I've been looking into becoming an app developer for a long time now, and recently I've done a little research. Apple requires a lot from you in order to create applications for the iPhone and/or iPod Touch: You must have a Mac computer with Leopard; You must be registered as a developer which can cost a minimum of $99; You also need proper software to develop your app. I have none of these. Though I do have the time and dedication to make them, I simply don't have the materials, nor the money to even get the materials. So here is what I'd like to bargain: I would like to collaborate with a developer that is already in the door, experienced or not, that will take my ideas and bring them to the app store. The benefit? You get money out of it, obviously. Most of the time, that's a developer's number one incentive. Of course I also want the developer to be generous enough to pay for my share of the idea's creation. Don't worry, I'm not expensive! :] It doesn't matter if you're an experienced app creator or a fresh developer. My ideas can range from simple things to complex planning, and I'm willing to work with more than one person. If anyone's willing to help and work with me, let me know. If you're serious about it, you can email me at [email protected]. If you'd like to discuss a few of the ideas first and maybe work out what payment and amount of work is expected, that's what this forum is for! Hope to get a hold of a few of you out there! =]
hi Cassie, you emailed me privately - but i figured some "generic" answers would be good for the community as well so i am posting them here to the forums as well. all projects require some investment of some form. either it is equipment or it is time. both cost money as the bottom line - especially if you are looking for someone who does this as a job/main focus. if you want to set yourself up as an iphone developer - you are looking at requiring at least $1000 in funding to get the basics setup. this includes the fee for apple; and getting a computer (Mac) and all the basic software you need. you can utilize a lot of open source software as well. in the event you don't want to buy a new computer - you at least must sign up for the developer program as your own entity; this is for legal reasons. any developer that is prepared to publish your ideas under their own umbrella is potentially putting everything they do at risk. this is advice i have received from Apple directly - if you write an application for someone and there is questionable content; you can risk your whole developer account being suspended. i recently did a small contract with a company in los angeles; they were not looking at buying a mac - but they did put up the $99 for the developer program so they can publish under their own name. i developed the app; signed it for them and provided the binaries for release. everything worked well - so, you can avoid buying a mac if you are working with a good developer. it was however, quite cumbersome to have to build adhoc binaries so they could do some beta tests when having a machine locally would have made it really simple - in the end; the savings you make may cost more as a developer - i have a tonne of ideas. my issue is that i don't have the time or budget to work on them. if you are already concerned about the cost of getting "started" - then it will be very difficult to explain to you that making someone implement your ideas will not be possible without providing some form of funding for the development time. working for royalties only doesn't work anymore - you can see the experiences of developers here, not everyone makes it in the app store. i know a few developers that haven't even made back their $99 and they have stopped developing because the store is so saturated with stuff. you also need to define your level of expectations. if you work with someone who does it for free - you need to realize that other tasks will take priority; especially if they are paid. secondly - if you want high quality, then it'll probably cost money. you can get a student/hobbyist to help you - but it wont be their main focus in life to work on your ideas and put them in place. i was one of these guys before and i don't want to say that they wont deliver; but they will have other things to deal with (exams, work etc). there are some excellent developers who do this as a hobby/fun. i don't want to scare you out of the opportunity - but these are some of the harsh realities.
As of right now I'm just a highschool student looking to get started with Apple, but they seem to make it impossible for teenagers unless you want to take up a job (which I am unable to do because of my educational priorities). As you can see, I need an option that allows me to work from home. Anywho... I contacted you separately because I have quite a few apps that will need an experienced developer because I care about its quality, and the rest can be left to a freshie who's either just starting out or needs a practice run. All of them are app store appropriate, meet the requirements, and are almost guaranteed to sell. You don't have to worry about that. I'm willing to talk about a few of them that are at the top of my list, but not on a public forum. I can't have people stealing my work and whatnot. For now, I do have to put school first. I'll check back with you later
some developers quit their job to focus on stuff like this. i offer professional services - which, normally require a budget and some investment from the company/individual that wants to work with me. i don't live at home with my parents; in fact, i have my own mouths to feed so doing work for charity of getting "experience" isn't in my list of requirements. not a problem - i replied to this thread as the info we are talking about now is at a level which everyone can get value from. it is important to understand what you can and cannot do or expect from people. this is what these forums are for! i also have a lot of ideas i would like to sell as for "guarantee" - that's a bold statement. have you done any research on how distribution works on the iphone? have you any marketing plan? it is not just about getting your app on the store - ask any developer here. you cannot buy advertising from apple either. right now; you still dont understand the split between apple and the developer (which is 70% dev, 30% apple) so one would need to question how much research/insight you have that is unique and verifying about distribution on the apple platform. you can request the developer sign an NDA (non disclosure agreement) to cover yourself from the theft of ideas/concepts. if a developer breaks this; you can seek legal recurs to recover any damages - additionally, they'll get a very bad reputation and that'll hurt them more than anything.
Kohjingyu, not all of us are so lucky. I understand the sales costs, and I'm fairly sure a couple of my apps will pay for themselves. No research is needed when you have web fame. I have a weekend show that gains about 15,000 new viewers every month and I'm currently kicking off my third season, and working my way toward a 15 minute chunk in prime time TV. You do the math when it comes to sales. I say buy the app, it's done. The app I'm hoping to have created that I'm not afraid to talk about is one that will be dedicated to my show, update show times, have recent pre-recorded episodes, etc. It's an original idea that appeals to my fans, a very wide variety of people, that would benefit me either way if someone created FOR me or stole the idea. The problem is, I'd need to be the brains of the operation since it is MY show. I have a few more ideas that involve work I do, but they can easily be transformed into something someone else can produce Though I don't see a particular one on the app store with the content I'd like to include, if someone gets a hold of the idea it'll be a huge profit-maker. Trust me; I've looked for it myself And came up with nothing, which inspired me to want to create it. If it's any more appealing, it will target a larger audience than just my viewers. Mind you, they'd still buy it even if it didn't pertain to the show. Like I said, if you want to discuss the ideas in private I will. It might be more productive than sitting around wondering what could happen.
