I am a 41 yr old who wants to, for the first time develop an app network. is it too late to start. i have ideas that apps can address.

It's never too late to develop your first app. The most successful companies/apps are started by people with unique perspectives targeting like minded customers. As a 41 year old, you certainly have insights and perspectives that others do not.

Are you looking to develop the app, yourself, or are you considering bringing in a developer? Either route is possible, but the latter is much more time effective. There are plenty of programs designed to pair visionaries (like you) with technically minded people (developers). Some programs are even free or offer development a reduced rate.

You are off to the right start by posting on Clarity. I would strongly recommend having a conversation with mentors on this site or in local networking groups. If you would like to talk about getting off to the right start, I would love to help.

Best of luck and keep hustling!

Hi Jerome, It's never to late to get started on an ambitious idea. Colonel Sanders starter KFC when he was 65 years old. So perhaps you're worried that younger people—i.e., Millennials—would have some kind of competitive advantage? Sure, they might have some "native" tech savvy as a result of having grown up immersed in Internet-related technologies. But you probably have your own set of strengths and competencies, such as work ethic, perseverance, and common sense. Domain expertise can be learned! I have two degrees in English and no background in coding or software development, yet I was able to develop over 30 mobile apps. If you were thinking about a mobile app, I'd start by reading App Savvy by Ken Yarmosh and App Empire by Chad Mureta. The rest is just tenacity. Hope this helps, Austin

It is never too late to start anything Jerome but...

one app is not going to build you a business. Multiple apps are the way to go as you imply with the word network. Just be sure to have all of your apps in the network to support each other around the same category so the audience from one app should cross over to the others. This way you can leverage one app for all the apps in your network.

Yes, one great and successful app can, most definitely, make you painfully wealthy. All that matters is that you market and position it correctly.

Your age doesn't matter. Julia Child became Julia Child, as we know her, at the age of 50. FIFTY! Before that she was just a normal person.

Don't let anyone tell you that your goals and dreams are unreasonable.

Jerome,

There can't be anything better than having an idea that provides real solution to pressing problems. Most entrepreneurs/startup don't possess that luxury of wisdom. Good to see that you already have that clarity around establishing a business model with delicate balance of solution-problem.

It's never too late to start something that solves some genuine problems. At least, it would save your time, energy, and investment in undergoing trial-error to understand what should be done and could be done with an idea.

It's never too late to be what you could have been. Let me know if you think there's a need to discuss something in particular. I may be able to provide you more clarity after receiving clarity. Thank You!!

It's never too late Jerome, though it will depend on how much time & energy you're willing to invest. Which skills are you lacking to build a successful app business and are you ready to invest the weeks, months, possibly years of diligent work required to build them?

The mobile app space is extremely competitive these days, and frankly, ideas by themselves aren't worth much. As Derek Sivers correctly puts it, ideas are merely multipliers. Execution is worth millions. (Read http://sivers.org/multiply for more on that)

To succeed, you (or rather, your team) will need the design skills to turn your ideas into a delightful user experience and the technical skills to turn that into stable, fast, scalable apps. Those things are merely table stakes though: the toughest nut to crack is sales & marketing. Who is your audience and how will you (profitably) reach them?

Best of luck if you decide to push through with it, it's a fun ride!

I don't know much about developing apps - but I do know about developing human potential. And on that note it's never too late to dive into anything new in your life.

NEVER!

First of all, 41 is not too old for anything!
Never to late to start, and it is easier than ever to learn how to code.

I've mentored several "Experienced & Wise" students as they begin the journey of learning how to code. I tend to have a mix of older (64 was the oldest so far) and younger students, and I am always struck by how thorough my older students are when it comes to documenting and understanding what they are learning, and how it fits in with what they already know.

As you are learning to code, it is great to have a few apps that are just for playing around and tweaking, often referred to as a "Breakable Toy". Something you can mess with, break it, and learn by putting it back together. It is also easier to get help on these kinds of apps, because you aren't worried someone is going to steal your secret idea. They are a perfect playground.

When it comes to building a real app that you are passionate about, it is worth considering if your goal is to do the coding, or to just be the owner of the app, and outsource some parts of the development/design, etc.

Most of my students fall into just those 2 camps:
1. Developer: they want to become a developer (either working for someone else, or working on their own apps), and they are interested in investing in their tech education (books, courses, trial & error, etc).

2. Business Owner (with Tech skills): they want to build a business around an app (they may do some of the initial coding, but their main passion is seeing the thing launch, so they might outsource some tasks get them done faster/better).

This Tech/Biz student, sometimes cited as "Become your own technical co-founder" expands their technical skills enough to get their idea off the ground, prove out the market, get customers, build a team, seek funding, etc. Their goal is to launch a business, and they get the technical skills to help accelerate the progress, but being a developer is not their end goal.

There's nothing that says you can't switch from one goal to the other (especially once you get into it a little more), but if you already have a strong feeling, it might help you focus how you invest in your education.

Which kind of conference would you rather attend? One that focuses on development and programming techniques, or one that focuses on business, marketing, launching a startup, etc?

Look in to local groups, dev bootcamps, online groups, etc. and figure out what type of coding you want to do, and where you might get the support you need.

On the business side, the "Lean Startup" tools are designed to help you validate your business concept, tackle risks head on, engage with potential customers, and keep you focused on building something the market will really respond to. (the most common reason business fail is "Lack of Customer engagement" - aka "No one cared")

Best of luck to you!!
-John McCaffrey

I got laid off from my European IT Manager job on my 42nd birthday in 2001 - although it was tough for a while I've never looked back and now wouldn't have things any other way.

So I agree with the others who say - it's never too late to start!

Hey, Jerome

You're never to late to execute ideas. I recommend you to visit http://www.AbbacusTechnologies.Com to design and develop you app.

Good Luck!!