The Spark
Hey everyone! I've had an idea for a mobile application that I've been wanting to pursue for a while, and I finally decided to listen to other forum members and look into outsourcing the development process. I have zero coding skills, so instead of trying to dive in headfirst and create an app, I spent my time validating the need for my idea and mapped out the ways I could scale it. Without giving too much away, this app is designed to prevent an ongoing problem we face behind the wheel in America. You've probably seen it all around or perhaps done it yourself, and I will admit that I'm guilty of doing it as well! I'm talking about texting and driving.
1 in 4 accidents in America are caused by distracted drivers using their phones behind the wheel. When a driver is more focused on their phone, or using one hand to steer and the other to navigate their phone, they are up to 23 times more likely to cause an accident. 77% of adults believe they can safely drive at least 55mph and "safely" text and drive. But in reality, the average amount of time it takes to send a text is 5 or more seconds, and at 55mph, that means you've traveled the length of an entire football field without looking at the road. Obviously phone use isn't limited to just texting, so you could imagine what else people are doing on their smartphones when they're behind the wheel.
While there are laws in some states that prohibit the use of phones while driving, there's very little to prevent a driver from using their phone in the first place. AT&T has an app out that sets a "lock" on someone's phone, but the problem with that is they are relying on the user to lock their phone manually, and based on their reviews... it isn't working as intended. That's where I come in. I remember reading in TMF that the best way to stop a habit, is for the habit to become physically inconvenient. My app is designed to be "inconvenient" for anyone trying to text behind the wheel.
The story thus far...
For the past few weeks I've been contacting a ton of freelancers, both native and overseas, for technical advice to validate if an app concept would be possible to create from a technical standpoint. Let me tell you, having a bunch of people tell you that your cherished idea is impossible to develop, can be pretty damn demoralizing. I wasn't buying it, so I kept contacting developer after developer, thinking that all the one's that told me "no" were just inexperienced or couldn't exactly understand what I was asking for.
There was a glimmer of hope when one honest developer was kind enough to let me know that while the application's features weren't possible to implement on the iOS platform, they were more than possible to implement on the Android. So, I got a little excited but then remembered I read somewhere (possibly on this forum) that app development on the Android is a constant struggle due to there being so many damn Android devices. I shook it off, and started to research the Android platform a lot more. I switched my job posting online from iOS development, to Android development, and I've been flooded with responses from interested developers.
After sifting through a bunch of applicants, I decided to contact a candidate that had a great deal of experience, and had what I thought was a fair rate.
I spoke with him for about an hour today on Skype, and while we made a lot of progress on how we should tackle the project... I was a little thrown back by how much he's asking for the finished product.
We agreed to create an MVP (minimum viable product) first, and then proceed from there. But I'm looking at $1300 for the prototype at an estimated 50 hours of work, and a total of $2000 spent on the entire product.
I will admit I didn't expect it to be that much, but at least now I finally have a monetary goal to work towards. But of course, no progress thread would be complete without asking at least one question!
And the Question is...
Of course I couldn't ask my developer this, but do you think it would be best for me to learn just enough to create the MVP on my own, since the developer was kind enough to share the IDE and programming language he would use?
On the other hand,I estimate it'll take me about two or three months to save the money for the project, based on what I make at my current job. If I continue my side hustles, it'll take a little less than that.
My other idea was to probably start a crowd funding campaign like a KickStarter to help raise funds for development, but without a prototype to showcase, I'm not sure people would consider it.
So that's where I'm at, and I'm asking for a bit of advice from anyone who would be kind enough to share some insight on the situation.
Any other suggestions or comments are also welcomed!
(Going to throw this out there too. For anyone experienced in mobile app development, who would possibly be interested in partnering up on this project, don't hesitate to PM me.)
In the Meantime
For the next few weeks I'm going to focus on flipping products on eBay and Craigslist, just to get closer to that $2000 mark on my own. I'm also going to need to create the graphical assets for the project, since the developer would charge me extra if I had him do it!
If I were to share anything I learned about my experience so far, I'd say that my experience with developers is proof that "sharing an idea" isn't as dangerous as some make it out to seem. So if you're reading this and have been holding back because you're afraid a developer is going to take your idea and run, snap out of it!
You're the one with the vision, they're just the ones who can help you get there.
