Before hiring someone you would do yourself a big favor by running through some early low-fidelity prototyping. Start by sketching it out on stickynotes, get the flow down and get into the experience. You can move to a high-fidelity clickable prototype after a few iterations, possibly hiring a graphic designer to simply lay it out for you. Load this prototype on your iphone and show it off to real life possible customers for feedback. Listen and iterate. Now you may find that people don't care or you have a set of features (typically a few of them winning) that you can take into development. This becomes your specification and you can more easily find a programmer on oDesk or such. My advice is to do this work yourself or work very closely with a firm that specializes in this process. Good luck!

All 3 options. That way the users can choose which is more convenient to them.

Will you share more details? Are you exhibiting at a trade show?

In our new book, Entrepreneur's Guide to The Lean Brand, Jeremiah Gardner and I tackle how relationships build passionate customers. In our view, products should fulfill a utility promise -- this functionality solves a that specific problem. But fulfilling the promise can only create 'satisfaction.' (Not always true, but generally.) It's the relationships between company and employees with customers that potentially creates 'passion,' which is required for scalable growth. So how do you measure passion? Probably not in one particular way. Some combination of things like Net Promoter Score, Must-Have Score; social-media campaigns that measure participatory behavior; increase sharing of content; increase in viral-coefficient (OK for non-network effect business < 1!). Early on, the best way to establish relationships is by meeting customers in person, in order to understand them deeply and develop empathy. Hypothesize 'what behavior can I expect from a customer with whom I've developed a relationship?' Measure whether that behavior is occurring.

Sorry to keep it short. We can speak and go through the specifics, but keep in mind that IP is the lifeblood of business valuations. In a variety of cases companies both large and small are purchased for their intellectual property and the talent . You would have to go through a market discovery to identify the potential value of the IP. I would have a plan with what you are going to do with the IP when you enter into your agreement so you don't handcuff your future strategy in the initial contracts. You have a lot of potential paths to success here.

We share a similar challenge -- visual for you, verbal for me. In my case, this often means convincing folks that cutting corners on their branded domain name or written content carries hidden costs. They often see spending more than the bare minimum on their online identity as waste. It's easy to be oblivious to the costs of bad branding or bad design. After all, they have a website already; so they've already arrived at the finish line, right? People think they're saving money simply because they're not spending money. Meanwhile, they're earning LESS. It's also tricky to point out blemishes in someone else's creative efforts. Egos are fragile. Or they're too robust! So what I typically do -- and what I recommend you try -- is this: Gather some compare-and-contrast examples. Ask your prospective clients which of 2 websites or logos they'd rather do business with or which they've already done business with. One will look professional; the other will resemble their site / logo. After a series of these compare-and-contrast examples, the person will usually grasp what's at stake without any didactic explanation from you. People want to trust their own judgment; therefore showing them is better than telling them. Frankly, I think you've got it easier than I do! Visual differences are striking, and people are accustomed to the idea that professional graphic design ought to be paid for. You will only be able to convince a small fraction of people. We human beings are stubborn, ignorant, and lazy. All of us. Good luck!

It would be nice to know what you are selling, the sales cycle, the types of buyers, etc. This is important and would let me customize my answer for you. But, here are some generic thoughts. The problem with sales meeting is keeping it interesting for the people who are not speaking or giving their "update" and to make it a learning experience rather than an update of what they did. One thing that has worked very well with me to ask each person to come prepared to discuss these topics: 1. Give me three things you did this week that you think worked really well and you want to share with the rest of the group. 2. Give me three things you did last week that you won't do any more, that you think just are not working. 3. Tell us about the biggest sale you made last week. What made it close? What value proposition did the customer buy? How can you take what you learned from that and use it for all sales in the future. I work with a lot of inside sales teams helping them craft their messages and sales process with the goals of improving close rates and increased sales velocity. Bob

The steps are simple, but podcast promotion is not easy. 1. Know who your audience is 2. Make GREAT content for THAT audience. Content that leaves them going "WOW I've go to tell my friends about this." 3. Go to where that audience is. 4. Make friends with them bringing value to every conversation. 5. Tell them about your podcast. (do not swap 4 and 5, they won't care about your podcast until they care about you). If you're looking for the giant switch that gives you 10,000 downloads it doesn't exist. Other things that will speed things up is doing interviews and having those people promote their appearance. Last never say the word, "only." As in "I only have 67 downloads." Those are people who chose your content over thousands of others. If this was a school 67 people would be 3 classrooms if not four. As for tools, twitter, facebook, google+ (look for groups in Google and Facebook), meetup.com for in person meetings. You build your audience one person at a time.

One of the most important things to have in mind is that every step in the process of entering data into the CRM should help the sales rep to advance in his sales process. To many CRMs are emphasizing on data for management and reporting on stuff that doesn't help the sale forward.