That is probably the worst thing you could have said. If there was a Superman commercial on television advertising new Superman Macaroni and Cheese, do you think that everybody will run out and buy it? Of course not! Some people will buy it, but if it's bad, people will not buy it. Or in your case, write a bad review. Then others won't buy it and your app will ultimately fail. You shouldn't be discouraged, but you cannot honestly expect 15,000 sales just because you have 15,000 viewers.
I am well aware of how sales work, especially when pitched to a certain audience. I'm not saying at all that all 15,000 NEW viewers per month will buy it. I'm stating that I have a large range of people to sell to. Over the years I've gained hundreds of thousands of viewers and at 99cents for the app, the developer gets 70%. 200 people buy it, the developer gets his money back plus some. That's a tiny portion of my audience that's is steadily growing. Chill out please. I've got this figured out more than you think I do, and for the next person who wants to throw it out there, I am well aware of how many viewers DON'T have iPhones or an iPod Touch. There are ALWAYS going to be actors when it comes to selling an app. In the case of my show's app, I have asked my viewers what they want, and 90% of the people buying the app will be my viewers anyway, which means they get their updates on the go like they asked for. Everyone's happy. Of course there will be some people who don't like it but it's things like that you have to overcome. I'm not letting that stand in my way. That's like sayin ou can't do something just because one or two people say you can't. If that were the case, we wouldn't have the music we have today, modern technology such as the iPhone, etc. And for a moment let me pick on your name. I thought Doodle Jump was stupid, but it still sells doesn't it? A minority, in this situation, doesn't affect the sales as much as you'd think. I'm done ranting now.
Cassie, you've succeeded in gaining an audience on the web -- that shows that you are very dedicated and bright. Unfortunately, by coming in here and assuming that everyone would "recognize" you and jump at the chance to get a product to your audience, you're coming across as a little bit arrogant. What would have served you better is a good introduction explaining what made you different from any other high-school student with some good ideas. Why not use your web fame to sell something that requires less of an investment? You could try cute hand-made jewelry or something of that sort. If your audience is willing to buy your products, then you'll be able to make some money that you could invest in app development... And more importantly, you will have the numbers to prove that your audience is willing to buy your products. I hope that helps.
It's not arrogance. It's more confidence and assurance of success. There's a fine line, and I'm pretty sure I'm not putting anyone down in the process. And you're completely missing the point. I'm looking to HELP my audience get what they need, and that is NOT making them stupid little bracelets. My creativity advanced far past that in grade school. It's insulting how little you people think of web talents. -.- All I'm trying to do is get an app made, now quit dragging down the irrelevant points of my post. I'm looking for something that I need, and that other people need, and what has been requested from many of my viewers is a personalized iPhone app for my show so they can keep up to date on my shows and when I have new merchandise available (of course I don't get revenue because I essentially agreed to let my channel take care of advertising if they could keep the profit). Technology is much more widespread and useful than a bracelet or t-shirt with my name on it.
You really shouldn't call yourself a web talent. It just seems arrogant, and I know that you said that you don't want to sound like that. And you can't just ask people to stop dragging down the irrelevant parts of your post. All you can do is show us that you can accomplish what you say you can. Once you've done that, more people will want to help you rather than feeling that you're just a charity case.
Everyone will have their own opinions, and "web talent" isn't saying someone is necessarily talented. It's just a synonym for someone who is well known on the web. In any case, that's the whole point I made a post: to try and get help with putting my ideas into actual form. If I had ANY inkling at all that I would get ranted at for being so-called "arrogant" or stupid for assuming my audience will buy things they might enjoy, I wouldn't have said a thing. Forums are for discussion, which is what I intended to do - ABOUT my application, not sit here and argue with a bunch of ninnies who have nothing better to do than rag on everything but what is relevant. Forget it. I'll just whore myself out or something. Does that sound more productive? Not really. You get my point. But seriously forget I even said a damn thing. I'll wait 12 years until I'm done with law school and start making money of my own. -_- Hell, who knows? In 12 years the iPhone might be a dinosaur.
I can't resist.... What does whoring yourself out have to do with an idea for an iPhone app. I don't get your point. And no one here cares about law school. iPhone? A dinosaur, nope. Your wrong. *waits for lock* - Matt
It was to demonstrate a point of irrelevance and how stupid it sounds. And yes, in 12 years I'm fairly sure something bigger than the iPhone will come along. Right before the iPhone was introduced, the hottest thing that was never expected to die was the Sony Ericsson. Look what happened there. Something better will always come along. Though I will fight to the death that the iPhone is THE best phone out there as of right now with the Google phone nipping at its heels, I'm just stating that in time, ESPECIALLY in 12 years, something new will snatch the attention of the electronically active consumer. I have my bet set on another Apple product, but it's most likely to be an entire new genre. :] Hopefully by then we can actually bring holograms to mobile devices, but one can dream.
It relates to the main point just enough to still pertain to the thread, yet is almost completely irrelevant in all aspects. In this case, the "whoring out" was an exaggeration to actually drive in that I simply don't have the funds to become a developer nor get the necessary tools until I actually have a job, which I don't plan to have until I have a career. It's what the smart kids are doing these days, hm? So I'm going to bring this full circle and stop the stupidity. If you are a developer willing to help someone who can bring you fresh ideas at a constant pace instead of bullshitting around, please feel free to post here or email me. If you're not interested or can't offer a pleasant form of advice, keep your comments to yourself and move on.
