Picture the scene… it's 2012. Your nights are spent watching Gossip girl and you’re blaring “Somebody that you used to know” by Goyte at any opportunity. Miley & Liam are still in love. The world is good. And I, overly plucked eyebrows and all, decide to build my first app.
Lets just say, the first “app” I built (actually not an app, its a mobile first website called ‘Wink Central’ that manages our over 650+ WINK models & all their jobs) was a baptism of fire. A very expensive, very painful, lesson in what not to do. So, let's think of this article as the silver lining to that experience. Here’s what I know now, but wish I knew then...
Know what you dont know
Non technical founder? Same. And thats OK - you can still build a kick ass app or technical business. But you need to not be afraid to ask for help, and you need to upskill yourself as much as possible so you can understand some of the jargon along the way.
My best advice here is to get a great mentor, do lots of courses (Tech Ready Women, General Assembly etc), read as much as you can (there is a plethora of free content online), and dont ‘bluff’ your way through it - if you dont know what someone is talking about, then dont be afraid to say so. A mentor of mine said “Any tech person, whether its a developer, supplier, product manager or consultant, worth their salt will be able to explain to you what they are talking about in a way you understand so you can make the right decisions”. They’re the people to find and work with.
Validate your idea
I wrote a really ranty blog about people who ask you to sign NDAs. I’m all about asking for input, advice, sharing my ideas to validate them.
Would you use this? Is this a pain point, really? What features have I not thought of that you need? Would you pay for this app? What would success look like if we could deliver it for you?
What's going to make the cut in the MVP?
This is the hard part. Or one of the many hard parts now that I think about it!
You have to be brutally honest with yourself about what goes in the MVP. What do people really, truly, need for you to see if your product is viable. Not all the fancy trimmings. Someone once told me ‘If you’re not embarrassed by your MVP you waited too long to launch” which is so true.
Make a list of the features you need (not want, need) and have a robust debate with your advisors and mentors until you have whittled it down. This gives you something you can get a designer to start turning into wireframes. A good way to decide what goes into the MVP, and get an external opinion, is to run a UX Discovery workshop with your design team. Over the workshop, you’ll start mapping features in order of feasibility against the impact that they’ll have in the final product.
Find the right people for the job
Hiring developers, or finding the right agency to build your app, can be overwhelming if you're not a technical founder. I remember thinking how the f*ck can I validate if they are any good when I cant understand code?!
Well, instead of focusing on what you don't understand, focus on what you do. Are they easy to communicate with? Do they understand your vision? Have they got good references? Have they worked on a similar project before (marketplace, SaaS product etc)? Will they be a good cultural fit? Are they within budget? Can you speak to other clients they have worked with to get a gauge of their experience? What reviews can you find online about them?
You can then ask an advisor, mentor or someone you trust to check their coding ability. I always recommend asking them to complete a test (if hiring in house) or having someone review another project code (if an agency). I’ve linked a few suppliers I have worked with and can highly recommend at the end of this article.
Try not to change the scope
This is where I hear so many horror stories of peoples' builds blowing out by a year, or ending up costing double what they were quoted. It usually comes down to scope creep. You might think adding a small button here, changing a layout there, might not be a ‘big deal’ but sometimes in fact they are, and also lots of small changes will push your whole project timeframe back. If you need to add, or change something after the MVP is agreed, ask “How long is this change/feature addition going to take, and what implications will that have to our budget and delivery timeframe?” you can then make an informed decision as to whether or not its worth it. Don't forget, an app is never “done” - you will be constantly iterating after launch. So decide if this is business critical or not for launch.
As promised, a few of my favourite experts in their fields:
Design: Vool.Studio
CFO (to help with financial model to see if the idea will make money): Vital Addition
Graphic Design: Lulu Balbi-Atkinson
I hope this makes your journey to building your first tech product more enjoyable than my first experience, and sets you up for creating an viable MVP that makes you cringe (but in a good way…).
