Best way to fund my app for a startup? The programming phase is a lot of money.

SaaS and app devs tend to rush out and start blowing money on their idea before doing a critical thing:

Identifying target customers and getting buy-in BEFORE beginning development!

I have sold apps before programming was begun. I had a group of customers who had paid us to do the work before we started. And this is the right way to do it.

The idea that you're going to develop some software because YOU like the idea, and then go out and find a market for it once it's ready, is nothing other than gambling. You don't have to gamble. Find the customers first. And if you can't find the customers first, move on to the next idea.

Apps typically fall into one of two categories in my experience - an app to support an existing business, or an app that IS the business - but the path to success for both are similar. In both cases you are creating an app to fill a perceived need, and the steps you should be going through are the same as you would with any new business. Too often I see entrepreneurs rush headlong into building the product - a step thats a ways down the road from the idea stage. Be sure you've properly defined your business model - what problem are you solving, who will use it, who are your competitors, how will you sell / distribute it etc - that's a long discussion in itself, but be sure you've passed through that stage before you begin thinking about how to actually build the product.

These days, there is a lot we can do with design before we have to actually write any code. Products like Invision allow us to create screen based design prototypes that we can show customers, get feedback on, iterate on, etc. You don't have to be an engineer to use these design tools, and if you do need to hire a designer for some help, they are a lot less expensive than experienced mobile coders.

My advice is to be sure you've covered you business basics first, mocked up your product without any coding, received some great feedback from real users, and only then set out to code your product.

If you are ready to code, your best bet in my experience is to find a technical co-founder that shares your vision and will partner with you in the enterprise to create the first working version of the app. Hiring a fee for service person or firm is of course an option - the challenge with that is they will build exactly what you tell them to build, without the creative and business input that a technical co-founder will bring to the table. It's not always easy to find that person, and it does come with risks of course. Raising money on KS for an app is tough - what can you offer the funder? It depends of course on the nature of the app you are building, but KS is a stretch to fund apps in my opinion. I'm not familiar with Zapporoo so I can not comment on their services.

I hope that helps and would be glad to have a short call with you to answer your questions.

Best success,

Ward