Offer HN: I'll develop your mobile app at a bargain basement price

[polquaser]

Hi,

Since the start of the year, I've been doing consultancy work to help fund my start up (https://www.dropbox.com/s/7irkl4riu82a2su/fp_pitch_deck.pdf?dl=0). Mostly it has been developing web applications from scratch.

My offer is quite simple:

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I'm offering severely discounted rates on iOS / Android app development.

My problem:

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I'm tired of doing web application development, my clients typically fit into the profile of companies wanting minimum viable products and usually it takes several months/years before that develops into anything bigger. In the meantime if I have to suffer a death by a thousands cuts (splitting my time 50:50 between consultancy and hacking on my start up) - I'd at least like to take the chance to improve my skill-set and work on projects that are actually interesting.

Why discounted rates?

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I'm an accomplished programmer and an effective communicator. I'm easy to work with, I have a very simple process which begins by either interpreting or helping you build your initial specifications.

I have a track record of finishing the job on time and on budget once I have a clear idea of what you want to build. I'm a fast learner and meticulous to detail - if we're building an MVP, there's no reason for me to deliver a code base that resembles a spaghetti ball of mess; I take pride in my work.

My previous clients would say they love working with me because I'm straight forward and simply get the job done with minimal fuss. In fact, I've worked with many of them for a number of years - clearly my work provides them a lot of satisfaction.

However I have no iOS/Android applications in my portfolio at present and I want to rectify that as soon as possible. I don't have the luxury of knocking up sample applications due to issues I mentioned earlier.

[polquaser]

(continued from above...)

What's the caveats?

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I'm learning on the job unfortunately so whilst I'm a quick learner and an established polygot programmer, it might take me slightly longer to get certain things done until I'm more familiar with the workflow / processes involved in the app development cycle. We might also run into unexpected difficulties.

To alleviate the risk for anyone choosing to hire me, I'm willing to offered a fixed price quote - I'll swallow any delays due to my unfamiliarity with ObjC/Java/Android/iOS app stores.

How do I get in touch?

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If you have an idea that you've been sitting on / or you think this sounds like the perfect opportunity to get your MVP built...

Firstly please check out my site here: http://themvplab.com and if you're interested, my profile contains contact information.

[bikamonki]

How much is this 'fixed & discounted' fee for an app? Just to stir your offer: there are several outsourcing shops at $6-$10 (USD)/hour, full payment on delivery, proven experience. Can you offer the same?

[Mc_Big_G]

And this is exactly the kind of customer you get when you offer cheap work. You'll probably regret this. Make sure you have a rock solid contract. My advice: If you want to develop an app, JFDI.

[polquaser]

I understand where you're coming from. I've contracted long enough to have had my share of nightmare projects - late payments, feature creep, poorly planned specs etc. I think I'm getting good at sensing which projects should set my alarm bells ringing.

Unfortunately my free time gets in the way of JFDI so I thought this was the best way to kill two birds with one stone.

[smhx]

Can you name a few such outsourcing shops that seem too good to be true (and likely are).

[polquaser]

I can't afford to compete with those hourly rates or the payment terms.

I'm based in the UK so as well as cost of living, I have to factor the strength of Sterling into my hourly rate as well when dealing with international clients.

My strength is communication and understanding of your requirements so I'm targeting a different type of client; perhaps putting bargain basement in the title was misleading?

[nakedrobot2]

I tried contacting you on your contact page, but I got an error ;-)

http://themvplab.com/contact

So, how do we contact you?

[polquaser]

My HN profile has my email address, thanks for the heads up re: the contact form and sorry you had to fill out the entire form to figure out it was not working!

[chrisbennet]

Your profile email is not visible to others. You have to put it in your "about" field for people to see it.

[polquaser]

ah thanks for the tip, the contact form is now working regardless. Have added my email to profile.