Loading...
Answers
MenuI don't know how to code, but I have some ideas for a new product. How can i proceed?
This question has no further details.
Answers
I would not try and code these ideas yourself. You may be able to find a developer that would work with you if they believe in the ideas, but that means you have to give up equity, and run the risk that they are not as passionate about the concepts as yourself. I would suggest you start reaching out to smaller development firms with your concepts and meet with people in the industry to bounce both the concepts and the approach off of. You will more than likely have to find some initial funding or partnership arrangement that can get you to a MVP, (Minimal Viable Product) that you can then start promoting and marketing to build some cashflow, or further investor interest, depending on the concepts and direction you wish to grow.
Hello! I am not sure about free certifications. But I have learned a few things through here: http://howilearnedtocode.instapage.com/
They provide you with an actual certificate that has a record number and can be used for professional employment references (many take them for that) I took iOS Swift and Python. Great courses!
If is web based or app this is probably a great choice because you will spend up to 30 days learning the basics, but enough for example to build an Instagram app like for iOS... or learn other programming languages in a month. When I first developed my first app, I looked for an affordable team to join or hire. It took me about 4 months to find one that was good enough and had to hire (great programmers know they are in demand) and then another 4 months or so to develop. Now, that I know how to code, I know that those 8 months or so could have been better used me learning than paying someone, also the development doesn't have to take so long - but most charge by the hour.
a) learn to code, and try making it all yourself. May well take like 1-3 years and more
b) find someone who can *make* software (coding is maybe half of it, maybe less), and wants to participate, and u trust hir, and u can cooperate well.. so - team up and share the project
c) pay someone to do it, person or company. Again needs trust
choose.. Most fun is probably b), but YMMV
ciao
svilen
I wont advise to learn coding, as it is not your passion and thus is a waste of time. Two ways are left.
1. Engage a company who will code it for you. The challenge is to freeze the scope which is difficult. The best way is to engage developers from them and then give them work. Either way you need to have money to pay them. Have a contract in place which will protect your IP. When you pay them to work for you, all the code and IP will belong to you.
2. Find a company who is willing to be a technology partner and who will develop the product while you market it. Difficult but doable.
3. Get a co-founder who can code.
All the best.
Flt.Lt. Sridhar
I would say I need more information to give you good advice. It really depends on what your MVP is going to be technology wise. If it is simply a peer to peer marketplace, there are companies like near-me.com that you can plug and play and don't need any coding background. Also, there are new companies popping up like PageCloud.com whereby you can spin up a quick MVP by using their patented drag and drop technology. (Won't be available for a couple months though) Lastly, you can always use the Upwork avenue where you input your idea as a proposal and people can bid on the project. My personal opinion is do as little engineering work until you have validated the idea first.
Good luck~
Related Questions
-
How can a small offshore development company find companies/software sales people to sell their service in the US/UK?
My company does a lot of consulting with offshore firms who are looking for a way to generate new business, so I hear this question a lot. My first reaction is that you need to totally reverse your mindset when you talk about your own company. You mentioned that you have: a great software developers team, proven track record, passion, real value But, everyone says that. There a 10,000 companies that have those things, so a customer isn't going to notice it. You need to figure out what your company is best at (doesn't have to be technical) and present it as a solution to a specific problem that clients have. Maybe a speciality, or really good project management, really good communications, a special expertise or experience, a personality, experience with a certain type of client.. really anything.. But, there must be some thing that makes your company 'special' otherwise you will be lost in the mix. Don't worry about things like rates, or the fact that you have 'great' developers. Those are generic. Think about why a client would really choose you, and try to build on that! After you understand your company identity, it gets much easier to identify and engage marketing channels because you understand your target.DH
-
How do we get our clients to give us a personal introduction to other people who are capable of becoming clients?
The one word answer is: ask! Make it a process to systematically ask every client for referrals. Referrals from happy customers are indeed one of the best ways to generate new business. When and how to ask is a matter of taste and practice. Let me give you two examples which apply to B2B. 1. Ask as soon as your prospect has made his buying decision. From Steli Efti, Startup Sales Guide - www.startupsalesguide.com "When a prospect has already made a buying decision, say: Great, but I can’t let you buy just yet. Right now, we are a startup. This means we focus all our energy, time and resources on delivering as much value as we can to our customers. We don’t have a big marketing budget. If you are happy with our product, please recommend us to others who you think might benefit from our solution as well.” 2. Ask when you are about 2/3 of a project, or when you have significantly progressed in the relationship with your buyer. Here is some great material by Alan Weiss: - Asking For Referrals: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXJXukZB94s - How to maximize a referral: http://www.contrarianconsulting.com/how-to-maximize-a-referral/ Hope that helps. Put it into practice this week and let us know how it goes!NB
-
What is the best way to capture and track referrals directed from a landing page?
