10 ms·

Tell HN: I will design and build your MVP for $5,000

48 points by 23andwalnut 12y ago

23andwalnut 12y ago
I've seen deals like this posted on HN a couple of times. The major difference between those offerings and my own is the fact that I'm willing (and capable) of doing the design portion of the project as well. Let me know if you have any questions :)
- CSDude 12y ago
  Why don't you use any frameworks? Not that you have to, but don't you feel you have been reinventing the wheel most of the time? At least a simple ORM would not hurt.
  - 23andwalnut 12y ago
    I have a mini framework of my own that I've been using, so I usually don't re-invent much, if anything. I want to eventually learn backbone and laravel, but there hasn't been a need since my mini framework has worked well on everything I've thrown at it.
    - pan69 12y ago
      Your offer is to build an MVP and I guess it's reasonable to assume that further development of the application happens without you. Sure, an MVP is an MVP but that doesn't mean it has to be thrown away. You're using your own "mini framework" which I don't think is fair to your clients. Anyone coming in after you will have to work with this "mini framework" regardless of how good or bad it is. There are so many well constructed and documented frameworks out there (+community) for PHP already available that it's almost a crime not to make use of them. If you build an MVP with a popular framework, e.g. Symfony or Laravel, then this can be used as a feature in selling your service in that your clients will not be stuck with some undocumented bespoke framework but instead they can hire a developer who already has expertise with the framework.
  - nostrademons 12y ago
    PHP is a framework.
- bshimmin 12y ago
  What's your capacity? Are you just looking to do one of these every two weeks, or do you have a team? Assuming the former, it seems to me like an absolute nightmare way to make $130,000 a year - assuming you were fully booked. Given the specification stage of each project (which realistically is probably a week of emails, phone calls, baffling sketches from your potential client, etc.), it doesn't sound like you could really book these back-to-back anyway. I'm also interested by your payment clause - are you really expecting people to have paid 100% of the cost without your having finished the project? I'm used to a half upfront, half on completion model, but it seems very ballsy to me to ask for all the money when you're only half done! Best of luck with it, anyway.
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
  - 23andwalnut 12y ago
    It's just me and I'm only doing 5 of them. Regarding payment, it's the same way I bill for my freelance work. Each week of work is paid at the beginning of the week.
    - pbreit 12y ago
      After you max out the 5 are you still be available for MPV work? Can you give us a rough cost in that case?
      - 23andwalnut 12y ago
        Sure. Just shoot me an email and we can discuss.
    - bshimmin 12y ago
      Ah, you do state that on the page and I totally missed it. Apologies. Five sounds like a reasonable target, and gives you time to scope things out properly with the client to mitigate any potential disasters. I normally bill, as a contractor or when freelancing, at the end of the time period, ie. when the work is completed. Perhaps I'm doing it wrong!
- azeirah 12y ago
  What does your workflow look like? After two weeks, what have you actually made to aid you in making the app, I'm talking about models, diagrams, mockups, pseudocode etc. You're building apps in such a short timeframe. I'm currently building my first serious app for a client, and I'm already a few months in, and I'm far from done, it's not an unreasonably complex app either. Also, if you don't mind, may I take a look at your mini-framework? I'd love to see it.
23andwalnut 12y ago
This post has been penalized and I'm not sure why. It was at number 3 of the front page and then it fell to 40. How can I contact a moderator?
- greenyoda 12y ago
  It probably hasn't been penalized - there's probably just a lack of interest. An article with 21 points usually doesn't stick around on the front page very long, and it depends a lot on how quickly other articles are being upvoted. If you want to contact a moderator, the address is hn@ycombinator.com.
  - 23andwalnut 12y ago
    It was. I already talked to Daniel (moderator) about it. It had 19 of the 21 points in the first 20 minutes.
scoj 12y ago
I've thought of doing something very similar, but specifically for .NET web apps. It's a good way to work on fun projects! Plus, you'd think that you'd get more work afterwards from people continuing on the project. Best of luck!
- quaffapint 12y ago
  I was thinking the same thing with .NET, though not 2 weeks. Let me know if you ever do it, would like to hear how it goes.
notduncansmith 12y ago
Interesting, I've been working on a similar offering: $8000, from idea to fully-functioning prototype and landing page. I'd love to see how well-received your price point is - I think you could charge a lot more, frankly.
leesalminen 12y ago
Just curious, is that 23rd and Walnut in Boulder?
vishalzone2002 12y ago
is there any discount you can provide for a non-profit idea?
- 23andwalnut 12y ago
  It's possible, but not much of a discount given the already low price point. Shoot me an email with the idea and we can discuss.
kremdela 12y ago
I am looking for the inverse of this. I will pay $5000 for a salesperson to find my first 10 paying customers. If the development cycle can be shrunk to 2 weeks, can the sales cycle? Edit: I am serious. Please message me if you have any leads.
- gbelote 12y ago
  Have you heard of https://leadgeni.us/ https://leadgeni.us/ ? I haven't used them myself but have heard good things. It might be helpful for you, depending on what it is you're trying to sell.
  - kremdela 12y ago
    Yes, but they seem to focus on customer research and qualifying leads, not actually closing. The analogy would be hiring a product manager / tech lead to help define your MVP requirements, identify necessary integrations and help choose a software development platform, but not actually writing any code. I'm looking for a way to find a commissions salesperson. Maybe I'm looking for http://timetohire.com http://timetohire.com ? P.S. Huge fan of wefunder
danial 12y ago
Here is, in my opinion, a better version of this proposition: $2,500 to design and build your MVP, with co-founder equity. Explanation: If $X is standard pay for a developer, you are asking for $X/2, in return for founder equity. This gives both parties a stake in the success of the company. The developer is motivated to prioritize good ideas and the product person has some assurance that the engineering is invested in the idea.
sandman83 12y ago
as danial alluded to earlier, what is your opinion on taking stake in the MVP being built? so that both parties are invested in the success of the MVP, post 2 weeks?
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
espeed 12y ago
Since Saleem's limiting this offer to 5 MVPs, to cap off the summer I'll build 2 MVPs under the same terms, with a few exceptions: * Backend will be in Clojure or Python instead of PHP * $8,000 delivered in 1 month so we don't rush the communication You can e-mail me via the address in my profile.

