Cost of Developing an App

magic_murph

I have been working on a business / mobile app idea for the past while and feel now is a good time to really push forward, having moved away from the original concept to a more refined less cluttered idea.

Without the initial funding I am thinking of getting something built that would be good enough to demo stage – something that I can show investors, pit to accelerator programs etc. Something that will show the core functionality and appeal / usability of the app.
As supporting material I could show wireframes etc that document the additional features that will be rolled out as funding becomes available and a user base has been established.

With that very vague notion am I best to partner up with an App design company, get talking to some whiz kid dev student and pay him in beer…
I don’t have a Dev background so cant really start this on my own.

Has anybody been in a similar position – if so how did you approach the problem?

The Corinthian

magic_murph wrote: »

Without the initial funding I am thinking of getting something built that would be good enough to demo stage – something that I can show investors, pit to accelerator programs etc. Something that will show the core functionality and appeal / usability of the app.

You don't actually need an app for your demo (depending on what your app will actually do). A mobile optimized, even static, Web site made to look like an app is all you need at this early stage.

As supporting material I could show wireframes etc that document the additional features that will be rolled out as funding becomes available and a user base has been established.

A business plan is more important. You've already shown your demo, after all, beyond that a fact-sheet and/or quick PP presentation on how the features and tech will evolve is all you need.

Market data and projections, cost estimates and, importantly, revenue stream data is what you want to show. You're selling a business, not an app, after all - if you were to invest in something, what's the bottom line? The features or that it'll make money? The former may bring about the latter, but the latter is still the bottom line.

With that very vague notion am I best to partner up with an App design company, get talking to some whiz kid dev student and pay him in beer…

Wrong attitude. If someone is willing to give up hundreds of hours of their time, then either they want to be compensated or their time isn't worth very much. Bottom line is that if you want someone to do this and not get paid, you need to sell to them the idea and that they will make a lot more money down the line if they forgo payment in the short term. Onus is on you to sell that.

Or you can put your money where your mouth is. Doing everything for free or for a shoestring budget is fine for a lemonade stand, but if you're unwilling to do what is necessary, then you're best off going back to the pub and come up with another 'idea' that you'll never implement.

Has anybody been in a similar position – if so how did you approach the problem?

You're selling an investment proposition, not an app.

Kavrocks

Here we go again...

magic_murph

Good points - thanks

Kavrocks - was there a point to your post?

magic_murph

Quote:
Originally Posted by magic_murph
Without the initial funding I am thinking of getting something built that would be good enough to demo stage – something that I can show investors, pit to accelerator programs etc. Something that will show the core functionality and appeal / usability of the app.
You don't actually need an app for your demo (depending on what your app will actually do). A mobile optimized, even static, Web site made to look like an app is all you need at this early stage.

- Good point and this is something I can do with a wireframe tool – insert template data to allow users to ‘click through’ the various pages to get an understanding as to how things will flow.

Quote:
As supporting material I could show wireframes etc that document the additional features that will be rolled out as funding becomes available and a user base has been established.
A business plan is more important. You've already shown your demo, after all, beyond that a fact-sheet and/or quick PP presentation on how the features and tech will evolve is all you need.

Market data and projections, cost estimates and, importantly, revenue stream data is what you want to show. You're selling a business, not an app, after all - if you were to invest in something, what's the bottom line? The features or that it'll make money? The former may bring about the latter, but the latter is still the bottom line.

- I have a good % of this already covered – something I was working on while trying to finalise the features and functionality. More work definitely required.
Quote:
With that very vague notion am I best to partner up with an App design company, get talking to some whiz kid dev student and pay him in beer…
Wrong attitude. If someone is willing to give up hundreds of hours of their time, then either they want to be compensated or their time isn't worth very much. Bottom line is that if you want someone to do this and not get paid, you need to sell to them the idea and that they will make a lot more money down the line if they forgo payment in the short term. Onus is on you to sell that.

- Totally agree, I wasn’t expecting to pay somebody for hard work in a couple of cans, flippant comment on my behalf. I was more thinking is it worth getting a rough draft developed for a couple of hundred euro but as mentioned above focusing on the business side of things is more important at this stage.

Graham

magic_murph wrote: »

Kavrocks - was there a point to your post?

I'm guessing:

Idea for an App 6,348 results
http://www.boards.ie/search/submit/?query=idea+for+an+app

Developing an app 6,714 results
http://www.boards.ie/search/submit/?query=developing+an+app

Cost of developing an app 27,543 results
http://www.boards.ie/search/submit/?query=cost+of+developing+an+app

Suffice to say, your approach isn't exactly original although in fairness you did miss some of the more common caveats:

I have no idea about programming or software development.
I have done no preparatory work/documentation/specification whatsoever other than what's in my head.
I can't discuss any additional detail about my app idea until you sign the NDA that I've lifted entirely from some random website complete with references to legal jurisdiction in the USA.

magic_murph

Fair Point.

