newbie: From simple idea to web-enterprise like facebook ; how?

[eliyia]

Hello ,i am interested in knowing what are the main practical steps for someone who has a web idea to develop it to the end ..I read about the persons behind facebook , myspace , twitter , etc , and their stories , but all i see are newspaper-like articles , no real-world practical steps of how it was actually done or developed .I appreciate any word

[justsomeguy]

It requires a lot of programming knowledge and experience, as well as experience with application design and things like database clusters. Some of the people who developed those sites were programmers or application designers themselves, and others hired people to help develop their idea.

[thescientist]

and time. whole lotta time.

[justsomeguy]

And money. Need a whole lotta spendin' money. To do it, to do it, to do it right child.

[wirehopper]

Before you worry about code - you need a great idea, something distinct and valuable. Then, a plan - since you usually can't build a world-class success quickly, you need a way to offer enough to assess the idea and define the path. At that point - the technical experience to do the work is vital, since the system has to work.A lot of people think web work is easy and it's easy to get rich quick - because the costs are low. The price is time. Your skills are the most important assets.

[End User]

A lot of people think web work is easy and it's easy to get rich quick - because the costs are low. The price is time. Your skills are the most important assets.

I agree- time is the key. Plan on being in it for the long haul- 5 or more years at least. The days of cranking out a site and having it become a lasting success via the "overnight success" route are mostly over. It's one thing to make a popular site, it's another to make one that'll still be popular next month. Or next year. When I launch a site, I don't expect much to happen for a year or two, sometimes longer. But that's okay, because I'm usually competing with people who have very little patience and give up after a year (if that). In their mind if it doesn't take off in a week, it's no good and they get discouraged and then they quit. Meanwhile I just keep plodding along, succeeding in many cases just because I outlived 'em.

[eliyia]

suppose a person built a prototype for his idea (ex: a social networking website) , documents it , uploads it for demonstration etc , where to go from there ?...search for entrepreneurs for getting investments and then if succeded (idea was original and accepted) , a facebook-like baby company is formed?is it that simple ? its all about the ; originality of the idea > search for investors > voila ?You become the head of a web company , hold$ more then the half of the shares , u hire u fire , u decide ur vacations , u dont even have to write one line of code (except maybe in the first stages of idea demonstration) ...??forgive my very basic sense in understanding

[Synook]

Well, the founder of Facebook was a developer himself, and wrote the application from scratch for a very select population at first, and then used that to expand. But sure, you could just hold the intellectual property and hire developers and other specialists to implement it with invested assets. I wouldn't call that "simple", though... I mean, you could have the greatest idea in the world, and have it poorly implemented - it happens all the time. For example, just look at what happens to many films. Or your product could be badly marketed, or just not work for many other reasons.

[End User]

is it that simple ? its all about the ; originality of the idea > search for investors > voila ?

Yep, it's that simple. That's why everybody is doing it. Nothin' to it, really- just come up with a massively original and successful idea, get people to give you millions of dollars for it, and you're done. In fact, I may do that a couple of times later today after I finish mowing the lawn.PS: I wouldn't even bother to write demo code, venture capitalists are all idiots and they'll usually just take your word for it. TIP: you may have to bring your own wheelbarrow to their office to haul away the cash they'll throw at you. Be prepared!

[eliyia]

lol , funny sarcasm from End_Useranway i'll try fixing my point : Getting one robust very original idea > privately implement it professionally on a small scale > demonstrate it > get investments > hopefully becoming a CEO of a newborn company that will take care of all the remaining work (from developing onto big scale to marketing , etc etc..)isn't that simple now?

[End User]

lol , funny sarcasm from End_Useranway i'll try fixing my point : Getting one robust very original idea > privately implement it professionally on a small scale > demonstrate it > get investments > hopefully becoming a CEO of a newborn company that will take care of all the remaining work (from developing onto big scale to marketing , etc etc..)isn't that simple now?

Writing it is simple. Doing it is hard. Good luck.

[justsomeguy]

I'm more or less in the process of doing this myself, and I've been working for over a year on the application and I've still got several months of development work before I'm ready to bring it to market. The application will probably represent around 1000 hours of development by the time it's ready to start being used by customers. Once I'm ready to bring it to market, then yeah we form an LLC or S-Corp and go around looking for both investors and customers, and eventually start hiring more people to help. If you start with a lot of money it makes the process a lot easier because you can hire developers immediately to create the product, and then hire marketers to brand and advertise the product, etc. If you don't start with a lot of money then you have to do all of the initial work yourself until you can either find investors to give you money, or enough customers to help pay for more developers and staff.But yeah, it starts with a good idea and a lot of time and development work.

[End User]

You know how to make a million dollars in the restaurant business? It's easy: start with 2 million! :)Unfortunately, it's true of many software businesses too.

[wirehopper]

You can leverage existing applications to demonstrate an idea or proof of concept. That will let you bring a system up much more quickly so you can refine it for later phases.