Hey everyone! I've had an idea for a mobile application that I've been wanting to pursue for a while, and I finally decided to listen to other forum members and look into outsourcing the development process. I have zero coding skills, so instead of trying to dive in headfirst and create an app, I spent my time validating the need for my idea and mapped out the ways I could scale it. Without giving too much away, this app is designed to prevent an ongoing problem we face behind the wheel in America. You've probably seen it all around or perhaps done it yourself, and I will admit that I'm guilty of doing it as well! I'm talking about texting and driving.
1 in 4 accidents in America are caused by distracted drivers using their phones behind the wheel. When a driver is more focused on their phone, or using one hand to steer and the other to navigate their phone, they are up to 23 times more likely to cause an accident. 77% of adults believe they can safely drive at least 55mph and "safely" text and drive. But in reality, the average amount of time it takes to send a text is 5 or more seconds, and at 55mph, that means you've traveled the length of an entire football field without looking at the road. Obviously phone use isn't limited to just texting, so you could imagine what else people are doing on their smartphones when they're behind the wheel.
While there are laws in some states that prohibit the use of phones while driving, there's very little to prevent a driver from using their phone in the first place. AT&T has an app out that sets a "lock" on someone's phone, but the problem with that is they are relying on the user to lock their phone manually, and based on their reviews... it isn't working as intended. That's where I come in. I remember reading in TMF that the best way to stop a habit, is for the habit to become physically inconvenient. My app is designed to be "inconvenient" for anyone trying to text behind the wheel.
The story thus far...
For the past few weeks I've been contacting a ton of freelancers, both native and overseas, for technical advice to validate if an app concept would be possible to create from a technical standpoint. Let me tell you, having a bunch of people tell you that your cherished idea is impossible to develop, can be pretty damn demoralizing. I wasn't buying it, so I kept contacting developer after developer, thinking that all the one's that told me "no" were just inexperienced or couldn't exactly understand what I was asking for.
There was a glimmer of hope when one honest developer was kind enough to let me know that while the application's features weren't possible to implement on the iOS platform, they were more than possible to implement on the Android. So, I got a little excited but then remembered I read somewhere (possibly on this forum) that app development on the Android is a constant struggle due to there being so many damn Android devices. I shook it off, and started to research the Android platform a lot more. I switched my job posting online from iOS development, to Android development, and I've been flooded with responses from interested developers.
After sifting through a bunch of applicants, I decided to contact a candidate that had a great deal of experience, and had what I thought was a fair rate.
I spoke with him for about an hour today on Skype, and while we made a lot of progress on how we should tackle the project... I was a little thrown back by how much he's asking for the finished product.
We agreed to create an MVP (minimum viable product) first, and then proceed from there. But I'm looking at $1300 for the prototype at an estimated 50 hours of work, and a total of $2000 spent on the entire product.
I will admit I didn't expect it to be that much, but at least now I finally have a monetary goal to work towards. But of course, no progress thread would be complete without asking at least one question!
And the Question is...
Of course I couldn't ask my developer this, but do you think it would be best for me to learn just enough to create the MVP on my own, since the developer was kind enough to share the IDE and programming language he would use?
On the other hand,I estimate it'll take me about two or three months to save the money for the project, based on what I make at my current job. If I continue my side hustles, it'll take a little less than that.
My other idea was to probably start a crowd funding campaign like a KickStarter to help raise funds for development, but without a prototype to showcase, I'm not sure people would consider it.
So that's where I'm at, and I'm asking for a bit of advice from anyone who would be kind enough to share some insight on the situation.
Any other suggestions or comments are also welcomed!
(Going to throw this out there too. For anyone experienced in mobile app development, who would possibly be interested in partnering up on this project, don't hesitate to PM me.)
In the Meantime
For the next few weeks I'm going to focus on flipping products on eBay and Craigslist, just to get closer to that $2000 mark on my own. I'm also going to need to create the graphical assets for the project, since the developer would charge me extra if I had him do it!
If I were to share anything I learned about my experience so far, I'd say that my experience with developers is proof that "sharing an idea" isn't as dangerous as some make it out to seem. So if you're reading this and have been holding back because you're afraid a developer is going to take your idea and run, snap out of it!
You're the one with the vision, they're just the ones who can help you get there.
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