I have a great idea for an app, want to hire a developer to make it happen, but do not have much money. I want to try to use a fundraising website such as Kickstarter but do not want to say what the idea is so that no one takes it and makes it themselves. Any suggestions?
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How do I fundraise for an App if I can't say what it is?
- Thread starter LittleDebby
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I would suggest you try to partner with someone - you bring your own skills in to help develop the game along with a developer. Ideas are pretty cheap in games development!
What do you mean? Are you saying share my idea with a developer and make them a partner so instead of paying them a set fee for making the game, they receive a percentage of the income?
Yes, something like this. You could set it up so that its a one project arrangement between the two of you, or if you know the person better, perhaps you might want to form a partnership or company with them.
In this case you absolutely must, must, must get an agreement in place that covers every conceivable point on revenue shares, how they are calculated, what happens if x y or z happens, etc.
To find a developer to help you/partner with, you're likely going to have to show them what you will be bringing to the table. Are you an artist? Game designer? Sound/music? All of those? Approaching a programmer saying "I have a great idea for a game, but no experience whatsoever, lets go 50/50!" probably wont work
To find a developer to help you/partner with, you're likely going to have to show them what you will be bringing to the table. Are you an artist? Game designer? Sound/music? All of those? Approaching a programmer saying "I have a great idea for a game, but no experience whatsoever, lets go 50/50!" probably wont work
With no experience or talents, there is only one thing that would help. Cash. Bring cash to the table, offer to pay for the development. 75/25 split wouldn't be unrealistic then. But be warned, you can easily get yourself into a really bad situation by not knowing the market and the industry. A programmer can easily string you along for months giving you little bits of crappy written code at a time getting you to pay for more development. Eventually when you're out of cash, you're left with nothing but pieces of code that really don't do all that much. Not that all programmers are this way, but without knowing what you're getting into, it is easy for one to do this to you.
Think about it this way: Good app developers have tons of options including high cash employment, higher cash contracting, and lots of great startup options that are funded AND offer equity. Your idea could be the greatest thing ever but unless you bring something relevant to the table you aren't likely to get a good developer. What is "something relevant"? UI Design experience, server side technical expertise (if relevant), product management experience, or previous business success.
If you have the last one you probably aren't asking this question. If you have any track record of success, I'd be hitting up your family and friends for enough capital to get an alpha version out to test your idea. That way you'll feel comfortable that your "unique" idea is not stolen. Last point I'd make is that your idea is probably being worked on by at least 2 or 3 other teams right now. Your real challenge is to execute on that idea (idea=1%, execution 99%).
If you have the last one you probably aren't asking this question. If you have any track record of success, I'd be hitting up your family and friends for enough capital to get an alpha version out to test your idea. That way you'll feel comfortable that your "unique" idea is not stolen. Last point I'd make is that your idea is probably being worked on by at least 2 or 3 other teams right now. Your real challenge is to execute on that idea (idea=1%, execution 99%).
