

I Have an Idea for a Killer App, but Where Do I Start? - bendog24
http://blog.teamtreehouse.com/i-have-an-idea-for-a-killer-app-but-where-do-i-start

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jcfrei
you forgot the most important step: be realistic! programming that app is
gonna take months away from your spare time (if you really are starting from
scratch) and your chances of actually producing a killer app are marginal. you
gotta be aware that there are countless hours of unpaid work ahead of you, for
which the revenue of your app is not going to account for.

I don't wanna sound like a disgruntled developer (I really am not), but it's
important to know that most likely your expectations on this app are heavily
biased - especially when you lack developer skills. when you decide to enter
the app business, you have to be aware that you are competing in what is
probably one of the most competitive markets in the world, with very smart
people from all over the world trying to monetize their apps. if this doesn't
curb your enthusiasm then have a go at it - godspeed!

~~~
zmitri
You are right on. 3 months for me to go from no ObjC experience to app store,
another 5 months to get to 50K users, still no revenue, still no "seed" round.
You need to be in it because it's what you really want to do.

~~~
bendog24
Your own desire (financial or otherwise) is absolutely key. It's an extremely
competitive landscape, but the barrier to entry is low compared to other
industries. You can do quite a lot on your own with an investment of mostly
time and energy.

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thebenedict
I'm all for people learning to program so they can build something they're
excited about, but this seems disingenuous. For most people it'll take months
or more to go from zero coding experience to building an MVP of their 'killer
app' idea. Posts like this make it sound like it's just working through a
checklist.

If someone's not excited about the actual process of learning to code,
a)they'll probably get discouraged quickly and b)there's probably a more
efficient way for them to get a prototype of their app than learning to code
from scratch.

~~~
bendog24
I can't disagree with your points, but if someone is motivated and wants to
learn, getting started can be overwhelming, especially if you don't have any
programming experience. This post is intended to help guide people at the very
beginning of their learning, though it's totally valid to point out that it's
a journey, not a quick fix.

At Treehouse our mission is to make software development approachable to all,
and our courses are designed to teach people from the ground up. Of course it
will be harder for people who have never written a line of code, but with
desire, determination, and the help of the supportive community we're building
then hopefully they can accomplish their goals more efficiently and cost-
effectively than before.

For further reading about teaching a beginner to code, check out this article:
[http://cacm.acm.org/blogs/blog-cacm/156836-teaching-
programm...](http://cacm.acm.org/blogs/blog-cacm/156836-teaching-programming-
to-a-highly-motivated-beginner/fulltext)

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digitalengineer
I donno but I think this is Question one: Does something like this exist
already and are people actually paying to use it? (Unless of course you're
selling a (great looking) service for all the other questions).

~~~
bendog24
Sometimes your "killer" idea might be selfish or for a really small niche,
too. It may not be a successful business venture, but it could be the killer
app for you, friends and family, or specific types of users. For example, in
another blog post of mind somebody older commented on his desire to have an
app that simply uses the camera to automatically enlarge what he's looking at
to help him read. And if you're interested in learning or building things then
perhaps working on your own personal project will be super rewarding.

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mootothemax
Start _doing something_ is definitely the most important step, but unless you
know whether a) the idea will make money and b) how you're going to market it,
chances are your effort will be wasted.

Part of me thinks that the ideal is if you have any idea in an already busy
market. That way you know that the core idea makes money, and you can pick up
marketing ideas for your future competitors.

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lylemckeany
I'm a huge advocate for the Lean Startup approach, which is more often than
not the best approach for deciding whether or not to develop a mobile
application. That being said, I think it's a bit of a stretch to expect a blog
from a company that provides training for learning coding to write about the
customer development process.

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zmitri
For anyone who actually wants to build an app -- This guide is very long
winded. For iOS, the easiest way is to download xCode and try to build it.

I would suggest Aaron Hillegass' Big Nerd Ranch Guides for ObjC and iOS
programming. I read those books over a few days to get started and felt as
though they provided a great foundation for all ObjC things to come. Stack
Overflow fills in the blanks.

You don't have to take my advice, but it's been 8 months since I started
"building my killer app", it's been out in the app store for almost 5 months,
and since then we've been featured by Apple, and have over 50K users. Just
plan to start what you've finished and you'll force yourself into having a
killer app.

~~~
bendog24
I love the Big Nerd Ranch! That's definitely a great way to learn, but if you
want more than just a book to work from, that's where Treehouse is here to
help (Big Nerd Ranch has AWESOME bootcamps, too). It's so exciting to have so
many great resources available cheaply or freely.

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beering
I saw somebody paste an image of an iPhone into a PowerPoint slide, and draw
all the screen elements using copy and paste or the PowerPoint drawing tools.

He used inter-slide hyperlinks to link all the screens together and some
simple transitions, and the end result was just like running a real app on the
simulator to the untrained eye.

I suppose the next step is to just find some foreign devs to actually build
the thing.

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Irregardless
Step 1: Get the tools you need

Step 2: Buy a subscription to our tutorials

Got it.

