If you have an idea for an app and your friend can program it

[agkm800]

Hypothetically, if friend A has an idea for an app, and friend B can turn A's idea into an app. And, both A and B decide to create their own app developing company and pursue the idea.

A has 100% idea and B has 100% skill. Then, who's more valuable to their company? Who should have the higher percentage of ownership if both spend the same amount of time and money for the app development? 50/50 is not an option.

 

[mickbab]

Hypothetically, if friend A has an idea for an app, and friend B can turn A's idea into an app. And, both A and B decide to create their own app developing company and pursue the idea.

A has 100% idea and B has 100% skill. Then, who's more valuable to their company? Who should have the higher percentage of ownership if both spend the same amount of time and money for the app development? 50/50 is not an option.

Why should 50/50 not be an option?

 

[GoCubsGo]

Why isn't 50/50 an option?
Sounds like you two need to grow up but since you probably won't I recommend the dev gets 5% more than the creator because an idea is great but a dev needs to write it OTOH, you're a dev without an idea. Think about it.

 

[mickbab]

A developer can't write an app without a good idea.
A creator can't get his app out if he can't write it.

 

[Zombie Acorn]

Ideas are a dime a dozen.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

Ideas are a dime a dozen.

Very true.

Many people can come up with an idea but very few people can make an idea work.

At most the idea person should get like 5% the dev getting 95%.

 

[rdowty]

If the idea is great you should hire a dev and then you get all the profits.

 

[tofagerl]

If you want 50 % of the proceeds, you have to provide 50 % of the app. The idea is not 50 %, it's closer to 25 % IMHO. However, if you help develop the app through diagrams, use-case diagrams etc, you've earned your half.

 

[rdowty]

I have an idea its for a game, it's a first person shooter and the graphics look awesome. Who wants to write it and give me half?

Seriously you can't really tell how much one person contributes without looking at it case by case. Some things are harder to write and some are probably easy. If it's something anybody could write then the dev probably doesn't deserve a big cut but if it's something hard to write and the idea isn't the most original the dev needs more or it's 50/50.

 

[sparkyms]

Surely if you're both friends the ONLY option is 50/50

 

[robbieduncan]

As has been suggested above ideas are cheap. Almost all developers will have more ideas than they have time to develop.

 

[samcraig]

If you're not willing to do a 50/50 split then perhaps you are partnering with the wrong person. And if it's you that's insisting on more than 50 percent than as another suggested - hire someone to build your app.

The whole coversation about the value on an idea is ridiculous. You can't put a price tag on something like that. Some of the best ideas in this country made people absolutely nothing and others it made a fortune. Same goes true for labor. Sometimes labor and skills make that person a valuable asset and they are rewards. Other times they are just a cog in the wheel.

You'll never be able to put a percentage on which is more important in a scenario like this. They are both important. (but see an example below)

Now - if one of you puts up more capital (i.e. for marketing or other things related to the app) then that should reflect in the split in this way.

Say one person puts in $500 for marketing, registering as a developer, supplies, whatever.

Then the first $500 gained from the sale should be used to pay back that "debt"

Then from that point on, it should be an even split.

You could also make an arrangement to split the profits 50/50 after an agreed upon fair "labor" charge. I.E. If it take the developer 20 hours to make the app and you both agree that $30 per hour is fair then when the app goes on sale, the first $600 (20x30) belongs to the developer and the rest is split 50/50

 

[whooleytoo]

A rough rule of thumb - how long does it take to describe your idea fairly completely? If you can do so in one or two sentences, it's probably only a small part of the app development process; and the developer should get more.

If you've put a lot of thought into the design, functionality and usability of the app; then it should take longer to describe than that; in which case you should get more. (I am, of course, assuming the idea is yours )

A lot of it is down to how much time is required from both people. You can have an idea in the blink of an eye, but it could take a developer months of work to realise that idea. Should both be paid equally? If your idea is so good that you'd deserve the majority of the money for a minority of the work, then you should look around to find someone else to implement it rather than a friend.