

Ask HN: How to develop an app with no money or skills? - KG1

If someone has an idea for a mobile app and wants to develop it without any funds or developmental skills how would you recommend going about it while protecting your idea?
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USNetizen
I tend to agree with most of the other commenters - don't fall into the "I
need a technical person because I can't do it myself" mantra. Build something,
anything, to get off the ground. Learn as much as you can, by yourself. This
will also help you manage and monitor technical work later on and woo
technical co-founders potentially (who rarely like to work with non-techie
types).

Like others have said, ideas are a dime a dozen. Execution is what matters.
Most apps nowadays can be (rudimentarily) recreated over a weekend - it's
likely that almost nothing you are doing is so revolutionary that is should be
considered a state secret. If you are THAT worried, it could be a sign of
insecurity in your ability to execute on the idea, not the threat of losing
the idea itself to someone else. Keep that in mind.

Think of it this way, the Twitter technology itself was not exactly
revolutionary and there were literally thousands of copycats after it
launched, but their execution is what set them apart and helped them gain the
traction they needed.

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zer00eyz
No one works for free

If you don't have the skills get them... its the fastest course, and it shows
your serious.

Bad and working is worth a lot more than an idea on paper.

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jlgaddis
You don't.

Ideas are a dime a dozen. If you think you're going to find someone to build
an application/product for you for free, you might reconsider your idea
because I'd say you already aren't thinking clearly.

As zer00eyz said, if you don't have the skills, get them.

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lucasjcm
It's quite simple, really. I used to be like yourself, but then I read the
famous How to Win Friends and Influence People. Dale Carnegie wrote it in the
1930s, which explains the weird title, but don't shy away from it because of
that. It's actually very enlightening!

~~~
KG1
will def read

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KG1
I dont expect to work for Free but maybe offer equity in the idea

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zer00eyz
Look as a nerd I hear "ill give you 1/2 if you build it"... we talk about
their idea, then I say... Well the first step is for you to go put that on
paper. Go build wireframes, put together a business plan (high level) look at
the competitive landscape. Wire frame are easy and if you bring me a stack of
bar napikins with doodles I will help you put them into something more formal.

I have never seen a wire frame, or a bar napkin, or a business plan or any
sort of competitive analysis come back from one of these proposals.

Lets flip this on its head. I have an idea, and I'm doing all the coding/dev
work. What are YOU going to do to add value to that endeavor? How much would
that work be worth as a percentage?

