The Common Path For Launching A Tech Product
You had an idea for tech products. You had saved money to build it, had friends or family fund it, or got an investor. You’ve contacted several development companies and picked the one that had the cheapest rate you could afford. You spent six months developing the product, putting in features to solve all your identified pain points. You launch the product and realize that you have no more funds. On top of that, your target customer doesn’t care about half of the features in the product. Does any of this sound familiar?
This story is not fiction but accurately depicts many businesses’ and entrepreneurs’ stories. We hear about them in about 80% of our first interviews with new potential clients. The story is so famous we think it’s time to write this post about it. We try to answer how this keeps happening and how to prevent it.
The Wrong First Step
Many businesses and entrepreneurs tend to shop around for development firms when it comes to new product development. Many software development companies offer full-featured development of these ideas immediately. They sell the idea that you can fully complete the project at a low-cut rate. Some would say, ” This is awesome, but is it the right first step?
Whether it’s a lack of experience in product development or a focus on getting a large development contract, this “offer” has created trust issues within the industry that is hard to crack. At the end of product delivery, many find they aren’t getting the expected results.
Let’s face it; a development firm is simply a service to develop whatever you want. It’s order-taking in the grand scheme of things, which is a disservice to you in the long run. You don’t need order takers; you need a firm that enhances your ideas and uses their experience to guide you through the product development life-cycle.
If you were going into surgery, would you tell the surgeon how you want the surgery to be performed? Probably not. So, could you ask a development firm to build your idea how you think it should be? Ask them how they feel it should be built when their core competency is in the delivery. Not in the enhancement of client ideas.
The Right First Step
Using a software consultancy is the right first step. They run your tech products through their paces before writing a single line of code without racking up the development bill.
Whether the product is customer-facing or for internal business use, the software consultant analyzes the product. Particularly how the product will affect your business goals and guide the process. Discussions of future roadmaps, markets, etc., are all part of the conversation about how the firm will build your product. As well as what technologies you should implement to meet your business requirements for today and tomorrow.
Grata’s Product Development Program
At Grata Software, many new customers show us their ideas. Also, the translations of those ideas into minimal viable products. Or even final products developed by either their off-shore or on-shore cut-rate development firms. The products are full of glitches and security holes, and cannot scale their customer base without significant investments in hardware.
That’s why we’ve put together our framework to analyze, advise, architect, implement and manage our clients’ product ideas. No matter if it is a new concept or an existing product that needs growth and scalability. We focus on current and future business, building partnerships to ensure a long-lasting relationship throughout the product’s life.
To conclude, if you have a tech product that needs development, get a software consultant from the beginning. This will save you time and money in the long run. If you have a currently operational product, you can contact a software consulting firm to look over the product. Therefore, it will deliver the results that were initially intended.
As I mentioned, we’ve seen our fair share of products hanging by a proverbial thread. As well as some that would never reach their intended goal because they didn’t have the proper implementations in place. If you have a tech products idea or want us to assess your current tech products, request a free assessment from Grata Software by emailing [email protected] or calling 321-236-0011.