48 points by 23andwalnut 12y ago

I've seen deals like this posted on HN a couple of times. The major difference between those offerings and my own is the fact that I'm willing (and capable) of doing the design portion of the project as well. Let me know if you have any questions :)

CSDude 12y ago
Why don't you use any frameworks? Not that you have to, but don't you feel you have been reinventing the wheel most of the time? At least a simple ORM would not hurt.
- 23andwalnut 12y ago
  I have a mini framework of my own that I've been using, so I usually don't re-invent much, if anything. I want to eventually learn backbone and laravel, but there hasn't been a need since my mini framework has worked well on everything I've thrown at it.
  - pan69 12y ago
    Your offer is to build an MVP and I guess it's reasonable to assume that further development of the application happens without you. Sure, an MVP is an MVP but that doesn't mean it has to be thrown away. You're using your own "mini framework" which I don't think is fair to your clients. Anyone coming in after you will have to work with this "mini framework" regardless of how good or bad it is. There are so many well constructed and documented frameworks out there (+community) for PHP already available that it's almost a crime not to make use of them. If you build an MVP with a popular framework, e.g. Symfony or Laravel, then this can be used as a feature in selling your service in that your clients will not be stuck with some undocumented bespoke framework but instead they can hire a developer who already has expertise with the framework.
- nostrademons 12y ago
  PHP is a framework.
bshimmin 12y ago
What's your capacity? Are you just looking to do one of these every two weeks, or do you have a team? Assuming the former, it seems to me like an absolute nightmare way to make $130,000 a year - assuming you were fully booked. Given the specification stage of each project (which realistically is probably a week of emails, phone calls, baffling sketches from your potential client, etc.), it doesn't sound like you could really book these back-to-back anyway. I'm also interested by your payment clause - are you really expecting people to have paid 100% of the cost without your having finished the project? I'm used to a half upfront, half on completion model, but it seems very ballsy to me to ask for all the money when you're only half done! Best of luck with it, anyway.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- 23andwalnut 12y ago
  It's just me and I'm only doing 5 of them. Regarding payment, it's the same way I bill for my freelance work. Each week of work is paid at the beginning of the week.
  - pbreit 12y ago
    After you max out the 5 are you still be available for MPV work? Can you give us a rough cost in that case?
    - 23andwalnut 12y ago
      Sure. Just shoot me an email and we can discuss.
  - bshimmin 12y ago
    Ah, you do state that on the page and I totally missed it. Apologies. Five sounds like a reasonable target, and gives you time to scope things out properly with the client to mitigate any potential disasters. I normally bill, as a contractor or when freelancing, at the end of the time period, ie. when the work is completed. Perhaps I'm doing it wrong!
azeirah 12y ago
What does your workflow look like? After two weeks, what have you actually made to aid you in making the app, I'm talking about models, diagrams, mockups, pseudocode etc. You're building apps in such a short timeframe. I'm currently building my first serious app for a client, and I'm already a few months in, and I'm far from done, it's not an unreasonably complex app either. Also, if you don't mind, may I take a look at your mini-framework? I'd love to see it.

