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Approaching a Developer

BlackEdelweiss

I am an engineer and I have an idea for an app that I would like to develop. It is just at a basic level at the minute but it is something I think could have potential. I have no coding or development experience other than working in IT back in 2000 before the .com bubble burst. I work in the construction industry now but I have always missed the career I had to leave 19 years ago. I see the way the world is going and I would love to combine my engineering knowledge with the technology that is emerging. I have started a bit of study in IoT and have enrolled in a beginners Python course but I am a long way from being able to do anything myself.
I would love to talk to a software developer and see if there was anyway to join forces and see what we could do. I have no idea about what kind of software I would need but I know my field and could easily work with someone who knows their side.

I also dont know how to approach someone about the idea as I dont want to explain my plan and then they steal my idea. Has anyone any advice on how to go about this?

I know this probably sounds a bit crap (cant think of a word to describe it) but I'm at a point with my idea where I either move it forward with someones help or else I just forget about it.

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bpmurray

First, don't worry about someone stealing your idea - that's unlikely in the extreme. If your idea applies to your particular field, why on earth do you think a developer would know anything about it?

Next, software developers get literally hundreds of these "I have an idea ..." emails, so you had better have all your ducks in a row before jumping in. You need to understand what it is you want to achieve and, especially, why a developer would be interested in tagging along. Remember having the idea is around 5% or less of the project, so you need to bring much, much more to the table to persuade someone to join in. For example splitting equity 50-50 is unfair on the developer if all you're bringing is an idea. On the other hand, if you have a well thought-through idea, with a project plan, all the engineering mathematics and concepts in place (assuming it's an engineering solution), basically all the stuff you might be expected to, then you're in a better position.

Next is the business plan: when your application is built, you;re 50% of the way to making the idea work. So how do you see this making money? Who will buy it? How much will they pay?

So you can see, it's not quite that simple. However, don't be disheartened. If you can contribute as much to the project as the developer, you should have no problem finding someone, perhaps even here.

BlackEdelweiss

I realise my post sounds like everybody elses "I've got an idea" post/email and that is probably because it is, hence my awkward phrasing/wording. I know what it sounds like but there is no other way to get my words onto the screen without sounding like everyone else who had an idea.

With regards to the developer stealing my idea, I also realise how that sounds. I was more thinking about further down the line when I have explained the idea in full to someone appropriately skilled to develop the idea into something tangible. At that point they would potentially be in a better position to be able to carry the idea forward without me than I would be without them. Without explaining my idea in full I cant really get the point of the service across, but by doing that I give away my plans for world domination. Who knows, the developer I decide to tell all to could have a best friend who is an engineer and they could run off and do it together. This is all hypothetical by the way, I'm just putting this out as an example of my concerns. I dont think I have an idea for the ultimate app of all time that is going to change the world.

As for my input, the app will require an good understanding of this particular element of engineering and will have a lot of calculations etc to incorporate and deliver real time data. I have some level of skills in this field so my input would be 50:50 with the developer I think. I want it to be a child of both of us. For my commitment, I am up at 5am 5 mornings a week studying the IoT course, I have to allocate some time to the programming course as I am not getting as much of that done. I have bought an Arduino starter kit and I am working my way through that to get an understanding of electronics and devices etc.

I have ideas about the business plan and how to market the service, who to market it to. I have some software/device companies who our product will use to produce the final product. I just need a developer to help me get a product to a stage where one/some of these companies can be approached or potentially my new developer friend will know someone who could produce a similar service and we join forces and make a completely independent product.

I have a passion about my particular field and I am sure I could instill this in to someone in a way that I think we could make something we were both passionate about.

I have more research to do, maybe the idea is not a goer at all but maybe it is. I had a lot of ideas back in the late 90's about websites and I did not push them any further than doing up index pages on my pc. Some of them are million dollar industries now and I always felt I missed a big opportunity. I just dont want to feel that again.

bpmurray

I actually replied politely to you because you came across as sincere - I'm usually dismissive :-)

As I said don't worry about anyone stealing your idea. In fact, I would go further: shout about it from the rooftops, tell everyone, wax lyrical about it on Twitter, etc. You want as many people as possible wanting the product long becore it arrives. Nobody will steal your idea - of all the people I've spoken to about new and revolutionary ideas, I have never encountered a situation where the idea was stolen!