A mentor should consist of 3 things 1. Have a track record, be knowledgeable and connected in your the area of your startup (e.g. real-estate, fashion or semi-conductors, building a startup, writing a book) 2. Share your vision 3. You should think he's cool and he should think you're cool If you have all of these 3 things, then the mentor is valuable and you can think about giving a stake in your company.

The passion would be to help customers succeed. Or at least it should be. The frustration mostly has to do with the clients reluctance to change!

You are right. Any updates on site will require you to think about SEO so there is no lost traffic here is a QA wordpress you can use http://www.designwall.com/wordpress/plugins/dw-question-answer/ Also this is good seo plugin as well https://yoast.com/wordpress/plugins/seo/

It really depends on your initial cash position. In my experience the most direct path to positive chase flow is a service business. If a service business is not for you I would look into a distribution company. If you are creative there are ways to set up a distribution model that utilizes a drop ship method. This means you establish the sale and get paid and the manufacturer will ship the product directly to the end user with your name on the documents. There are a wide variety of opportunities. There are many limiting factors we would have to initially identify to direct your search.

Here are the main alternatives to AdMob divided into tiers based on scale: Tier one: a) MoPub b) Amazon Publisher Services c) Facebook Audience Network Tier two: a) Verizon b) Smaato c) Fyber d) MobFox e) InMobi f) AdColony g) Rubicon h) AppNexus i) Pubmatic j) OpenX k) Chartboost l) Unity Ads m) Vdopia n) IronSource o) Adtoapp p) AdinCube q) Appodeal r) PubNative Let me explain them one-by-one: 1. MoPub: MoPub is another industry leading SSP option. It was an early entrant in the space, and it was acquired several years ago by Twitter. Since then it has continued to develop and it runs one of the largest exchanges for mobile app inventory, tapping into the advertiser base of Twitter. 2. Amazon Publisher Services (APS): Amazon Publisher Services is one of the newest options available to mobile app developers. Amazon has been rapidly developing their advertising capabilities and they have their own massive demand source because of all the merchants advertising on their platform. They also run a product called Transparent Ad Marketplace (TAM) that allows you to mediate other demand sources as well. It's not as easy to use as AdMob, but it's a very potent competitive option. 3. Facebook Audience Network (FAN): Facebook is the only other demand source that truly rivals Google AdMob in sheer size. FAN is not a mediation service, but it is so large that many apps would not need anything else, so it is an AdMob alternative. It is possible to use it as a demand source in other mediation solutions and if you can, you should. 4. Verizon (aka Nexage and Oath): The name of this one keeps changing. It was originally known as Nexage, which was another older exchange and SSP. Nexage was acquired by Millennial Media, which was acquired AOL and marketed as a product called One Mobile, then AOL was acquired by Verizon. Verizon deals in all digital ads, whether desktop, mobile web or mobile app. They have a full-featured SSP option and they are also providing header bidding to publishers. 5. Smaato: Smaato has traditionally been more internationally focused but has started to perform well in the US too. They have a sizable exchange of their own. 6. Fyber: Fyber is a roll-up of a few different companies, one of which was Inneractive which has a good-sized ad exchange for mobile app traffic. Fyber is a game focused SSP but they can and do operate on a variety of other types of apps. The mediation platform HeyZap was also acquired and rolled into Fyber. 7. MobFox: MobFox is the in-app monetization arm of the Matomy group. 8. InMobi: InMobi has long been a large ad network in international markets and a while back they acquired Aerserv. Aerserv is a video focused SSP with a mediation platform and exchange that performs well in the US, making it a great addition to InMobi. 9. AdColony: Many of these SSPs were formed through acquisition, and AdColony (formerly known as Opera) is a successful public company that was created through several acquisitions. Their SSP offering is underpinned by a mobile ad serving and mediation layer called AdMarvel. That platform is augmented by demand from a performance network formerly known as Moolah Media and a brand network formerly known as Mobile Theory. All of this has been combined and they have created their own proprietary exchange as well under the brand AdColony 10. Rubicon: Rubicon is a long-time player on web inventory. They grew rapidly and ultimately went public a few years ago. Rubicon operates a large exchange, and they have an SSP offering for in-app inventory, but their roots are in web inventory. 11. AppNexus: AppNexus runs a large exchange that traditionally was focused on web inventory. Again, their roots are web, but they are moving aggressively into app inventory as well. AppNexus is a more robust platform than other SSPs, which is a pro and a con. It can be used as a platform to run a whole ad network. However, that large scope of features can make it daunting to use as an SSP. As part of that platform, it has a very robust direct ad serving offering. 12. PubMatic: PubMatic is a large company running their own exchange. PubMatic acquired mobile ad network Mojiva a while back and Mojiva's ad serving counterpart Mocean, so they do have a robust direct ad serving system that can be used to operate a whole network, like AppNexus. That acquisition also gave them some technology that was developed specifically for mobile. 13. OpenX: Yet another large SSP from a private company with web roots. OpenX operates an exchange that is large and worth accessing. OpenX started as a direct ad serving platform and that is still one of their core offerings. They are one of the few SSPs that has a robust direct ad serving option. 14. Chartboost: Chartboost focuses exclusively on game apps. They run interstitial and video ad formats only and offer cross promo and a direct deal marketplace so you can coordinate with other app developers. 15. Unity Ads: The Unity platform for game development has an ad platform called Unity Ads woven into it. This makes it extremely easy for apps developed on Unity to use, but it focuses on rewarded video units exclusively. 16. Vdopia: Vdopia runs an optimization platform and video ad exchange called Chocolate. 17. IronSource: IronSource is a full-featured platform with a variety of ad units available, but they tend to focus on game apps and on rewarded video. If most of your inventory is rewarded, do NOT skip over this one. It is one of the leaders in that space. 18. Adtoapp: 20+ demand sources and monthly pay-outs. 19. Appodeal: 60+ demand sources and flexible payout options. 20. AdinCube: Ogury acquired this product and turned it into their publisher solution. 21. PubNative: Native ad network and good mediation add-on for other SSPs. Besides if you do have any questions give me a call: https://clarity.fm/joy-brotonath

