Idea to launch - the start of a startup

September 4, 2018 in New York
https://www.tryswift.co/events/2018/nyc/

Everyone is starting a startup these days. As a three-time startup founder, I'll get into how to come up with a great app idea, build a prototype and test it with users, pick a company name and incorporate, and how to launch your app to the world.

Transcript

1. Idea to launch: Leah Culver – Breaker The start of a startup
2. Me Developer for 12 years (!) 3x startup founder
3. Office hours at 2pm (after lunch)
6. • Find and follow friends • Send episodes to friends • Share on Twitter and Facebook • Like episodes ❤ • Comments • Find new episodes
 based on likes, listens, and comments Features
7. Idea
8. file sharing + mobile social
9. forums + chat
10. refined chat concept based on user data
11. podcasting
13. Co-founders
14. Customer interviews. Where to start?
15. “We want listeners.”
16. Didn’t quit our jobs… … built a prototype.
17. Get Erik to switch from Overcast. Goal #1
18. “Breaker” naming
19. • Easy to say over the air • App Store availability • Trademark search + language search • Negative connotation (Virgin) • No uncomfortable misspellings (Groove) A month!
20. From 1 user to 100s of users. Goal #2
21. TestFlight
23. Y Combinator Winter 2017 (2nd time)
24. As needed! Incorporation, fundraising, office space.
25. From 100s of users to 1000s of users. Goal #3 Metric: Weekly Active Users
26. Product Hunt Beta (Ship)
27. Product Hunt Ship (now)
28. From 1000s of users to launch. Goal #4
29. Launched March 2017 Demo Day!
30. Post-launch
31. for podcasters!
32. Marketplace for premium podcasts
33. Ship quickly!
34. http://blog.ycombinator.com/product-development-cycle-fundamentals/ Product development
35. Product planning • 1 week sprints (formerly 2 weeks) • One looonnnngggg meeting (2-4 hours) • Everyone suggests features, bug fixes, and tasks • Vote on priority and difficulty, reach consensus • GitHub project board (Kanban)
36. Work! iOS app release a week.
37. No bug tracker!
38. Iterative feature development
40. Lessons learned • Weekend work • Last minute biz • User feedback and growth • Product process • Build iteratively and collaboratively
41. Photo credits https://www.flickr.com/photos/oliverthompsonphotography/5413143589 https://www.flickr.com/photos/shiningstars11/8203317451 https://www.flickr.com/photos/stuart_spivack/5677520254 https://www.flickr.com/photos/emilybean/1216468104 https://www.flickr.com/photos/istolethetv/7265619242 https://www.flickr.com/photos/jonasb/3148917450 https://www.flickr.com/photos/jurvetson/253409227 https://www.flickr.com/photos/kartaba/20780138382 https://www.flickr.com/photos/minick/5884144411 https://www.flickr.com/photos/2nifugi/35796814021 https://www.flickr.com/photos/hiddenloop/4744110990 https://www.flickr.com/photos/ytblue/9775965641 https://www.flickr.com/photos/jonathangrossphotography/17204367619 https://www.flickr.com/photos/thekite2000/14294993292 https://www.flickr.com/photos/postsumptio/4760068982 https://www.flickr.com/photos/askmir/36052076554