iOS Confused, Developers pitch in

[pavlovonline]

I'm a bit confused. Just had a very random meeting. This guy was trying to meet with me as a developer for his idea he is trying to launch.

During the meeting he didn't really ask me about my experience or skills, just had me sign an NDA, and told about his startup idea, showed prototype. Then got quiet (like he was expecting me to say something), still didn't ask me any questions, then just kind of left (looking sad).

I'm confused because I don't know what to make of it. With most companies, they ask me about my skills and background, technical abilities, previous projects. They kind of want proof.

Do you guys get people with ideas knocking on your door like that? Was a very confusing meeting for me.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

I've had "buddy compatibility" type interviews where mostly you and the interviewer just chat about ideas until they're satisfied that:
1 - You know what you're talking about and what the project is about.
2 - You can get along with people and work in a team.

I generally have offers come out of this interview style... when they go poorly you get shown the door and it becomes quite awkward if you have to wait for a ride.

I'd imagine you just flunked this interview style.

 

[chown33]

At the very least, I don't think you'll fit well with this startup's style of communication (add scare quotes as needed).

I've had a few gigs where there were carefully written specs (which no one actually followed), frequent status reports (which no one actually read or acted on), progress meetings (which were often more "regress" meetings due to crappy QA), and a single "visionary" who sadly couldn't recall what he'd said or directed others to do from one week to another. If I requested equipment or other resources, I might get them or it might be ignored for weeks, despite being crucial to making the deadline.

On other gigs, I was given a brief outline of what was expected, and then they left me to gather the views of stakeholders, coordinate with other workers, and bring it all together. Despite having less information up front, this was much easier to work with because we informally communicated what we were doing. It was truly collaborative instead of being a random feature generator.

 

[pavlovonline]

@ArtOfWarfare, I tend to disagree here.

The person I spoke to didn't have much idea of what they wanted. They didn't know whether to do HTML5 or native, even though they want to work heavy with gps and geolocation. They didn't look at my previous work and the features I told them could be good. It was more like "Yeah dude, check out this startup idea!!" and waiting for me to be wowed. I just kind of learned that ideas are dime in a dozen, you come across good ideas every day. It's execution. So I don't think it's anything about flunking.

I also think the other person might have gotten disappointed when I mentioned the market price for iOS development.

I've had that interview style too and liked it a lot with other companies. But they knew what they are talking about, how they want to make it happen. We talked about cool features, frameworks, our experiences. Here it wasn't like that.

@chown33... I hear what you saying. This was not actually a startup, more like an idea the guy was pitching me with a prototype.

 

[Duncan C]

I'm a bit confused. Just had a very random meeting. This guy was trying to recruit me for his idea he is trying to launch as a developer.

During the meeting he didn't really ask me about my experience or skills, just had me sign an NDA, and told about his startup idea, showed prototype. Then got quiet (like he was expecting me to say something), still didn't ask me any questions, then just kind of left (looking sad).

I'm confused because I don't know what to make of it. With most companies, they ask me about my skills and background, technical abilities, previous projects. They kind of want proof.

Do you guys get people with ideas knocking on your door like that? Was a very confusing meeting for me.

Sounds to me like the guy was a back-room engineering type with no idea how to line up a team and funding to bring an app idea to market. That's pretty typical.

My guess is he was hoping you'd jump up and down, declare this was the greatest idea you'd ever heard, and offer him piles of money, no strings attached, to go off and implement his idea.

EDIT: I just reread your message, and now I'm not sure I read it right. Is he a business guy, looking for developers, or a developer, trying to sell his idea?

 

[pavlovonline]

@Duncan C - a business guy looking for developers

 

[Duncan C]

@Duncan C - a business guy looking for developers

Maybe he was hoping you'd sign on as a partner in his venture and do the work on speculation. That's pretty typical.

If he is that lost, walk away and don't look back.

If he calls you back or contacts you again, politely explain what you expect/require from a potential client, and how he did not meet your expectations.

 

[thedon1]

@Duncan C - a business guy looking for developers

A lot of people think the most important thing in development (or most things, not just apps) is the idea. In reality, the execution is what will make or break and app.

Everyone's got ideas, the hard work is realising them and turning them into a useful application which draws users. That's what he should have come to you with. Then the interview would have been to see if you could turn his idea into reality based on some specific requirements.