product, ideaI am building a startup for communication between shops and customers. The idea is customer can chat with any shop in the city through a Whatsapp like interface.
However, i face issue with building a server for chatting. I do not have knowledge of erlang language to build it. I can’t hire someone as i don’t have money.
Only option is to learn it or use google cloud messaging push notifications for chatting, but i doubt it will be slow chatting. Hence i have to learn it, there is no option. This is the level I am dealing with on startup front.
On another front, my parents want me to get a job. My previous company is ready on one leg to hire me back, i sent them message that i am ready to join under pressure of my parents.
I am thinking to work part time for startup. I am finding it harder to code since i am thinking that i am coding same things again and again, why can’t i automate it? And this thought is stopping me from coding.
Whats the way out to at least complete the startup product ?
How many users said that they want to use your product? If 9 out of 10 people tell you they don’t want to use your product then you probably shouldn’t build it.
There are several SDKs/APIs/Frameworks available for chat (Layer Chat). This will not help you however. You probably don’t even need chat. You need to verify that people want your idea. Not your friends and family but real business owners.
I’m a developer so I can give you advice from first hand experience. Once there is a chat, and a bunch of other cool things + 3 users, people will demand new things. Software development requires constant iteration. User feedback, testing, bugs, etc. Software is a never ending cycle. Software is never finished. So building the first version won’t get you very far.
Also, think about how many business do exactly what you want to do. Facebook (in some way does that), LinkedIn (relatively directly does that), ProductHunt (indirectly does that), Twitter (indirectly), etc. Even though they don’t do exactly that, they do do that. Even email does that.
I’m not trying to crush your idea. The point I’m trying to make is you really have to break down the idea, the product fit/market fit and a lot of other relevant things. Fill this out: http://leanstack.com/lean-canvas/
I’m a full blown entrepreneur so I’m totally for the “screw working for someone and do your own thing”. You SHOULD start your own business, and you SHOULD do this idea. You SHOULD build your own products, change the world and preferably never work for anyone. But software isn’t always the best solution.
WHAT YOU SHOULD DO
VERIFY THE IDEA
Why not create a consulting firm where you introduce businesses and then let them communicate however they want? Go to shops all over your city/town, get business’s contact information and ask them what would help improve their business. Then, run around to other companies that can help these other companies business improve. Introduce them. After introducing 10 business that do business, start charging $100 per introduction. But don’t charge the first 10. Build a reputation. And when you do introduce the first 10, they’ll speak about you. They’ll say: “Samo’s Consulting helped me improve my business by 15%.” And they’ll recommend you to others.
LEARN A SKILL
I started coding because I had a ton of ideas as well. But I took it step by step. Ideas come and go, but skills stay forever. Learn how to code for the sake of the skill and not just for an idea. Skills are the only thing that’ll keep you free. Whether it’s speaking to people or coding.
Seeds you plant today grow into trees in 10 years.
Good luck.
I totally agree with @lukeslvi that first thing you need to do is to try to prove your idea, to validate.
You can start with surveys. There are a bunch of different for that like http://proved.co, surveymonkey.com etc… and here you can compose a set of questions which do you think are important to get answers as feedback.
Second you can create Landing page where you can easily describe your service. There are some services like LaunchRock, Unbounce, Kickofflabs and others
Once you get a clear vision from collected results, plus your analysis and comparison with existing tools then you can decide about what exactly you wanna do.
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