

Going from zero to web, iOS and Android for $2,300 - experimatt
https://omgtransit.com/blog/2014/06/04/the-omg-transit-story/

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mncolinlee
I organized the #HackForMN hackathon where Matt and this team built their
prototype. I literally went straight from running for state office in 2012
into planning a civic hackathon for 2013. For our local Code for America
brigade launched the same year, Open Twin Cities, it was our first annual
event in Minneapolis for the National Day of Civic Hacking.

When we started planning in February, we had no idea if anyone would show up.
We had over 75 participants despite practically no coverage.

Our events have grown dramatically and have been so successful that we're now
putting on 5-6 civic hackathons per year in the Twin Cities area. I now speak
at national conferences to try to grow the civic hacking movement and inspire
other cities.

We're really proud of OMGTransit and often invite Matt to speak about his
team's success.

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experimatt
Thanks again Colin! We wouldn't be where we are today without you, Bill, Steve
and Laura putting on such a fantastic event!

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davidedicillo
This is a great story and congrats for getting into the Intel accelerator!

Regarding the post, $2,300 is a bit misleading since you don't factor the
value of your time (assuming you consider your time worth something).

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experimatt
Good point David.

As a rough estimate, we've spent upwards of 3,000 hours collectively working
on OMG Transit.

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GFischer
Well, it's nice for them, but the article doesn't expand on the headline...
there's no cost breakdown other than

" \- We're a small team

\- We've been working on this over nights and weekends for the last year

\- We all have day jobs

\- We keep our costs low. We've spent only $2,300 over the course of the last
year"

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experimatt
Here's the breakdown:

-$500 in IT expenses, including server costs

-$800 in legal fees

-$500 in travel expenses

-$500 in marketing expenses (including t-shirts + events we hosted)

Hope that helps clarify!

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GFischer
Thank you :) . I think you should have chosen a better headline, but it's an
interesting story.

