As a software development agency we get approached all the time by people who have an idea for “the next Facebook/Uber/Snapchat!” – an idea that will make the world a better place and at the same time, make them rich!
But is it really going to be the next Facebook? It’s not an easy question to answer, and anyone who tells you they can answer it is someone you should be sceptical of.
The truth is, when an idea is conveyed in a meeting, it hasn’t had time to grow yet, to reach its true potential – and that’s what a lot of entrepreneurs struggle with. I myself was guilty of this when I started building my first piece of software, a warehouse integrated POS system. From my experience, entrepreneurs tend to want the amazing idea that they have imagined; designed, developed and released tomorrow and all at once.
Which is entirely possible to do. As the Head of Product and Delivery at Experience Digital, I totally have the power to have your idea scoped up, sent to design based upon your instructions and then developed in one go.
But I wouldn’t advise it. Why?
Because of that initial phase, the scoping and design phase are symbiotically linked to make your product better. There’s actually a name for this whole process that you might have heard before: Prototyping.
Why is Prototyping so important?
Well, the answer to that is simple, it is because of its cost-benefit. Any entrepreneur who has built a software application before will tell you that. Your vision of what you think the software is now will change almost immediately upon seeing the first version of it. Which is okay, because the design is cheap. Software development is not! Spending the extra month or two getting your MVP finalised to the letter, font and colour scheme in the design phase will cost you a fraction of what it would cost to do those changes in development. This will have an incredible effect on your bottom line. Potentially giving you the extra six months of runway that you need to reach critical mass.
Prototyping has other benefits too – need to raise money? You can show investors the idea at a much more developed level as opposed to explaining it in an elevator. You’re also demonstrating that you believe in the idea so much that you’re prepared to invest in it yourself.
Overall, if you’re looking to build your own venture or develop your own start-up, don’t go into development straight away. Build a prototype and see what your idea really can be, as opposed to what it is today.
Experience Digital prototypes start from $8,000.00 AUD and go up from that depending on complexity. For more information, call Experience Digital on 1300 295 744
or email us at hi@experience.digital.
