Continue to main
  • Products
    Business icon

    Build software

    Builder StudioTM
    Create your custom app and own all the code
    Studio StoreTM
    Sell goods and services online with ready-to-go-apps
    Builder NowTM
    Turn your app idea into a working prototype
    Studio RapidTM
    Build and launch enterprise apps in weeks
    Cloud hosting icon

    Hosting

    Builder Cloud
    Save big on all the cloud services you need
    Software support icon

    Support

    Builder Care
    Keep your app fresh forever with fixes and updates
  • Solutions for
    Business icon

    Business

    Entrepreneurs
    Make your dream business app a reality
    SMBs
    Scale your sales with an app you own
    Enterprise
    Bypass your internal teams and get apps built fast
    Industries icon

    Industries

    Retail & Ecommerce >Financial Services >Healthcare >Construction >Travel & Hospitality >Education >Media & Entertainment >
    See all industries >
  • Resources
    Case studies icon
    Case studies
    Real app-building stories from our customers
    Guides icon
    Guides
    Expert advice on how to start, run and market your app
    Blog icon
    Blog
    News, industry trends and quick-fire business tips
  • About us
    Story board icon
    Our story
    Why we're here - and how we can help you
    Question mark icon
    Why Builder.ai
    Find out how we compare with all your other options
    How we use AI
    How we use AI
    Discover the tech behind our products and services
    Newsroom
    Newsroom
    Builder.ai has been making headlines…
  • Pricing
  • Sign in
  • Get started
  • Products
    Business icon

    Build software

    Builder StudioTM
    Create your custom app and own all the code
    Studio StoreTM
    Sell goods and services online with ready-to-go-apps
    Builder NowTM
    Turn your app idea into a working prototype
    Studio RapidTM
    Build and launch enterprise apps in weeks
    Cloud hosting icon

    Hosting

    Builder Cloud
    Save big on all the cloud services you need
    Software support icon

    Support

    Builder Care
    Keep your app fresh forever with fixes and updates
  • Solutions for
    Business icon

    Business

    Entrepreneurs
    Make your dream business app a reality
    SMBs
    Scale your sales with an app you own
    Enterprise
    Bypass your internal teams and get apps built fast
    Industries icon

    Industries

    Retail & Ecommerce >Financial Services >Healthcare >Construction >Travel & Hospitality >Education >Media & Entertainment >
    See all industries >
  • Resources
    Case studies icon
    Case studies
    Real app-building stories from our customers
    Guides icon
    Guides
    Expert advice on how to start, run and market your app
    Blog icon
    Blog
    News, industry trends and quick-fire business tips
  • About us
    Story board icon
    Our story
    Why we're here - and how we can help you
    Question mark icon
    Why Builder.ai
    Find out how we compare with all your other options
    How we use AI
    How we use AI
    Discover the tech behind our products and services
    Newsroom
    Newsroom
    Builder.ai has been making headlines…
  • PricingSign in
    Get started
< All posts
Announcements

The first 3 steps for getting any idea off the ground

Not a tech insider? No worries. Let's get your company going.

Lakshmi Devan
Senior Manager Content @ Builder.ai®
July 14, 2020
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Person working on laptop

Did you just have an awesome idea for an app? Not quite sure how to get this game-changer going within the tech world? You are not the only one who has had the dream without necessarily the startup savvy background to match. Tech firms like Yammer, Squidoo and Meebo were started by non-technical founders, and look at them now. Here's how to take your idea from the back of a napkin into a well executed startup, even if you're not a coder or software savant.

Prove your idea is worthy

Your app idea might be a really bright one but it takes more than just a good idea to infiltrate the market. So before you invest both time and money, it is best to run your big idea through an array of tests:

  • Is there a similar product in the market already? Take the time to investigate any comparable products and compare it with yours to ensure that you still have a hook (it’s the first question an investor will ask anyway).
  • You may not be able to design or code but you can definitely visualize. Develop a wireframe version of the site or your app with the help of tools like iMockups, Basalmiq or Mockingbird. When you have something concrete in front of you, iterate on it. Find any holes or flaws and rectify them and then present your idea for feedback from end users, investors and developers.