There are a few ways to track things automatically, but they get complicated: - referral program software - Give your referrers special URL's with parameters that identify them as the referrer (like http://url.com/?referrer=JohnDoe), then push that value into a hidden form field - Create a separate landing page for each referrer I'd keep things much simpler to start. Just tell your social club that there's a referral program in place, then add a form field on your signup process asking who referred the new customer. If John Doe knows that there's a program in place, when he refers someone, he's likely to tell them "make sure you say I referred you". When the new customer joins, they'll likely remember to enter "John Doe" as the referrer. It's not bullet proof, but it's an easy way to start.CD
-
Can a C Corp be the owner of and fund several LLC's? Can these LLC's have the same paid Directors?
Yes! But is very tricky. I have a C Corp own two LLCs. You should have separate board of directors in the C Corp that are not owners in the LLCs. Pay through bonuses rather than salaries and aggregate expenses of the LLCs as op. expenses as SBUs of the corp. The reasons for having a C own LLCs can vary, my reasons were that it allows me to join or create new ventures without having to formalize them with dedicated teams, just cycle my team to different efforts while seperatig expenses, not reporting publicly what is being worked on, and if the product takes off the formation is already there to grow the product into a division or umbrella product of my main company. LLCs are easy to form, while C corps are not... One example would be having a conglomerate of investors under a c corp and have advisors and creating an LLc for each new rental construction development project completed. Each is his own, if something goes wrong the LLC covers the C entity- this protecting its investor members. Best of luck! Humberto Valle #unthinkHV
-
What is the best method for presenting minimum viable products to potential customers?
Whoa, start by reading the Lean book again; you're questions suggest you are making a classical mistake made by too many entrepreneurs who live and breath Lean Startup. An MVP is not the least you can show someone to evaluate whether or not building it is a good idea; an MVP is, by it's very definition, the Minimum Viable Product - not less than that. What is the minimum viable version of a professional collaboration network in which users create a professional profile visible to others? A website on which users can register, have a profile, and in some way collaborate with others: via QA, chat, content, etc. No? A minimum viable product is used not to validate if something is a good idea but that you can make it work; that you can acquire users through the means you think viable, you can monetize the business, and that you can learn from the users' experience and optimize that experience by improving the MVP. Now, that doesn't mean you just go build your MVP. I get the point of your question, but we should distinguish where you're at in the business and if you're ready for an MVP or you need to have more conversations with potential users. Worth noting, MOST entrepreneurs are ready to go right to an MVP. It's a bit of a misleading convention to think that entrepreneurs don't have a clue about the industry in which they work and what customers want; that is to say, you shouldn't be an entrepreneur trying to create this professional collaboration network if you don't know the market, have done some homework, talked to peers and friends, have some experience, etc. and already know that people DO want such a thing. Presuming you've done that, what would you present to potential users BEFORE actually building the MVP? For what do you need nothing more than some slides? It's not a trick question, you should show potential users slides and validate that what you intend to build is the best it can be. I call it "coffee shop testing" - build a slide of the homepage and the main screen used by registered users; sit in a coffee shop, and buy coffee for anyone who will give you 15 minutes. Show them the two slides and listen; don't explain, ONLY ask.... - For what is this a website? - Would you sign up for it? Why? - Would you tell your friends? Why? - What would you pay for it? Don't explain ANYTHING. If you have to explain something, verbally, you aren't ready to build your MVP - potential customers don't get it. Keep working with that slide alone until you get enough people who say they will sign up and know, roughly, what people will pay. THEN build your MVP and introduce it first to friends, family, peers, etc. to get your earliest adopters. At some point you're going to explore investors. There is no "ready" as the reaction from investors will entirely depend on who you're talking to, why, how much you need, etc. If you want to talk to investors with only the slides as you need capital to build the MVP, your investors are going to be banks, grants, crowdfunding, incubators, and MAYBE angels (banks are investors?! of course they are, don't think that startups only get money from people with cash to give you for equity). Know that it's VERY hard to raise money at this stage; why would I invest in your idea when all you've done is validate that people probably want it - you haven't built anything. A bank will give you a loan to do that, not many investors will take the risk. Still, know not that your MVP is "ready" but that at THAT stage, you have certain sources of capital with which you could have a conversation. When you build the MVP, those choices change. Now that you have something, don't talk to a bank, but a grant might still be viable. Certainly: angels, crowdfunding, accelerators, and maybe even VCs become interested. The extent to which they are depends on the traction you have relative to THEIR expectations - VCs are likely to want some significant adoption or revenue whereas Angels should be excited for your early adoption and validation and interested in helping you scale.PO
the startups.com platform
Copyright © 2025 Startups.com. All rights reserved.