A step-by-step guide to go from idea to app

There are some of us our there, we might even refer to ourselves as creatives, and we’re always coming up with tons of cool ideas! From physical products to more digital solutions, our world is exploding with innovative ideas everyday. Now, the issue is that for as valuable as our ideas might be, not everyone is going to be able to bring them to life.

Sometimes the problem is simply a lack of knowledge on where to start or how to execute or what is needed to build your company. At Jongens van Techniek we’ve helped many ambitious entrepreneurs realize their ideas and we know what it takes to go from idea to product.

We want to share with you some practical tips to help you get started!

1. Do your homework

Of course, having the idea is just the first step in building your business. Before even considering building a digital product, you definitely have to make sure you know your market and your audience.

You should have a clear idea of what problem or need you are addressing and whether this is really wanted. After all, nobody wants to build an app that nobody uses.

To prevent this from happening, do your homework. Talk to your potential audience, perform user research and market analysis. Research your competitors and see how you can position yourself differently. Design a marketing plan to know how and where to sell your product

Before acting on your idea, you should have a clear picture of all these things and only after that should you start formalizing everything and move onto the next steps.

2. Start visualizing your app

After you’ve gathered all the information you need, it’s helpful to visualize your idea graphically. Be it written out on a white board or on a napkin or even using design software, start writing down details about your products.

For example, if you want to build an app, draw it on a paper. Design it first in a rudimentary way. Draw buttons, messages, features. Of course, we’re not saying you should perfectly design the final version of your app. Nobody expects you to know precisely how it’s gonna look like.

However, the best advantage of visualizing your idea, is that it immediately makes it real. You see on paper how your idea will come to life and you will be more able to see what else you need and how you want to develop it.

Werner and Silvia of Jongens van Techniek

3. Attach a business model to your app

For those of us with a lot of ideas, it’s quite easy to fall into the trap of thinking mainly about the product and how it will look like. The risk is that we forget to consider a more pragmatic aspect, the economic factor.

Of course, if you want your idea to become a business, you most likely want to make money with your product. But we’ve seen many times, especially with young entrepreneurs, there’s too much focus on only the idealistic aspect of having a business.

Obviously, whatever you’re doing, should aim at having a positive impact on society. This however doesn’t mean it can’t be a profitable business. If you’re building a product to fulfill a need or solve a problem, you need to make it sustainable and to achieve that, you need to attach a business model to it.

So, the next step in your checklist is to think of ways to make your app profitable, so that you can help more and more people without going bankrupt within 6 months.

4. Looking for a technical partner

So far, everything is fairly straightforward and can all be done on just a couple pieces of paper . All you have to do is research and make a plan. The real pain starts when you have to decide who is going to practically realize your idea.

This is a critical task, especially if you’re not a technical founder. It can be hard to look for companies or individuals that can help you out for so many reasons. From not knowing what to look for, to trusting the people you get in touch with, to being sure they’re building a quality product.

There are a few ways to go about it.

First, you can look for a technical co-founder (your CTO). The main advantage here is that you would have someone, equally involved in the company that could own the product development. The issue is that you might not be able to find someone that is as passionate as you about your idea and that would work on it for free if you don’t have budget or investment yet.

Second, you can look for freelancers. The advantage is that you somewhat keep control over the process as you will be the one giving directions. However, if you are not used to solving technical challenges, you might end up requesting the wrong things or not properly managing the technical work.

Lastly, you can outsource the development of your idea to a third party. The advantage is that you will have a team of highly skilled engineers working for you and helping you setting the right priorities. The issue might come if you choose a partner that is not reliable and will not deliver a quality product on time.

Finding the right partner is quite challenging, so before making your final choice try to keep the following in mind:

• Where are they based: Outsourcing to east Asia or to cheaper countries can save you money. But you have to keep in mind that the time difference can be a problem. How can you reach out to your developers if they live in completely different time zones?
• Language barriers: For the same principles as above, make sure you speak the same language. If you have to explain your idea and set expectations, you need to be able to communicate effectively. Otherwise, you’ll end up with something different to your specifications or spending a lot of time trying to explain yourself.
• Ask for recommendations: Make sure you ask for some references. If the company you’re talking to is willing to give you contacts of their clients, this is already a good sign. When you manage to talk to them, ask questions about how the communication was, how satisfied they are with the end result, and if they have any negative points you should be aware of.
• What technologies do they use: Ask what technology they use. A good software development company is language independent, meaning that they can develop in any coding language. It is also important that they are up to date with the latest technologies. Some languages are very old and many outsourcing companies just know ones that are outdated for what you might be trying to do. You want to work with an innovative company that is able to provide you with the latest innovations so your product is top-notch. Developing in the wrong language, even if it is cheaper with some outsourcing companies, will always be more expensive in the long run as keeping your application up to date will be difficult.
• Company culture: This might seem basic, but choosing the right software development company is not only about technology. It’s also about the culture in the company itself. If you don’t have a direct communication line with your developer, if they don’t like to learn, if they are not interested in your idea but only your money, you won’t go further.

5. Get continuous feedback

If you choose the right partner, they will probably run several testing rounds with you. But besides that, make sure you have a pool of users that are willing to test the app for you.

In this way you can have real time feedback directly from your target audience and you can adjust the next steps based on that. Refrain from building the entire app at the very beginning. Instead, start with a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and ask your audience to give you continuous feedback on it.

In this way you can maximise your chances of success. But above all, you make sure your product is actually helping people!

Written by Lucia Piseddu