Trying to convince a friend NOT to build an app

I am part of an entrepreneur group on Facebook. A nice fellow was looking for someone to build him an app. I tried to convince him to talk to customers and provide value without an app first.

Here is the conversation, thought it might help some IHers figure out how to provide value without coding something. :)

Brandon:
HELLLPPP! please
I have what I believe is a great idea. However, I also have no clue what to do. I need to put together my vision of an app so I can present it to a few companies to get quotes to build it.
Any suggestions on wireframe apps or how you have done this outside of pen and paper. I have a base idea but would like to come to the table with something more in detail so I can spend less hours/cash with the company trying to redesign because I was not clear.
Thank you in advance

Josh:
Hey Brandon. I am going to save you a lot of time.

Don’t do a mock-up. Don’t do the business model canvas. Don’t get bids on building the app.

Identify 10 people who have the problem your app is solving. Talk to them. Try to solve their problem WITHOUT an app.

Example if your app is connecting restaurants that do takeout and people who want to order food, talk to the 10 people who have that issue. What are they currently doing to solve it? What have they tried already? Then figure out how to solve their problem without an app. Text them lists of restaurants. Make a spreadsheet and share it with them. Tape printed out lists to their door.

You can spend thousands of dollars building an app no one wants.

Talk to customers instead.

Brandon:
fair but this is impossible without an app.

Josh:
I seriously doubt that Brandon. I want you to succeed.
But you don’t have to have an app to provide value.
Photo editing app - edit them yourself in photoshop.
Churn busting - send the emails yourself
Ocean temps sensing - get access to buoy data and publish it as a blog.
DON’T just make an app.
I worked on a app for a client. Beautiful app, well done, great business plan. No one bought it. Wasted tens of thousands of dollars.
Find the value provide the value talk to your customers.

Brandon:
ok I’m open to suggestions.
Without giving too many details, imagine a class pass for rock gyms but it’s just one fee. Need to scan in to the gym, look up to see what gyms are participating in your area, manage subscriptions etc.

Josh:
Awesome! Now we are getting somewhere.

I would start by talking to 10 gyms. Pick a small area so you can get word of mouth. Ask them what they struggle with. Do they want extra revenue? Do they already have over crowding issues? When are their down times?

Then I would talk to 10 rock climbers. Ask them why they go to a particular gym. Have they tried others? Why why not.

Then take your learning and make a coupon book. Seriously a coupon book. Make an agreement with the gyms they get X dollars for every coupon redeemed. You sell it to climbers for X + your markup. Then they just hand a coupon to the gym they want to climb at.

You collect the redeemed coupons from the gyms and pay them out. Any coupons not redeemed you could split the money between the gyms and yourself.

All of the above work is the hard part.

If you need people to be able to find the gyms easy, list them out in the back of the coupon book and include a QR code that would load the address in google maps.