps, so I know a bit about the process. Here's my answers to your questions, along with some thoughts to consider
1. What questions can I ask to weed out the developers that are worth it?
If you're not a developer, its almost impossible to weed out bad technical skills
That said, developing is an exercise in logic. They need to think clearly, and they need to be able to quickly figure out what the most important parts of a project are, and then formulate a plan to address those parts that is simple and flexible. See what they put on your proposal, and determine how logical it is. Do they address your business needs or are they just 'order taking.'
2. Just how much exactly is the ballpark to develop an uber-like app?
Uber has spent hundreds of millions if not billions on their app. Good luck.
Your cost to develop something simple would be in the 30-50K (USD) range, based on the ideas I present below
3. Is hiring freelance app developers even worth it?
I wouldn't hire just a developer unless you have managed a software project yourself. You are very likely to have parts of the project fail outright if you manage it yourself.
4. Anything I should know before I get into this? I'm very naive in the app developing space
That is not a good basis to develop an app.
Two more thoughts:
1) Developing the app is a small percentage of what it will take to make this business a success. Even if you could copy-paste Uber's app and infrastructure, you still need to get drivers, get people to use the app, and deal with regulatory BS that the incumbants are likely to throw your way
2) Focus on 'fake' automation. Don't automatically match up drivers with riders. Don't automatically calculate fares based on real-time demand. etc etc etc. Have a human on the back-end that does that stuff. The app can look like it happens automatically, but in the background, an actual human is calling the shots
Why? Two reasons: 1) that stuff is incredibly expensive and difficult to code. 2) You need to get a handle on what is going on in your system first before you automate things. Sure, this stuff works for Uber, but they're not you and they're not operating in your country/culture. There's nothing like touching the problem itself to make you come up with a creative solution to it.
1. What questions can I ask to weed out the developers that are worth it?
If you're not a developer, its almost impossible to weed out bad technical skills
That said, developing is an exercise in logic. They need to think clearly, and they need to be able to quickly figure out what the most important parts of a project are, and then formulate a plan to address those parts that is simple and flexible. See what they put on your proposal, and determine how logical it is. Do they address your business needs or are they just 'order taking.'
2. Just how much exactly is the ballpark to develop an uber-like app?
Uber has spent hundreds of millions if not billions on their app. Good luck.
Your cost to develop something simple would be in the 30-50K (USD) range, based on the ideas I present below
3. Is hiring freelance app developers even worth it?
I wouldn't hire just a developer unless you have managed a software project yourself. You are very likely to have parts of the project fail outright if you manage it yourself.
4. Anything I should know before I get into this? I'm very naive in the app developing space
That is not a good basis to develop an app.
Two more thoughts:
1) Developing the app is a small percentage of what it will take to make this business a success. Even if you could copy-paste Uber's app and infrastructure, you still need to get drivers, get people to use the app, and deal with regulatory BS that the incumbants are likely to throw your way
2) Focus on 'fake' automation. Don't automatically match up drivers with riders. Don't automatically calculate fares based on real-time demand. etc etc etc. Have a human on the back-end that does that stuff. The app can look like it happens automatically, but in the background, an actual human is calling the shots
Why? Two reasons: 1) that stuff is incredibly expensive and difficult to code. 2) You need to get a handle on what is going on in your system first before you automate things. Sure, this stuff works for Uber, but they're not you and they're not operating in your country/culture. There's nothing like touching the problem itself to make you come up with a creative solution to it.
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