Committed Once and for All

Wow, I think I just finally got buy in from all members of the team. I totally understand where everyone's coming from. For me, this is my baby, my idea and even though I have my reservations about being able to create this app I still believe in it more than anyone else in my group.

Earlier in the semester, one of my team members wasn't really too thrilled about our app. Simply put, he just didn't believe it was possible. There were too many big names and other apps out there that were like ours. I mean, how do you compete with Facebook. And in my head I'm like, yeah, I totally understand. Don't you think I've realized everything you're saying. I'm way ahead of you. I've thought about the threats a million times.

I really have to consider the motivation for some of the team. To them, this could just be another class and they just want to get through it and get a grade. I can't fault them for that. I mean, if I didn't care about the idea I would be on the same page.

Anyways, I'm happy that after explaining things for like the millionth time, everyone on the team is totally committed to making this happen. Or at least to follow through on our goals for the semester.

Second Guessing

Sometimes when faced with a tough situation you start to second guess yourself. I've had a long talk with one of the group members about the doability of our app. It seems like we have mountains to climb. The research we've done suggests the app will cost at least $60k to get started. I've read some articles about apps of this caliber costing $200k. That's crazy.

With physical products there's a chance you can make a relatively inexpensive prototype to beta test or even go out and get feedback right away. I feel like our MVP, or minimum viable prototype, might be too costly to build, thus making it riskier to even attempt. Then again, I've studied cases where companies create a great big expensive product, only to have it fail miserably because they never validated their concept. This is a lesson I'd rather not learn personally. People always say, "Learn from your mistakes." I say, "Learn from others mistakes." It's much easier for you this way (and a hell of a lot less expensive).

Another area I have reservations about is the resources of the team. I'll be quite frank, we're all college students who don't have a lot of money. We have great academic experience but don't have the impressive background of an experienced business veteran. We're developing an app. Something that none of us have any technical knowledge about. And for me, I like to know or at least be familiar with everything that's going on in my company. It's hard to find a developer we can trust. And they also must be talented and know what they're doing.

I don't know.

All this second guessing is good I suppose. Too many entrepreneurs are drunk on their own Kool-aid and end up failing because they refuse to accept feedback. I guess my fear is a good thing. It keeps me grounded. I'm my own worst critic but I think it makes me a balanced person.

I know this app will work out. And even if it doesn't, I'm not one to just quit. Adapt or die they say. Well I've made it this far and I don't have any intention of stopping. Well it's 3 in the morning and brain is calling it quits. Bye for now.

Battling the Giants

Recently one of our huge competitors just released an updated version of their app. The new Foursquare app has many features that are akin to the proposed set of features that freshn will contain. At this moment, we are unsure of the next step to take. Do we move ahead as planned and try to steal market share from this giant, who reports having over 3.5 billion check-ins in the past 4 years?

It's very late in the semester for this obstacle to rear its ugly head, but it is something an entrepreneur must deal with all the time. Adapt or die!

Validation

Any idea sounds great at first but its still doesn't mean anything is other people don't agree. Being an entrepreneur means coming up with lots of new ideas, some sound great but most have already been done or  people just aren't interested.

When I first had the idea to make, what's now known as Freshn, I knew in my head that nothing else existed quite like it. After having gathered like 100 responses to our surveys we now have a good idea of what people think. I'm surprised and delighted to say that people are interested in mobile location sharing. I know there were concerned from some team members earlier in the semester about people not wanting to let others know where they're at but you can't deny the evidence. I think we got something like 60% of people would be ok if their close friends knew where they were. That's a step in the right direction.

As the world progresses and the technology penetrates every facet of our lives, I know we're not too far away from a world where your location is known by someone at all times. While this seems a scary prospect, I'd rather have my friends know where I am, instead of...you know, the government and stuff.