I would probably look at a course on udemy for that specific case https://www.udemy.com/getting-started-with-php-programming/?dtcode=MzjhAx31ASRH

When the cost to acquire each additional paid user: -is less than the prior user you are in viral growth. -is equal to the prior user you are growing. -is more that the prior user than you are starting to reach maturity (but possibly not there yet). -is equal to what you are willing to pay then you are at maturity. -is greater than what you are willing to pay then you are in decline. Define your potential customer segment and ask them (Would they purchase your product at $X? How many/often would you purchase? Etc.). You can do a statistically significant, +/- 4+%, marketing research survey for about $500 at SurveyMonkey.com. The survey results should help to answer your other questions. Cheers and good luck!

As the host of 'The App Guy Podcast', I can introduce you to a few good developers ranging from inexpensive locations to $100 per hour top rates. As a quick guess, this type of app will start from $900 using a cross platform solution (Like Titanium Studio) to $5000 for Objective-C apps written on xCode Let me know if you want an introduction by contacting me through my website or podcast Paul Kemp - The App Guy Podcast http://TheAppGuy.co/

This sounds like an exciting project! There are certainly a lot of points to consider when putting together anything involving memberships, especially something like you've described. However, I won't go into every possible course as I believe the most likely route that will bring you success will be leveraging WordPress' multisite capabilities. Essentially, I'd be recommending you setup a multisite where schools can sign up for their own subsite on your network. It is possible to pre-configure your new sites so that upon signup, each school gets a site with the theme, plugins, content, settings, etc. which you wish them to have. You can assign each new user with specific roles on their own site and your main site so that they will be able to participate in things like site specific or network wide forums. To facilitate this, I'd envision using several plugins including: http://premium.wpmudev.org/project/pro-sites/ http://premium.wpmudev.org/project/new-blog-template/ https://wordpress.org/plugins/buddypress/ https://wordpress.org/plugins/bbpress/ https://wordpress.org/plugins/join-my-multisite/ There are a number of reasons why I'd recommend this approach but I'll just mention a few important ones: - This approach would allow you to bill the organization rather than the individual user (if desired). - Allows for the simplest management of groups of users for active/inactive accounts. - Organizations can have their own environment, complete with private groups, forums, content, media, etc. Those are just a few reasons why I think this approach would be effective and appropriate. That said, I would say with certainty that a site like you've described could be built on single install of WP, simply taking full advantage of plugins like BuddyPress, bbPress, the many complimentary plugins for those and/or potentially some of the many other powerful membership plugins for WordPress. I hope this is helpful. Please indicate if you'd like more details on any specific point. I'm happy to help.

It really depends on the nature of your business. Revenue can actually be a deterrent to early stage venture investors if the revenue isn't growing at a fast-enough pace. So your rate of growth will either open or close opportunities to you. If your business is not yet growing fast enough and your revenue is predictable, your profit margin and personal credit rating is good enough, I'd suggest looking into debt options to increase the rate of growth and top-line. It's hard to tell based on the lack of detail in your question whether selling equity to a group of individuals or a VC makes sense but a good VC is never ever a silent partner. If you book a call, I'm happy to dive into your business and let you know what I think your best options are. I help a lot of people on Clarity with fundraising advice.