I guessed it would be a bunch of engineering ideas - that's why I mentioned the calculations. That actually means that you need to be very specific, very complete in your definition of what needs to be done. The solution will be written by someone who can program but is extremely unlikely to have an appreciation for the nuances of engineering maths. As for sales and marketing, that's something you will have to do continuously on the various social platforms and on engineering web sites and in places where engineers congregate.

So in a nutshell what you want is: a partner who can program, and translate your engineering specifications into an application (that can run on which platforms - Android, iOS, MacOS, Windows, Linux, other?).

BlackEdelweiss

My response was also meant to be polite, I hope it did not come across otherwise.

Your nutshell summary sums it up perfectly, I need a partner who can program / translate my engineering specifications into an application. It would need to work across the spectrum of mobile phones only. PC, laptop, macbook etc would not be applicable. There is an existing technology that the application would need to be able to work with.

I would love to shout about it from the rooftops but I would like to get at least an alpha stage product before doing that. Or at least something working towards that.

Mr. CooL ICE

Regardless of what you end up doing, you could do far worse than to try to break down the functionality of your app idea into a process flowchart. The more detailed, the better. Coming from an engineering background, this might seem like a given, but as you're new to software development, this will a) help you see any potential flaws in your idea and b) better articulate your idea to any future developer you work with.

You description thus far is a bit vague (albeit, understandably), so my advice might be irrelevant.

I started working in development 30 years ago and my first job was working for someone like you. He had a construction management business and had ideas for computerising some of the tasks of that business.
We developed a range of software over a few years and brought it to a point where it could be sold as a package. The hard part was making money out of it.
We were able to finance most of the development by offering the software as a service operated by us but we never achieved the volume sales that would have rewarded the investment and work that went into it.
You need to find someone who will share your dream and work for nothing or else have very deep pockets to pay someone to build it for you and hope to recover the cost through sales.

beauf

You can simply pay a software company to develop it for you. I suspect though you (like every other person with a good idea) wants it done for free. With a reward in the form of equity.

Whereas you should just pay the developer. Equity is something you should decide later. There are good and bad developers. You won't know which you have until after you've worked with them a while.

Even you have made something amazing. People, especially builders, are very reluctant to change. I've often built software that saves people hours of work and most people won't use it. Takes a very long time for them to accept it.

... And I've never tried to sell such a product, when I've been doing it it's within the same company and its free.

Jim2007

BlackEdelweiss wrote: »

With regards to the developer stealing my idea, I also realise how that sounds. I was more thinking about further down the line when I have explained the idea in full to someone appropriately skilled to develop the idea into something tangible. At that point they would potentially be in a better position to be able to carry the idea forward without me than I would be without them.

That is the commercial reality facing any idea. And while you have identified the developer as a potential risk, it is not the only one. There will be testers, journalists etc as well if you want to generate interest in your product. And once released there will be competitors waiting to do a me too product and so on.

And of course you can be sure that you are not the only one with the idea, there are probably another 10+ people working on more or less the same idea. It could just as well happen that after putting all the work in, someone else comes a long and releases as similar product before you're ready and blasts you out of the water...

And there is also the risk that if you do nothing you will always wonder what if...

BrokenArrows

db wrote: »

You need to find someone who will share your dream and work for nothing or else have very deep pockets to pay someone to build it for you and hope to recover the cost through sales.

This.

But you will find neither if you are afraid to explain in detail what your idea is.

How do you expect a developer to want to work with you for free if they dont know what they're getting themselves into.

And even if you decide to pay a developer you still need to explain in detail the idea so they know how to develop it or how much to charge for development.

CalamariFritti

What everyone else said.

An idea is unlikely to be that revolutionary and obviously brilliant that someone else can just run off with it and make a fortune or achieve world domination. It would have to be at a scale of 'I found a new type of wheel that isn't round but saves 50% fuel.'. Not saying your idea isn't as good as that, but it's unlikely.

