Does this sound familiar?
You are constantly refining your product idea but any software changes are strongly resisted and take a long time to implement.
You find that any new ideas or changes to your product always involve signficant code re-writes and wonder whether your code is written to embrace changes.
You are anxious that your development speed is too slow and that someone else will beat your product to the market.
You find that what is actually delivered is far off what you had discussed, which costs you both time and money.
Here is how I can help
I am an Independent Software Consultant, with over 15 years of experience, focusing on Start-Ups that have Software As A Service (SaaS) products.
How does that help?
First up, I am not a Software Firm
I am not against software firms; its just they may not be a great fit for start-ups. Why? Short answer, Money!
Compared to independent software consultants, Software Firms have large overheads as they include a bunch of people like account managers, secretaries, or project managers; plus office space, ping pong tables etc.
When you go with a firm you are paying for their overheads. That is fine, if your project needs these services. If not then that money could be more economically used.
Do you spend a lot of time and money on product changes?
I think the quote
Nothing is certain but death and taxes
should be updated to include changes to project specifications. That’s probably not going to take off, but hey, the sentiment is this - very few projects don't have significant changes to what was originally conceived.
I embrace this by Writing less code! It is far easier to update a project with 5K lines of code than one with 20K lines of code. This is achieved by using an opinionated framework like Ruby on Rails and to add common functionality using open source libraries or SaaS services. Where possible, the goals should be to only write code that is unique to your business.
I save you money through better communication.
Communication is easy to do, but hard to get it right!
People may spend their whole lives climbing the ladder of success only to find, once they reach the top, that the ladder is leaning against the wrong wall.
The above quote is very true in software development. It's so easy to build the wrong product! When you work with me, you are working with the person that will be doing the work! Nothing is lost in translation as requirements are passed to the person doing actual work. This saves you money in unnecessary changes.
Before we talk:
I am not a good fit:
- If what you want is a basic web page with static content.
- If you are not prepared to regularly communicate with me.
- If you are not prepared to learn
I am a good fit:
- If you are willing to talk about your business and business model.
- If you are open to new ideas or ways of doing things
- If the project will have a material impact on your business.
Can I help me if you have a very small or one-time project?
Yes, ideally, I work with a number of clients at once. It provides flexibility in that software development can be paused while new features are being tested in the market place.
I however try to work in blocks of a week as it is long enough to make progress and provide reliable estimates.
No-Lock in Contracts
I believe that you will be glad to be working with me. If you are not, and want to switch developers, I will have reduced the cost of doing so by always having the project in a working state with supporting tests, so that it can be passed on. This gives you freedom and complete control over your project.
Can I play nicely with others?
Yes, Software development is a collaborative process and often for large projects you get the best outcomes with a project manager and multiple developers. I am happy to recommend a project manager or developers whom you can contact directly.
What’s the next step?
Lets chat!
I shuttle between Tauranga, Hamilton and Auckland so I am available to meet in any of those locations. Alternatively, I am available for virtual meetings via Skype or Google Hangouts.
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