Software House?
Discussion
I hope that no-one will be offended by the use of a new PH identity to isolate this from my more usual postings, but I can assure you that I’ve been a member of Pistonheads for over a decade.
(The user name came from the first thing I spotted when I looked around my desk for inspiration: a bottle of T Cut)
Whilst developing some consultancy software tools for our own niche market sector, at the request of one of my colleagues I
produced a piece of software which we now think probably has wider utility in professional and educational circles.
I don’t claim for one minute that it’s radical; it’s simply an innovative integration of a number of other IT capabilities. Given the relative ease with which it could be replicated it’s more likely to be a £2 app than a £200 license…
… and I’m not sufficiently deluded to think that it’s the software equivalent of the answer to life, the universe, and everything, all jammed into a Tupperware box.
It’s simply an application written using Visual Studio, and intended specifically for Windows desktop, and has no relevance to mobile or tablet devices.
Quite honestly although we have designed and written the software ourselves, and tested and are using it on Windows 7 and 8 devices, we don’t have the necessary knowledge and experience to bring the application to an external market, sort out licensing etc by ourselves.
We’re registered for BizSpark, but the Microsoft Windows Store seems only to cater for Windows 8 users, and we feel it likely that the majority of our target market will still be using 7.
We’re therefore wondering “where next?”
Is there by chance a PHer who runs a small software house that might be interested in either being paid to help us develop a route to market, or in some form of collaborative venture?
Alternatively, has anyone else been in a similar position, and could recommend a software house with which they have successfully dealt?
Many thanks for any replies – PMs are welcome.
(The user name came from the first thing I spotted when I looked around my desk for inspiration: a bottle of T Cut)
Whilst developing some consultancy software tools for our own niche market sector, at the request of one of my colleagues I
produced a piece of software which we now think probably has wider utility in professional and educational circles.
I don’t claim for one minute that it’s radical; it’s simply an innovative integration of a number of other IT capabilities. Given the relative ease with which it could be replicated it’s more likely to be a £2 app than a £200 license…
… and I’m not sufficiently deluded to think that it’s the software equivalent of the answer to life, the universe, and everything, all jammed into a Tupperware box.
It’s simply an application written using Visual Studio, and intended specifically for Windows desktop, and has no relevance to mobile or tablet devices.
Quite honestly although we have designed and written the software ourselves, and tested and are using it on Windows 7 and 8 devices, we don’t have the necessary knowledge and experience to bring the application to an external market, sort out licensing etc by ourselves.
We’re registered for BizSpark, but the Microsoft Windows Store seems only to cater for Windows 8 users, and we feel it likely that the majority of our target market will still be using 7.
We’re therefore wondering “where next?”
Is there by chance a PHer who runs a small software house that might be interested in either being paid to help us develop a route to market, or in some form of collaborative venture?
Alternatively, has anyone else been in a similar position, and could recommend a software house with which they have successfully dealt?
Many thanks for any replies – PMs are welcome.
Create a landing page for the app and drive some traffic to it. A/B test the landing page to work out the best price point, app features and landing page design/copy that converts. It'll also allow you to quickly iterate over different channels of getting traffic to the landing page (Google Adwords, Bing Ads, LinkedIn, etc)
Read about the Lean Startup. I'd definitely recommend the book by Eric Reis. I was recently at a Lean Startup Machine weekend in London this past weekend and successfully validated/invalidated two different business ideas based on real customer feedback.
Feel free to contact me via PM if you want hand holding but I'd recommend reading the book and some blogs on it first. The principles are relatively simple and I expect you could following the methodology yourself.
Read about the Lean Startup. I'd definitely recommend the book by Eric Reis. I was recently at a Lean Startup Machine weekend in London this past weekend and successfully validated/invalidated two different business ideas based on real customer feedback.
Feel free to contact me via PM if you want hand holding but I'd recommend reading the book and some blogs on it first. The principles are relatively simple and I expect you could following the methodology yourself.
My old firm did this successfully with a little app a few years ago.
The advice above is good. You will want a web-site. You will also want to allow people to buy the app on-line at your web-site. You can either host a download or get one of the big players to host the download for you.
My advice is to build a serial number into the software and require a licence key you ship to individual purchasers when they buy the full version. Allow them to trial the software for a few days prior to needing the licence....but if you can lock down some key features in the trialware that will encourage conversion of trials into purchase.
Our app was a desktop Windows app that helped individuals perform the mechanical calculations for ... Feng Shui! We sold thousands of copies. It was a nice little sideline to our full-time web-based bespoke software business.
Of course your competition these days will be someone who develops the app for the cloud and users just buy a subscription to be allowed to log on with a web browser.
Good luck!
The advice above is good. You will want a web-site. You will also want to allow people to buy the app on-line at your web-site. You can either host a download or get one of the big players to host the download for you.
My advice is to build a serial number into the software and require a licence key you ship to individual purchasers when they buy the full version. Allow them to trial the software for a few days prior to needing the licence....but if you can lock down some key features in the trialware that will encourage conversion of trials into purchase.
Our app was a desktop Windows app that helped individuals perform the mechanical calculations for ... Feng Shui! We sold thousands of copies. It was a nice little sideline to our full-time web-based bespoke software business.
Of course your competition these days will be someone who develops the app for the cloud and users just buy a subscription to be allowed to log on with a web browser.
Good luck!
I built a Windows application and sold it through my website. It included licencing (30 days free trial of all features then pay for the licence), I had a lawyer create a EULA, created a forum on the website for support and also offered support via email. I used Paypal to process payments.
It's perfectly possible as a one man band, but it can be a lot of work if you don't make life easy for yourself. You also have to deal with people. And Microsoft Windows. After 4 years or so I pulled the product and stopped actively selling it, as it was more hassle than it was worth. Happy to chat about specifics and give any advice if you want to PM me.
It's perfectly possible as a one man band, but it can be a lot of work if you don't make life easy for yourself. You also have to deal with people. And Microsoft Windows. After 4 years or so I pulled the product and stopped actively selling it, as it was more hassle than it was worth. Happy to chat about specifics and give any advice if you want to PM me.
eliot said:
mattdaniels said:
. You also have to deal with people.
Yes i recall your current cost software.
I deliberately didn't discriminate in that sentence but having spent 4 years interacting with people from all over the world for sales and support it's quite eye opening how different nationalities approach things. But overall it was a good experience and I learned some things along the way and would do a few things differently if I had the time and the opportunity to do something again.
Good Morning,
My company can possibly help with this.
We have tried what you are wanting to do a number of ways ourselves and there are massive pitfalls along the way.
Hopefully we can save you making the same mistakes.
My email address is linked to my profile, feel free to contact me direct. I am happy to just point you in the right direction or price up for our devs to do it for you.
Andy
My company can possibly help with this.
We have tried what you are wanting to do a number of ways ourselves and there are massive pitfalls along the way.
Hopefully we can save you making the same mistakes.
My email address is linked to my profile, feel free to contact me direct. I am happy to just point you in the right direction or price up for our devs to do it for you.
Andy
ColourRestorer said:
Many thanks for all the replies - will be responding directly to some of you.
Thanks again.
If it's the educational sector that the software is targeted to, that is our exact niche.Thanks again.
Our product went from concept to proof within months, and turnover of £1.5m to date from a totally standing start. Solely through marketing through various (mostly direct) channels.
If you're interested send me a PM.
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