I really think you would be better to get the bare minimum product out the door, so you are not burning money while you are in product development. It takes ded

I really think you would be better to get the bare minimum product out the door, so you are not burning money while you are in product development. It takes dedication and a lot of nights and weekends, but it really is the best course of action to give yourself the best chances of success, with the funds that you have available. This way you can dedicate the 18k to marketing once the product is completed. Contrary to the dream stories of everything going just right, not many products go grass roots or viral or whatever we are calling it these days. Many of them require good old fashion marketing to get the word out. 18k still does not give you a whole lot of runway especially if you have rent, electricity, food and the other life necessities. Postpone spending cash as long as possible and when you do make sure that that cash is going into something that will convert back into revenue. If you don't understand marketing, start learning about it now. Buy some books read some blogs of industry leaders. You will have to become an effective marketer if you want your product to succeed. Contrary to popular belief even some great products don't sell themselves and require good marketing.