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13 Comments

I need help with my startup idea. Can you help?

Hello, first off I have had an idea for a long time now and do not know where to start. I am 16 years old and do not have access to money to hire devs.
I'm trying to learn code but is a long and arduous process, this is will likely lead to my idea being taken if I do not act fast. I have already written a business plan but have no MVP for it. what should I do? any tips on where to go next/ would you be interested in joining a team and starting it with me?

i just really want to get started on this opportunity

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    I wouldn't worry about someone stealing your idea. It only creates an unnecessary pressure. And think how hard it is to convince people to even like your idea or explain your unique vision. No one is stealing business ideas before they're properly executed and making a lot of money.

    As for coding, it is much easier and quicker to learn to code when you know exactly what you want to build. Just google every single step of the process. I've been a programmer for 20+ years and I still do that on every project. The only difference is with time you know exactly what to google for and which result is worth clicking.

    Good luck.

    1. 1

      100% this.

      Last year I couldn't code despite starting so many tutorials. A friend needed a smartphone app and I was marginally more technical than him

      12 months later I have three apps live in the app stores and several webapps.

      A working application is just lots of small problems solved. So just start writing your app, and solve the first problem. Then the next. That's it. Persistence is the key

      That said, investigate the lo-code / no-code platforms out there. You may be able to get your idea working without writing a line of code, just to test if there really is a market for it

  2. 1

    I started my first business with no technical skills. I had never even sent an email. However, I had a great idea. In the end my company built a mobile device from scratch. We developed the electronics, the embedded code, the communications software, and application software for the PC. We had to design a keyboard, case, motherboard, everything. We had to figure out manufacturing. And we did it all.

    If your idea is special, and if you have thought a lot of it through, then you might be able to convince others to participate. You're young so find someone else who is young. Perhaps you know of somebody at school that is into coding. I like to work with people who are still learning because if they are hungry to learn they will figure it out.

    Having an engineer changed everything for me. Once we made a little progress we had something to show people. That attracted more people. Each person who joined us contributed something new and it grew. It was a very exciting time. And each contribution made it better so new people were interested and joined us.

    The goal is to make progress. Start with pen and paper. My first prototype was just a stack of papers with my screen sketches on them. Then a friend, who was an artist, made them prettier. Then someone liked the prettier designs and made a non-functional prototype in PowerPoint. And so on and so on.

    Eventually you will need money. For now just focus on creating the best way to share your idea to get people excited. Your goal is to get people to participate. If they do then you'll have something.

    Good luck to you!

  3. 1

    You mentioned in the comments you're building a multi vendor marketplace. It's possible to do this without code using WordPress / WooCommerce. You can search for a theme on Themeforest and use several plugins to achieve this functionality.

    Alternatively there are many SaaS platforms like Unirgy that give you out of the box multivendor marketplaces.

    First option will be cheap but since you have to plug it yourself together it will take a little bit of time, but it's fairly faster than coding, I think you can figure it out under 1 week.

    Second option is fastest to market however you'd need to pay their monthly fees also they may or may not allow you to leave their platform once you are ready to start your own.

    In my opinion, go with Wordpress as you shouldn't build your business on other people's land.

  4. 1

    Hi,

    I don't know about your idea but I think you could try thinking of how/what you can do without coding. Maybe it's launching a landing page faking you have the product (in order to check if you get some leads), maybe it's making a video as if the product's working, maybe it's doing everything on your own to provide the service that will be later made by an app, etc.

    In fact take your idea, think about your current context/environnment, then act even if it's not by coding.

    It could help you validate or unvalidate your idea. Or make you understand how it should be done differently.

    If you validate your base idea, if you gain some leads, it will be easier to find partners/investors.

    Good luck!

    1. 1

      Thank you for your response my idea is multivendor marketplace not for freelancer but for products so any suggestions along the lines of that?

      1. 1

        Multivendor marketplace, like ebay for example?

        1. 1

          More like Depop if you’ve heard of that site but more brand based

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            I didn't know about Depop.

            It seems you want to make something which needs coding skills. If you don't have them, it'll be near impossible I guess.

            You may find a partner but I can't give any advice. Just telling that it will be complicated at best.

            Maybe it's the right time to start learning to code ;)

            1. 1

              Thanks for help I’ve been trying to learn but to no avail it’s a slow game and it’s tricky to know what to learn and what to ignore

              1. 1

                Hey,
                No need for coding skills in the beginning. Just use NoCode tools to setup something. It'll be ugly and slow but at least you will be able to show what you want to achieve.
                Then you will be able to find peers to code it for / with you and grow your business.

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