23andwalnut 12y ago

This post has been penalized and I'm not sure why. It was at number 3 of the front page and then it fell to 40. How can I contact a moderator?

greenyoda 12y ago
It probably hasn't been penalized - there's probably just a lack of interest. An article with 21 points usually doesn't stick around on the front page very long, and it depends a lot on how quickly other articles are being upvoted. If you want to contact a moderator, the address is hn@ycombinator.com.
- 23andwalnut 12y ago
  It was. I already talked to Daniel (moderator) about it. It had 19 of the 21 points in the first 20 minutes.

scoj 12y ago

I've thought of doing something very similar, but specifically for .NET web apps. It's a good way to work on fun projects! Plus, you'd think that you'd get more work afterwards from people continuing on the project. Best of luck!

quaffapint 12y ago
I was thinking the same thing with .NET, though not 2 weeks. Let me know if you ever do it, would like to hear how it goes.

notduncansmith 12y ago

Interesting, I've been working on a similar offering: $8000, from idea to fully-functioning prototype and landing page. I'd love to see how well-received your price point is - I think you could charge a lot more, frankly.

leesalminen 12y ago

Just curious, is that 23rd and Walnut in Boulder?

vishalzone2002 12y ago

is there any discount you can provide for a non-profit idea?

23andwalnut 12y ago
It's possible, but not much of a discount given the already low price point. Shoot me an email with the idea and we can discuss.

kremdela 12y ago

I am looking for the inverse of this. I will pay $5000 for a salesperson to find my first 10 paying customers. If the development cycle can be shrunk to 2 weeks, can the sales cycle? Edit: I am serious. Please message me if you have any leads.

gbelote 12y ago
Have you heard of https://leadgeni.us/ https://leadgeni.us/ ? I haven't used them myself but have heard good things. It might be helpful for you, depending on what it is you're trying to sell.
- kremdela 12y ago
  Yes, but they seem to focus on customer research and qualifying leads, not actually closing. The analogy would be hiring a product manager / tech lead to help define your MVP requirements, identify necessary integrations and help choose a software development platform, but not actually writing any code. I'm looking for a way to find a commissions salesperson. Maybe I'm looking for http://timetohire.com http://timetohire.com ? P.S. Huge fan of wefunder

danial 12y ago

Here is, in my opinion, a better version of this proposition: $2,500 to design and build your MVP, with co-founder equity. Explanation: If $X is standard pay for a developer, you are asking for $X/2, in return for founder equity. This gives both parties a stake in the success of the company. The developer is motivated to prioritize good ideas and the product person has some assurance that the engineering is invested in the idea.

sandman83 12y ago

as danial alluded to earlier, what is your opinion on taking stake in the MVP being built? so that both parties are invested in the success of the MVP, post 2 weeks?

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

espeed 12y ago

Since Saleem's limiting this offer to 5 MVPs, to cap off the summer I'll build 2 MVPs under the same terms, with a few exceptions: * Backend will be in Clojure or Python instead of PHP * $8,000 delivered in 1 month so we don't rush the communication You can e-mail me via the address in my profile.