View
228
Download
5
Category
Preview:
DESCRIPTION
Tools, tips, and tricks to launch a software startup for less than $6k
Citation preview
Crystal Taggart, MBAFounder and CEOAtlas-Innovations.comTrainAsYouGo.com
The $6K Software StartupHow to Launch your Startup on a Budget
Case Study
TrainAsYouGo.com – V1 cloud training platform developed for <$6k
All development was outsourced through ELance
Learning Self Service Platform focused on online help, FAQs, Ask a Question and Customer Notifications
About Me – Crystal Taggart, MBA
Technologist and Entrepreneur
CEO and Founder TrainAsYouGo.com
18 years of design, development, leadership experience
Overall Process
Define business model
Prototype solution
Get Feedback
Technical Design
Find ResourcesBuild
Marketing Setup using Wordpress
Testing Budgeting
Identify your Business Model
How does your company make money?Who are competitors in the market?What is the target market?
Before beginning – verify that your product isn’t saturated, your product is differentiated and there’s not a ton of ‘free’ competitors in this space.
Common Business Models
Type Description ExamplesFree Users use product/service for
free. Revenue is generated through advertising
Facebook, PopGames
Freemium Users get basic version for free and pay for upgrades
Evernote, DropBox
One-Time Users pay for initial install of the app
Paid appstore apps
Subscription Users pay to use software on monthly/annual basis
Salesforce.com, Hootsuite
Affiliate Refer customers to products/services and receive referral fee
Upsellit, Blogging sites
Service Pay for services or customization of free product
eLance, DotNetNuke
The Software Development Process
Design on Paper
Get Feedback from
potential custome
rs
Design a
prototype
Get feedback
Document
Hire Developers!
Prototyping Tools
Axure RP ProRecommended
http://axure.comEasy to use, looks
like an app but doesn’t require coding
Creates documents that can be sent to a development team (Pro is worth it!)
Create.lyAllows you to create
wireframesEasy to useDoesn’t create
documentation (must be done in Word or another tool)
Two Rules when Designing Software
Developers are smart, but they don’t understand your business and can’t read your mind.
If you want it coded, write it down.
CRUD – Where the ‘magic’ happens
For any entity (or item) in the system, remember CRUD:◦Create: How is the data created◦Read: How does someone view or search for
the data◦Update: How does someone update data (and
WHO can update the data)◦Delete: How does someone delete the data (or
CAN they delete?)
Testing Your Business Model
The Lean Startup Methodology is about building the smallest possible product to test the market.
Don’t waste money on ideas that aren’t profitable.
Requirements
Requirements in ‘tech-speak’ is how the developers know what to code. These contain all the screen definitions, error messages, and any non-functional requirements (such as response time or security requirements)
Documenting Requirements
1. Create a swimlane with the high-level process◦ This gives developers a summary view of how it
works2. Create a functional prototype (again, we
recommend Axure RP Pro)3. Document the screen rules (items on the form
and what their requirements are)4. Document business rules (what are the rules
for the application, i.e. once the data is saved on the screen, what happens next)
Technical Specifications
Include Non-Functional requirements◦Browser versions, App versions, Security
considerations, page speed, responsive, email, expected number of users
Define your technology stack◦Database – what technology will store your
data◦UI/Middle Tier – what technology will be used to
display/capture the data
Database Pros/Cons
Oracle: Scalable but expensiveMicrosoft SQL server: Scalable but
expensiveMicrosoft SQL express: Free but only
stores 10 GBMySQL: free and scalableMongo/Hadoop: Free “Big Data” databases
Development Languages Pros/Cons
Not an all-inclusive list ◦I’m not starting a Holy War on the best
development language) – only focused on three commonly used languages
Technically – Any language can do pretty much anything you need it to
PHP
Pros Cons
Cheap hosting on Linux
Free IDE
Hard to find quality developers in a sea of hacks
.Net
Pros Cons
Generally a talented development pool
Lots of training and resources available from Microsoft
More expensive developers than other technologies
Have to pay for Visual Studio IDE
Java
Pros Cons
Good pool of developers
Many free tools
Very open source, which means it’s hard to find the ‘right’ libraries that are commonly used/supported by the community
Hosting/Source Control
Ask your developers to check in their code into a third-party source control system such as Github
Use a scalable hosting service such as Amazon Web Services or Azure
Documenting
Document your database modelDocument your system architectureDocument any third-party integrations
required (i.e. for payment)Document major features in the system
that aren’t otherwise covered ◦i.e. scheduled jobs that send information
Hiring a Developer
Select your top 3 companies using Elance or Odesk
Provide a summary of the system, the technology requirements, number of screens, and any third-party integrations to get an initial estimate
Once you select the top 3, get an NDA signed and provide the detailed specifications and ask for a fixed-bid estimate and team structure
Managing the Project
It won’t happen unless you follow-up regularly with the team
Set up weekly meetings (at a minimum) to review status and progress
WordPress setup
Use WordPress – it’s the easiest and best website content management system around
Find a hosting provider such as HostGator or Bluehost who have tools that automatically install WordPress for you
Wordpress – Select a Theme
Buy a theme that provides the look and feel for your site and customize it for your look and feel
Wordpress – Clean it up
Delete Sample Pages/PostsUpdate the security (out of the gate
everyone has comment access to your site)
Delete Plugins that you don’t needAdd useful plugins such as Yoast SEO,
Google Analytics, Revolution Slider
Testing your software
Scalability/Load Testing – how many users does the site support
Stress Testing – how many users until it crashes and burns
UAT testing – pre-deployment testing with actual users
Beta Testing – testing with initial users
Budget (My Actual Budget)
Helpful resources
Learn more in the book The $6k Startup on Amazon.com
http://steveblank.com - king of lean startuphttp://atlas-innovations.com - consulting serviceshttp://trainasyougo.com - support and training
Content Management System for your software solution
http://startupweekend.org/ - launch a startup in a weekend
ctaggart@atlas-innovations.com
Recommended