Most ideas are in our area of expertise. We find that process XYZ would be cooler if we combined it with ABC and use an app to do it. There should be a market for this because I know my industry has 500 firms worldwide and they all spend a fortune on XYZ every year.
Such ideas - and that's just me thinking out loud, I am no entrepreneur myself whatsoever - if they do work out, will still require a lot of commitment and hard work and risk taking. At the very least the risk of putting a lot of work (and possibly money) into it for nothing.

No one will come along for the ride unless they have the full picture and even at that they will probably need to have experience in your industry too to appreciate whether its a good idea or not and they're willing to take that risk.

For what its worth I'd be willing to listen to an outline and you'd have my word I wouldn't tell anyone. I mean you could even ask people to sign NDAs or so.

Ludo

You could always get in touch with somewhere like this: https://www.nimbus.cit.ie/nimbus-gateway/

They help people with ideas with things like advice, initial prototypes, etc, etc.

If you are serious about it, then it is worth investigating.

14ned

As I've said many times on here and many times elsewhere, ideas are cheap, execution is hard. Thousands of people came up with the idea for Facebook, but only one took it far enough to become a global multinational. The same applies to almost every single instance of success, everything from McDonalds (the McDonald brothers invented the fast food process, a travelling salesman did everything else, which is 95% of what created McDonalds we see today) through to 3D printing.

Whatever your idea is it won't be unique, and plenty of people will have thought of it before. What you really need to build, maintain, and protect is the excellence of execution necessary to turn ideas into success. That equals not protecting the idea. If anything, spread around the idea as widely as possible, and try to rope in the resources needed to make the idea into a viable business.

Like Bobby Kerr with Insomnia coffee. Literally not a novel idea in any interpretation, the only slight novelty was the idea that inflation-savaged, broke, Ireland was ready for vastly overpriced coffee. But he broke away from Bewleys, took tons of risk, worked hard, and it panned out for him.

For many more they do everything right and still fail. But then that's business, you take risk, work hard, and maybe it pans out for you. Whatever else, you need people to help you make any business. Getting them, and retaining the good ones, is the really hard part.

Niall

Trojan

One option for funding is to apply for an Innovation Voucher. You can take that to one of the universities or ITs and get someone to build a working prototype for you. It can also be used for feasibility studies & other research - have a look for "Innovation Voucher" to learn more. You need to apply within certain time windows, and you need to cover the VAT portion, but it can be a major help.

.......

Interesting.

A friend of my husbands had an idea for an app a few years ago and basically asked us to help him make it a reality - for free. We politely declined.

Himself and another 2 guys went ahead and invested and did development work and tried to market it etc..

It went nowhere. The biggest area of failure was lack of market research and a refusal to accept the results of the market research (among friends etc) that they did carry out. There was a fundamental flaw that was pointed out by several people but they just didnt believe it.

No one was interested in it. It was the type of thing that would only be successful if it was huge - like Tinder or Facebook. It didnt really have a small scale application.

If this post imparts anything it is - what problem are you trying to solve or what feature are you bringing to the market that people will actually want to use?

Because if you cant sell it - its no use.

14ned

....... wrote: »

It went nowhere. The biggest area of failure was lack of market research

Literally that right there is the number one killer of startups making a new product or service. People think that if you build it, they will come. They never do, unless you can severely undercut rivals on price, and occasionally severely improve on service, and mount a constant and unrelenting networking and sales campaign.

The startup I'm currently working for is a good example. They offer a similar service to Bloomberg, but at a fraction of the price, and with reduced service (i.e. customers are those who don't need all of what Bloomberg offers, and don't want to pay Bloomberg's fees). It's been doubling revenues every year for eight years now with no end to growth in sight mainly because Bloomberg have no incentive to charge less for the technology stack they've spent billions on building out. Starting down that road would lead nowhere good for them.

But even then, and with extensive existing networks and contacts throughout Wall Street, it's an uphill slog landing new customers, despite ample market demand. People always see changing suppliers as risky. It's always safer to do nothing. Reducing operating costs rarely gets you a promotion. And nobody got fired for choosing Bloomberg.

Niall