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OK, the developers I hired (one to do the front end, the other to do the back end. They're friends [edit to clarify that they're friends with each other - I didn't know them beforehand], and basically came as a package deal) are now asking for more money to finish the deployment of the app. I've paid them half ($300) with the rest due after deployment. As part of their compensation for developing the app, they each have 10% of the partnership (the development of the MVP is done - with the exception stated below - so the only thing left is the deployment). They get no more equity for deploying the app. This is the e-mail I received from one of them today:
"The app is mostly released for both Android and iOS. Android is nearly complete, but we've encountered a bit of a hiccup for iOS. We were both unaware that Apple has made a policy of not allowing any in-app purchases, including subscriptions, to go through anything but their own payment system so that they can take their share of the sale. Our app does not meet this requirement, so they have prevented the app from being published until we fix the issue.
Most apps get around this by linking in their app to their company's website, where they can purchase a subscription, rather than allowing users to purchase the subscription directly in the app. This is the way we plan to get around it as well, but it will unfortunately require a few more hours of development work to get the subscription management built and deployed to the website.
We hate to have to ask for more funds, but we both just have so many different demands on our time at the moment [me: this sounds kind of like a veiled threat that they won't do anything else with it unless we pay up]. We've estimated that this fix will take a total of 5 hours of development work. At $60/hour, this will cost a total of $300.
Again, we are so sorry this happened, we will press forward with Android deployment, and I will send another email as soon as that's done with instructions for hitting the final publish button. On Apple, TestFlight can still be used. I can send more info on that if you are interested in letting some iPhone users test out the app."
Questions:
1. How would you handle this? I'm of the mind that they agreed to do the deployment for a set price and they should stick to it, even if it means a lower hourly rate for them. They said they've deployed other apps recently, so they should have known about this situation with the Apple Store. It's (in my mind, at least) like hiring a contractor to build a house for you and he says "It'll cost $200K to build the house you want" then coming back halfway through and saying "Well, lumber cost more than we thought, permits are more expensive for your area than in other areas, and due to the type of soil on your lot, we had to do more compacting before laying the foundation, so we're going to charge you $300K." Those are all things the contractor should have known about (like Apple's policy, and what it would take to work around it), and it's not the home owner's fault the contractor didn't know about those issues. Needless to say I'm going to push back against this, and plan on using this as an example. I know it's only $300, but to me it's more the principle of the matter. That, and historically I've been the type of person to just say "Oh, okay" and get taken advantage of. I know that if I'm to be successful I need to be able to draw a line in the sand and say "No, that's not right."
Question 2. At this stage of our relationship, if they wanted to, how badly could they mess me up? I don't have any of the source code of the app yet.
Question 3. If we decide not to pay them the extra money and they decide not to continue with the deployment, what are my options? Are there tech-savvy people out there who would be able to pick up where they left off and finish the deployment?
Thanks for reading this and your advice.
Brian
"The app is mostly released for both Android and iOS. Android is nearly complete, but we've encountered a bit of a hiccup for iOS. We were both unaware that Apple has made a policy of not allowing any in-app purchases, including subscriptions, to go through anything but their own payment system so that they can take their share of the sale. Our app does not meet this requirement, so they have prevented the app from being published until we fix the issue.
Most apps get around this by linking in their app to their company's website, where they can purchase a subscription, rather than allowing users to purchase the subscription directly in the app. This is the way we plan to get around it as well, but it will unfortunately require a few more hours of development work to get the subscription management built and deployed to the website.
We hate to have to ask for more funds, but we both just have so many different demands on our time at the moment [me: this sounds kind of like a veiled threat that they won't do anything else with it unless we pay up]. We've estimated that this fix will take a total of 5 hours of development work. At $60/hour, this will cost a total of $300.
Again, we are so sorry this happened, we will press forward with Android deployment, and I will send another email as soon as that's done with instructions for hitting the final publish button. On Apple, TestFlight can still be used. I can send more info on that if you are interested in letting some iPhone users test out the app."
Questions:
1. How would you handle this? I'm of the mind that they agreed to do the deployment for a set price and they should stick to it, even if it means a lower hourly rate for them. They said they've deployed other apps recently, so they should have known about this situation with the Apple Store. It's (in my mind, at least) like hiring a contractor to build a house for you and he says "It'll cost $200K to build the house you want" then coming back halfway through and saying "Well, lumber cost more than we thought, permits are more expensive for your area than in other areas, and due to the type of soil on your lot, we had to do more compacting before laying the foundation, so we're going to charge you $300K." Those are all things the contractor should have known about (like Apple's policy, and what it would take to work around it), and it's not the home owner's fault the contractor didn't know about those issues. Needless to say I'm going to push back against this, and plan on using this as an example. I know it's only $300, but to me it's more the principle of the matter. That, and historically I've been the type of person to just say "Oh, okay" and get taken advantage of. I know that if I'm to be successful I need to be able to draw a line in the sand and say "No, that's not right."
Question 2. At this stage of our relationship, if they wanted to, how badly could they mess me up? I don't have any of the source code of the app yet.
Question 3. If we decide not to pay them the extra money and they decide not to continue with the deployment, what are my options? Are there tech-savvy people out there who would be able to pick up where they left off and finish the deployment?
Thanks for reading this and your advice.
Brian
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