Educate yourself

It helps to educate yourself enough to know what you don’t know. It will also help ask the right questions and to attract the best talent. Here are a few tips on how to educate yourself enough to take your idea to the shop floor:

  • Judge your own skills and abilities. This can be agonizing but the self-evaluation process is indeed critical. Once you are aware of your strengths and weaknesses, determining the key components you need from your team to attain balance will be a breeze.
  • Learn the basic development processes - Books on software engineering fundamentals are readily available. Add some programming blogs to your RSS feed to help you learn the jargon. To help understand the basics of user experience design (UX), play around with different apps and websites to determine your thoughts on user friendly designs and those elements that are not so user friendly.

Build a team

If you are serious about giving your thoughts a concrete shape, both investors and developers will take your venture seriously. With something viable at hand, it is time to find the team members who can actually help make idea material. A good team should combine everyone’s powers to make one awesome super structure. Find someone to complement and compensate for your lack of technical knowledge and know-how. Here are a few important points to remember while building your team:

  • Despite what you’ve taught yourself, you will eventually need a Chief Technical Officer (CTO) to spearhead the development. The person should be the right combination of technical prowess, good personality, capable of working harmoniously and dealing with the pressures of the business. It is important that you gel well with the CTO since they are ‘the’ person who can make your business flourish.
  • Followers of the same dream will definitely understand your vision and therefore spend time to select people who are as passionate as you are. Hiring a set of people who would merely work for salary and leave for the day would prove detrimental.

Make your vision as clear as possible as this will make it easy for the development team to give your product the desired shape. In fact you should also ask for their inputs/feedback from the team as it can be extremely valuable for shaping the big idea.Take it easy--share your tech idea with us and we will enliven it with Builder .

Found it useful? Share it on:
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Lakshmi Devan
Senior Manager Content @ Builder.ai®
TwitterLinkedIn
Lakshmi is a communications professional with over 6 years of experience across industries- from digital media and fashion to health and technology. She specialised in Integrated Marketing and Communications cum laude, and naturally, can work her magic best when handling public relations, marketing and editorial content and communication. Most people find her moderately introverted, conspicuously sassy, significantly energetic, and massively dog-loving.
View all posts from
Lakshmi Devan
Arrow right

Related articles

App
How to create an app from scratch: a beginner's guide
How to create an app from scratch: a beginner's guide

From design thinking to a successful release.

Tom Fenby
February 24, 2020
Trends
3 reasons to appify your dream in 2020
3 reasons to appify your dream in 2020

There are a number of reasons to face your truth, follow your dreams, break the trend, and live the life you’ve always wanted.

Erica Grigg
December 13, 2019
Marketing
10 inspiring podcasts for the entrepreneur in all of us
10 inspiring podcasts for the entrepreneur in all of us

One of the best ways to learn and grow is through listening.

Erica Grigg
May 13, 2019

Related case studies

Builder Studio
Cup O’Sugar
Cup O’Sugar

A third of food goes to waste. That’s 1.3 billion tons and USD$1 trillion of food every single year. The entrepreneur behind Cup O’ Sugar wanted to change this by making it easy for local communities to cut down on food wastage.

View case study
Arrow right
Builder Cloud
C-DIT (KITE Project)
C-DIT (KITE Project)

Each page Kerala’s 3,700,000 students need from this classroom tool – now loads 60% faster…

View case study
Arrow right
View more

Subscribe to our newsletter

Sign up to our newsletter to get monthly updates on new posts, discounted tickets for our events and possibly some candies, too.

Blog newsletter subscribe image
Builder.ai logo
Software as easy as ordering pizza
Try it for free
Right circle
Builder Studio app building illustration
Builder.ai logo
  • Facebook logoFacebook
  • Twitter logoTwitter
  • LinkedIn logoLinkedIn
  • YouTube logoYouTube
  • Instagram logoInstagram

Products

  • Builder Studio
  • Builder Care
  • Builder Cloud
  • Studio Rapid

Resources

  • App Builder
  • Guides
  • Case studies
  • DevOps

Company

  • About us
  • Careers
  • Partners

Reach us

  • Blog
  • Newsroom
  • Contact us
Builder.ai®, 6th Floor, North West House, 119 Marylebone Rd, London NW1 5PU.
Copyright © 2022 Engineer.ai Corp. All rights reserved.
Terms | Privacy | CCPA | Cookie Policy | Cookie Settings | Legal and Compliance
CogX awards budge
CogX awards budge
close icon

Get a free demo