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App Development - Pushing the Snowball Downhill

A detailed account of a Fastlane process...

Rinzler

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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! :headbanger:

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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ilrein

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Just cuz you know the dev is going to use Java on Webstorm or Eclipse doesn't mean you have a realistic chance of building it yourself.

TBH, $2k is dirt cheap for an app.

I think if you expect a production-tier application that you're used to seeing, you will probably be disappointed. Then again, if the guy is pretty damn experienced and the whole thing is native, the performance could be quite nice.

Do QA as often as possible. You don't need to wait for the app to be done to try it.
 

Rinzler

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Luckily the whole thing will be native, and he lowered his rate on me because I took the time to explain what the app will be used for. While I understand $2k is cheap to develop an app, it's not money I have at the moment. Hence why I figured I'd tackle an MVP to showcase to possible investors, or KickStarter.

I appreciate the response! I'll make sure to work closely with him on QA.
 

ilrein

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While I understand $2k is cheap to develop an app, it's not money I have at the moment. Hence why I figured I'd tackle an MVP to showcase to possible investors, or KickStarter.

I wasn't making any implications about your financial standing, I was merely pointing out that his asking price seems to be conspicuously low. Although, it could be reasonable for a solo freelancer, it isn't the kind of price tag I look at with fear/respect.

For this reason, I recommended to be on top of QA. Good luck!
 
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BigBrianC

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I had a similiar problem where I had an amazing idea but I knew I would be picking a small number of clients as the key functionality would be impossible on iOS and therefor id have to go android only and my particular targeted market (general and photographers) are mostly all on iOS. Godspeed to you!
 

Rinzler

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I wasn't making any implications about your financial standing, I was merely pointing out that his asking price seems to be conspicuously low. Although, it could be reasonable for a solo freelancer, it isn't the kind of price tag I look at with fear/respect.

For this reason, I recommended to be on top of QA. Good luck!

Thank you, I didn't mean to come off rude or as if I was calling out any implications. But now that you've mentioned it, do you have any good or bad experiences when it comes to what freelancers charge in correlation to what they produced?
 

Rinzler

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I had a similiar problem where I had an amazing idea but I knew I would be picking a small number of clients as the key functionality would be impossible on iOS and therefor id have to go android only and my particular targeted market (general and photographers) are mostly all on iOS. Godspeed to you!

I was bummed when I found iOS wasn't possible! Especially since I own numerous iOS devices and thought testing would have been easier. Plus I thought the iOS marketplace was a bit better at the time. I appreciate the response! I'll make sure to report back with any progress.
 
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LateStarter

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Have you verified that your idea isn't already part of an existing product on the Android platform? Also consider how to convince people to download it, install it and retain it. After all, getting people to voluntarily download and install something that they know will inconvenience them is a hard sell. If it's easier to uninstall it than disable it, I suspect that many people will.

Bottom line: Don't code it yourself. It's faster and cheaper to pay someone to do it. Your time is more valuable and I think you have other obstacles that you'll need to focus on.
 

Rinzler

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Have you verified that your idea isn't already part of an existing product on the Android platform? Also consider how to convince people to download it, install it and retain it. After all, getting people to voluntarily download and install something that they know will inconvenience them is a hard sell. If it's easier to uninstall it than disable it, I suspect that many people will.

Bottom line: Don't code it yourself. It's faster and cheaper to pay someone to do it. Your time is more valuable and I think you have other obstacles that you'll need to focus on.

Hey LateStarter!
I have spent a great deal of time searching for an app close to my idea or one that would ultimately do the same thing, and I haven't found anything.
It's more like an added security measure that activates when the phone detects a user traveling faster than a certain rate of speed, that would prevent the temptation of using the phone behind the wheel. As for them uninstalling it... I'm mostly targeting parents, but you bring up a valid point.

I appreciate the input!
 

Rinzler

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I am not understanding why building iOS app is less favored than android app? Thanks in advance for clarifying this.
While I wanted to create this app for iOS, I was informed by developers that the features I had in mind wouldn't be possible to implement due to iOS' pretty restrictive environment. Android gives applications a lot of freedom to perform, while iOS apps function in more of a "sandbox" environment. Which means they can't do anything outside the application itself.
Hopefully that made sense!
 

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Ah got cha. Please continue to update us on your process of this app development. I too have a great idea for an app, however, have no idea where to start. Best of luck in your process!
 

Rinzler

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Ah got cha. Please continue to update us on your process of this app development. I too have a great idea for an app, however, have no idea where to start. Best of luck in your process!
I appreciate it!

I also didn't have an idea where to start, but after searching these forums and taking the time to read thread after thread about app development or programming, or learning to do it vs outsourcing, I decided to finally take the first step.
I'll give you a few links that helped me out!

Thread on App Outsourcing

Thread on iOS vs Android (really just boils down to your apps features, from what I learned)

Thread sharing quick way to get App source codes

Don't hesitate to reach out and ask for help! I'll do my best to answer any questions you may have.
 
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EN_VY

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2K sounds extremely cheap. Be careful and make sure he can deliver.
 

Rinzler

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2K sounds extremely cheap. Be careful and make sure he can deliver.

In all honesty, I'm thinking of switching developers and keeping my search within the US. Been asking around and a lot of members of the forum have been recommending I do so.

A bit of progress though, I have all the landing page materials made up and some copy written. Going to be using Landerapp.com for my landing page which will be done in a few days once I get more free time.

Been reading the Lean Startup as well. Not a bad book, but in all honesty I find it difficult to dive into a book after reading TMF . MJ's writing set the standard so high, I can't seem to stand most other writing styles!
 

Jake

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Just spilling some thoughts.

You cannot make money off of ads if people can't view their phone.
Will people pay for something like this or will it need to be a free app? My guess is free (so where's the revenue?)
Can you make a functional app that people enjoy and add this as a bonus feature?
If successful, Android can integrate this into their platform which reduces your apps shelf life.

Good luck. I hope you have a clear thought out revenue model.
 
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Rinzler

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Just spilling some thoughts.

You cannot make money off of ads if people can't view their phone.
Will people pay for something like this or will it need to be a free app? My guess is free (so where's the revenue?)
Can you make a functional app that people enjoy and add this as a bonus feature?
If successful, Android can integrate this into their platform which reduces your apps shelf life.

Good luck. I hope you have a clear thought out revenue model.

Thank you for the feedback. The app is what I like to call "Freemium"
Meaning, the initial download is free and comes with the most basic features essential to what the app is for.

I have created a list of Premium Features that users would have to pay for through in-app purchases, that would enhance their experience with the app. One of the premium features is actually for parents to monitor their children's habits while driving, it sends them alerts based on their settings, etc. I have several other features that would require an in-app purchase, one of which will reward drivers for their continued use of the app and exercising of safe driving habits.

Still working out a few kinks. The revenue from users comes from purchases within the app, the big money will come from a different revenue model I'm currently working out.
 

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