So why do you want to make an app/start-up?

This should be the first hurdle. If your answer is I want to make a million dollars then you should probably stop now.

Unless you have a large bankroll to work with to start, then this is probably the wrong motivation. Building apps, successful quality ones, involves an investment on many levels. A lot of effort, time and money goes into the overnight successes you see and way more than those fail.

If you want to solve a problem, make the world a better place or just have an idea that you want to make into reality then by all means you should try. Having the right motivation up front is the most important part as without it you may abandon your quest at the first road bump (at great cost to yourself).

Building something does take effort. If you don't think it does then stop reading now, good luck to you, get in your tiny metal car and continue past fleet street on your way to park road to claim your $200 dollars. That will probably yield more realistic results for you.

If you are still reading then what comes next?

What do you want to build?

Write down your solution in 2–3 sentences. Not what the app does, what the solution is. You should be able to explain in plain simple English what you want to achieve.

Good — The solution is a way to have friends and family know that if you are near an area with a natural disaster that you are ok.

Bad — Its an app that you use your Facebook account to message everyone if you are in an earthquake.

At the stage you are at you don't want to be explaining how you are going to solve the problem at a technical level. Is it an app? Is that the right thing to do? Maybe/Maybe not. What if what you are suggesting isn't the best way to solve the problem? Maybe you are going down the wrong path already.

So let’s pretend you have a description of your solution, what do you do with it now? Run it past your peers. Not your friends and family. Not your mum who put your horrible horrible drawings you did in crayon when you were 3 on the fridge and said how great they are. Someone who wont agree with you, someone that you don't have many ties to and will give an honest answer.

Try and get feedback from a few sources. Forums, social media, one on one with potential customers/users. Be open to what they say and try not to colour their words. If you are serious about what you want to be successful then people aren't going to like it just because you say they should.

If you are building something for yourself and bankrolling it entirely, sure forge ahead. But if you are doing something that requires adoption and customers then there is little point moving ahead with a solution no one wants.

I have an idea, I know why I want to build it, will someone give me some money now?

Short answer, no. Long answer, nooooooooo. How many people are there on the planet? Now assume 1 in 10,000 also have an idea. That’s how many other people are in the same boat as you, optimistically. Ideas are only worth how they are executed.

It is very rare that someone will give you money to develop an idea unless it’s spectacular and you have a lot to bring to the table (in terms of skills, abilities and relationships). An investor can just as easily invest in the next guy/girl/it that comes along who has a lot more to work with than you at this stage.

If you have an idea, are able to clearly articulate it, and others are interested in it then you have the proper ground work to build a MVP (Minimal Viable Product).

MVP is where most apps and tech start-ups start. It is a version of your product which includes the least number of features that make the product still viable and functional. If a MVP was for a phone, it is a phone that lets you talk to someone and not one that lets you view yourself on a map, play angry birds and video conference with Sweden.

A MVP looks and acts like a functional item (Mock-ups). There are ways to create items which can emulate the function you want but those should really only be considered stepping stones to building an actual MVP.

And isn't that the point of what you are doing?