The existing answers are good, and I agree with most of the price ranges that are mentioned. There is a huge range in rates and they are most affected by the region and the type of organization you are dealing with. For example, a small shop in E. Europe that is exceptional in Ruby and has professional management, great communication skills, and the ability to work agile (for real) is going to cost in the high 30's. A company in the same region but with less mediocre communication skills will get you into the 20's, but it won't be the same experience. In India, it's similar but the entire price range is a bit lower. In order to understand how much you should pay, we use a simple approach like this: - we figure out what kind of client you are. are you a bootstrapped startup? are you techy? can you manage it from your end? Do you have time to take on a lot of QA? are you experienced with this? - knowing your client profile we can determine what kind of vendor will be successful with you. if you are an experienced client, have outsourced before, and know the ins and outs of software development you can work with freelancers, boutique shops, etc. if you are inexperienced with software and haven't managed this kind of thing, we might look for more of an agency type shop that will provide really good PM and awesome communication, etc. If you are pretty experienced and going long-term, you might consider an ODC model, too. - Knowing the type of client you are and thus, the type of vendor you need allows us to recommend a region and specific development shops for you. When we know what/where we're looking for, it becomes easy to answer that magic question ,'how much should I pay?'. This is basically the process that our entire business is based on :) Check out this video series that explains the process in more detail (complete with 2014 pricing numbers). Good luck, and feel free to reach out if you need any help choosing that perfect development shop. They are out there.

Extremely difficult question to answer. It will mostly be justified by traction in a certain amount of time. If you receive a huge number of users in a year, this will add multiples to your valuation. On the flip side, if you are ten years in with steady growth, the multiples will not be as high. Industry matters, as well. I'd say $50 million a year in gross revenue will definitely get you a $100 million buyout.

If you create a website and use responsive web design (the website automatically changes the way it looks on different screen sizes), you can have your cake and eat it too. :) The website would be usable from a large screened device (like a laptop) and if it is accessed via a small screen (like a smartphone), it will "reformat" the way it looks to make it usable on a small screen. You can go one step further and create a mobile app which will create a "webview" of the website. Thus, when people open the mobile app, they "see" the website and interact with it the way they would with an app. I have experience in responsive web design, smartphone development, and implementing webviews in smartphone apps. Please give me a call if you would like more information about these subjects. Cheers, Jordan

Assuming you have actually identified someone in this role and you're asking about the legal side of things, I'd say that beyond a legal entity by which to enter into an employment or contractual agreement that has the standard assignment of rights, confidentiality, etc, you're probably fine for now. Depending on where you're operating from and whether you actually have an actual office or not might impact your need for a business license. But if you're asking how you would actually identify this person, that's a much different answer. The reality of it is that unless you have already raised or can self-fund a full-time salary of an iOS developer (which will range $85,000- $140,000 for just salary anywhere in North America depending on experience and location), you're better off looking at a mobile development agency. Also, many great iOS developers lack strong back-end skills, so in order to publish an app, you're likely looking for two engineers, not one. Those that pass themselves off as "full stack" are usually marginal at both. So either you have to be able to show that you have raised or can self-fund two people's salaries for a year, or you won't be able to attract full-time talent. Also, I haven't mentioned anything about design, which depending on the nature of the app, would require a third person at least on contract to design and iterate the user experience. In most cases, non-technical founders that want a product built should find a reputable mobile agency to build the first version of their app. I know of several and am happy to provide further information, if you're serious about building your app. Beyond the cost of building a single platform app with a contractor (I would budget $50k at a minimum), you should also be sure you have at least $50k in customer acquisition budget comfortably allocated and that's just to take a "realistic shot" at having an app get any traction. So if you can't raise or spend USD $100,000, I would say that as a non technical founder, you're better off pursuing a different line of business. That's just the reality of the mobile app marketplace today.

You have a lot of options to market to boomers and seniors. That age group is facebook's fastest growing segment. Build ads that target that age group and think about having a facebook page to supplement your efforts there. Older people search just like the rest of us as well, so build an adwords campaign around keywords that might align with your product. Contact me if you'd like to chat about some options or need some help building your campaigns. Good luck!

A whole lot more data is needed before anyone can answer this question. "Some people want it"...have you identified a target market? Are there similarities in these people? How many? Did they tell you what they'd pay for it? Why didn't they pay you for it already (before you wonder about this, people do it all the time: it's called Kickstart)? Do you know how to reach these people? What are your costs? Can you charge a price that gives you a profit? Will people pay it? Have you locked in a steady source of supply (manufacturing) for your product? Do you have a backup manufacturer in case this one flakes out or implodes? Do you have a sales team? How are you going to reach the market and generate revenue? Do you have the budget to do so? Do you have the cash to fund the startup? Can you replace your own income safely to "fully pursue it"? I recommend you get the Amazon/Kindle book "How To Quit Working" by Jeff Steinmann. It will give you the roadmap on how to make this transition, and is the #1 business book I have found.