The Corinthian

magic_murph wrote: »

Good point and this is something I can do with a wireframe tool – insert template data to allow users to ‘click through’ the various pages to get an understanding as to how things will flow.

Depends on the wireframe tool, but I'd imagine that most don't produce a finished demo that looks and behaves like an actual app. A mobile Web site can be made to do this and I've seen VC's wet themselves over this.

Totally agree, I wasn’t expecting to pay somebody for hard work in a couple of cans, flippant comment on my behalf. I was more thinking is it worth getting a rough draft developed for a couple of hundred euro but as mentioned above focusing on the business side of things is more important at this stage.

Still, your flippant comment will have switched off most developers who read it here (as we can already see). People with 'ideas' here a two a penny and 99% get nowhere because they are genuinely deluded in thinking that they can get everything done for two Mars bars and a beer and the strength of their idea alone will cause developers to be lining up to them.

As to it costing a few hundred, chances are it will only come to that, but the biggest factor will be the analysis and design of the demo. Unless you've gone through and pinned down your application flow and use cases, this could end up being a lengthy process, especially if you've yet to think this through (a lot of time and money is wasted on stuff that a stakeholder could have done in preparation to engaging a developer).

I'd suggest pick up a copy of Visio or Open Office Draw and do as much of this now, before you engage a developer.

Graham wrote: »

I have no idea about programming or software development.
I have done no preparatory work/documentation/specification whatsoever other than what's in my head.
I can't discuss any additional detail about my app idea until you sign the NDA that I've lifted entirely from some random website complete with references to legal jurisdiction in the USA.

In fairness, they say they've done some research and they've not said anything about NDA's and not everyone is able to write posts that would will Nobel prizes for literature.

While 99% of 'idea' merchants are a complete waste of bio-matter, I'm still naive enough to want to give people a chance - and, if it's clear that they're clueless morons, then I'll rip whatever self esteem they posses out of their chests and crush it underfoot...

Graham

magic_murph wrote: »

Fair Point.

Take a look at some of the mobile app prototyping tools. Many of them are drag and drop requiring limited technical skills to put together at least an outline/wireframe of your idea.

The process of wireframing your app will also force you to think through your idea fully with the added bonus you'll have something to show developers/investors/customers/friends/family. You should also find it (slightly) easier to convince people that you're taking your project seriously.

Axwell

The Corinthian wrote: »

Depends on the wireframe tool, but I'd imagine that most don't produce a finished demo that looks and behaves like an actual app. A mobile Web site can be made to do this and I've seen VC's wet themselves over this.

Look at something like Marvel or InVision - you can upload your app designs and assign interactions and hotspots which will allow you to have a representation of the app and show the flow between screens and how it would function.

Graham

+1 for Marvel

magic_murph

Quote:
Depends on the wireframe tool, but I'd imagine that most don't produce a finished demo that looks and behaves like an actual app. A mobile Web site can be made to do this and I've seen VC's wet themselves over this.

- I have actually the majority of the content / user flow draft – granted it’s in hand sketch form so just need to transfer that into a wireframe tool or mobile webpage. (Previously used a very limited wireframe tool that didn’t impress)

Quote:
Still, your flippant comment will have switched off most developers who read it here (as we can already see). People with 'ideas' here a two a penny and 99% get nowhere because they are genuinely deluded in thinking that they can get everything done for two Mars bars and a beer and the strength of their idea alone will cause developers to be lining up to them.



As to it costing a few hundred, chances are it will only come to that, but the biggest factor will be the analysis and design of the demo. Unless you've gone through and pinned down your application flow and use cases, this could end up being a lengthy process, especially if you've yet to think this through (a lot of time and money is wasted on stuff that a stakeholder could have done in preparation to engaging a developer).

- I have don’t lots of work on how the application should hang together, unique elements and functions that will keep an audience engaged and more importantly coming back. All the work I have done to date is in various notepad and sketch books so I now have the task of getting that into the digital world – where I know another re-work will be needed. Seeing something on paper is one thing but it’s a totally different feel actually using things so some design changes will 100% be needed.

I’ll check out the wireframe tools mentions below and see if I can get something up and running. Agree with the point that the exercise of wire framing the idea will help iron out unnecessary content

The Corinthian

magic_murph wrote: »

I have don’t lots of work on how the application should hang together, unique elements and functions that will keep an audience engaged and more importantly coming back.

Well do that first or you'll end up wasting a lot of your own money or someone else's time.