Regular readers of this blog know that I relish a challenge. Two years back the task was to conjure up a mobile app in 3 days. This time, I’m aiming to launch a start-up in 1 week.
At the beginning of December Rob Ashton posted a startling entry to his blog. “I’m not looking for a job” was the title, and 1-2 weeks of his expertise in exchange for just expenses and a roof over his head was his offer. It was exactly the catalyst I needed.
I suspect many software developers suffer from the affliction I’ve experienced ever since going freelance: the urge to launch some new product. We developers love making things, and seeing people get value out of them. And we freelancers would love to be free of the tyranny of the clock – earning exactly in accordance with the time we can bill for.
About the middle of last year I settled on the niche I wanted to target, and the product I wanted to build. Ever since then I’ve been waiting for everything to fall into place so that I could get started. Of course, things never happen like that. There’s always just one more paying project that crops up first, one more thing to get out of the way before you get going.
So when Rob’s offer came along, I seized it. I knew that if I committed myself, things would start moving. I emailed Rob the day after he posted his offer, and arranged to host him for a week. With a deadline settled, and other parties involved, things have started to fall into place. My product now has a name, it has a graphic designer working on a logo, and it has a landing page which illustrates why I should not be left in charge of graphic design (or copywriting too, come to that).
And by the end of the first week of March, with Rob’s help, I aim to have a minimum-viable-product coded and in the hands of beta testers.
Follow along here, and on Rob’s blog, and we’ll let you know how it goes.
Next up: what is we’re building?