[eliyia]

can u give me an example about 'leverage existing applications' ?i def agree with u End_user and maybe all of u that saying it in words is a thing and doing it is another thing , but i think one can always replace or divert hard work with neat simple thinking and cleverness ..one more question , bear with me ;Assuming the 'idea' is very much original and shines all the way up , is it possible for one to 'sell' it while having it demonstrated only on papers?

[wirehopper]

I don't think you can 'demonstrate it only on papers', you're going to have to show people what you mean. That lets them understand your idea better and get an idea of how you're going to do it.By 'leverage existing applications', I mean use a similar software system to demonstrate your idea. For example, if you wanted to build facebook, it's a social network, so you could use Dolphin/Boonex, or phpFoX as a starting point and then customize it if you need to. That way, your system is up and running quickly. If investors are interested in it, you'll know. There are lots of ways to sell an idea. End User's note about being patient is important. You could build and launch a prototype or demo system, publicize it through the web, print, radio, twitter, facebook, pay per click ads, direct sales, email newsletters, etc, and then gauge the public's reaction. Adapt your product as necessary, wait, and listen. If it's truly a great idea, and it helps people, you're careful, creative, and throughful, you'll do fine. I think there's a fair amount of luck involved, too.Also, you need to know whether anyone else is already doing what you want to do, how they do it, whether it's working, etc. Market research.Think about doing a SWOT http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWOT_analysis. Write a business plan. You need to understand how you're going to make money. And, you need to decide, early on, whether you just want to pursue your dream to see what happens or whether you're depending on it for income. Sometimes, what you learn on an adventure like this is amazing, and other opportunities will arise as you progress, but be sure you have enough income to take care of yourself.

[eliyia]

wirehopper , u gave me valuable advices , thank you.same to u all .And I am very satisfied that i joined this forum .

[End User]

but i think one can always replace or divert hard work with neat simple thinking and cleverness ..

In my personal opinion, nothing could be further from the truth. Perhaps to some extent, but there are real-world limits that can't be avoided. The problem is this: somebody somewhere has to do the actual work. It reminds me of a quote attributed to Mother Teresa after Princess Di had given her a substantial check to use in her charity work. Supposedly Mother Teresa said later that, "Yes, it's all well and good to donate money, but if you want to dig a ditch, someone has to hold the shovel." In other words, at the end of the day someone has to do the actual "work" part of the work, and handing out checks doesn't get it done. Your idea can't just be vaporware- somewhere along the line there will be actual work involved.

one more question , bear with me ;Assuming the 'idea' is very much original and shines all the way up , is it possible for one to 'sell' it while having it demonstrated only on papers?

In a word, "no". Not unless the people you're soliciting money from have severe head injuries. It doesn't matter if you go to them with a sure-fire idea for "matter teleportation" or "pouring water out of a bottle", they'll still want to see a working model.

[boen_robot]

Actually, you can make off from an idea... in the US at least. The trick is called "Software patents". You just fully document your idea, register it, pay the fee (a small "investment") and if anyone implements it without your permission (and therefore giving you money), you can sue them, and get money in the end if the court decides in your favor.(I don't live is the US, but surely... think Eolas and the like...)

[wirehopper]

Actually, you can make off from an idea... in the US at least. The trick is called "Software patents". You just fully document your idea, register it, pay the fee (a small "investment") and if anyone implements it without your permission (and therefore giving you money), you can sue them, and get money in the end if the court decides in your favor.

However, obtaining a patent is very complex, and often requires lawyers. You must document your idea so well that it is indisputably unique, then you have to monitor the market to catch anyone who may be using the same concept, at which point, you have to pay a lawyer to help you.The people that really make money in that case are the lawyers.

[Synook]

Or you could just license the software patent before you have to resort to suing. As wirehopper says though, patents are very expensive.

[End User]

You just fully document your idea, register it, pay the fee (a small "investment") and if anyone implements it without your permission (and therefore giving you money), you can sue them, and get money in the end if the court decides in your favor.

I could be wrong, but I don't think he was asking for advice on how to become a patent troll, lol.

[boen_robot]

Hey, I never said it's a good or even moral way of doing it. It's just a possible and a legal way.

[eliyia]

Isn't registering the idea as a patent ,before demonstrating it whether through papers or through a working model , a mandatory issue? the investors as well as anyone could so easily kick me out along the road and go on with it on/as his own..and so , if holding a patent IS the first stone AND doing so, is much of a complex and expensive process ( near 50k$? , googled) as some of you have mentioned early on , it seems almost impossible for someone to earn funds/investment$ for a startup unless from one's good earned money , or from ones good old papas (i guess thats what facebook grads did before $ailing off out of their house rooms)End_user , now i feel your pessimism , or better yet the hard reality , and one indeed has to shovel first , no matter what

[justsomeguy]

the investors as well as anyone could so easily kick me out along the road and go on with it on/as his own..

That's what a Non-Disclosure Agreement covers. Before a meeting you would require the people you're meeting with to sign an NDA saying that you're going to sue them if they take your idea and talk about it or do something with it with other people without you involved. You may want a lawyer to help write the NDA for you. I doubt you're going to find much in your application you can patent though, if you're patenting something it needs to be a new and non-obvious invention, and the chances are pretty low that you're going to come up with something that no one has thought of or done before.