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I would minimize your costs initially, you can work from home to build your idea. First stop for you is to watch @DHH's startup school talk . . . most ideas th

by saluki 12y ago

I would minimize your costs initially, you can work from home to build your idea. First stop for you is to watch @DHH's startup school talk . . . most ideas that are successful are simple . . . it really is all in the execution. Link to DHH at Startup School: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CDXJ6bMkMY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CDXJ6bMkMY It's from 2008 but still inspiring and relevant. Ok . . . so you're inspired . . . Don't just build the software . . . you'll fall in to the trap of spending too much time building something your customers don't want or doesn't provide enough value. Read Dan Norris's book the 7 day startup and listen to his podcast. And listen to StartupsForTheRestOfUs.com. Lots of good info on proving an idea, talking to customers, building an email list. The key is launching fast with minimal development time. Once you have paying customers you can automate and improve your app/software to provide even more value with less effort on your part. I would pick something you like thinking about/would enjoy working on and would enjoy dealing with the potential users. There are infinite ideas/opportunity out there in apps/saas so don't worry about that . . . @DHH "Zappos is selling F'n Shoes . . . " Execute, do it right and provide value to your signups and you'll be revolutionary. Remember you don't need an office, an LLC or anything else in the beginning . . . just start getting to know potential paying customers and build out the simplest version of your app that clients can sign up for. Once you have revenue you can think about office space (if needed) an LLC, etc. Services/Ideas to help you get off the ground for low/upfront costs: Rails/Laravel (frameworks) Digital Ocean (hosting) Stripe.com (payments) Mandrill.com (App emails) MailChimp.com or Drip.com (building an email list) Also start blogging now about your product/niche right away. Feel free to email I love talking SaaS/apps, startups and bootstrapping. I've been running this same playbook and will be launching my second SaaS in early 2015. Good luck in 2015!

aswerty 12y ago
Thanks for the reply. I'd like to avoid the cost of office space but I would literally not do an iota of work from home. Home is for home stuff, work is for work stuff; that is how my brain works. I'm in Europe and my desk is costing me €160/month so it's not exactly an especially taxing expense. I keep my ear to the ground with regards start-up news but I think I'm going to spend some time listening and reading to some of the resources you and others have posted. Hopefully it will help me narrow down what I'll ultimately set out to create. And thanks for the offer. The best of luck to you as well.
- saluki 12y ago
  y, it's great to have space . . . I have a couple locations around the house that are office-like but there is always the chance family time will encroach on work. y, the podcasts and Dan's book are great resources . . . be careful about listening and reading though . . . get the good gems of information and then take action . . . you can spend months/years listening to other people and how they executed. http://yourstory.com/2012/11/my-name-is-porn-entreporn/ http://yourstory.com/2012/11/my-name-is-porn-entreporn/ So listen, learn and take action . . . otherwise time will pass you by . . . BootStrappedWithKids.com has some gems as well . . . And of course read/listen to everything by paito11.

by saluki 12y ago

aswerty 12y ago

Thanks for the reply. I'd like to avoid the cost of office space but I would literally not do an iota of work from home. Home is for home stuff, work is for work stuff; that is how my brain works. I'm in Europe and my desk is costing me €160/month so it's not exactly an especially taxing expense. I keep my ear to the ground with regards start-up news but I think I'm going to spend some time listening and reading to some of the resources you and others have posted. Hopefully it will help me narrow down what I'll ultimately set out to create. And thanks for the offer. The best of luck to you as well.

saluki 12y ago
y, it's great to have space . . . I have a couple locations around the house that are office-like but there is always the chance family time will encroach on work. y, the podcasts and Dan's book are great resources . . . be careful about listening and reading though . . . get the good gems of information and then take action . . . you can spend months/years listening to other people and how they executed. http://yourstory.com/2012/11/my-name-is-porn-entreporn/ http://yourstory.com/2012/11/my-name-is-porn-entreporn/ So listen, learn and take action . . . otherwise time will pass you by . . . BootStrappedWithKids.com has some gems as well . . . And of course read/listen to everything by paito11.