be frugal when building a product

A five slides presentation from the Team at Portfolio Software

Be frugal when building

http://www.portfoliosoftware.co.uk/


1. When building factor in development, testing and most importantly support

2. Don’t let fun override common sense, this is a business so spend both time and money wisely

3. Future proofing your product costs money and is guesswork

4. Choose the right technologies; decide too early and you add constraints, too late and you add risk

5. Always ask yourself whether you could buy cheaper and better quality than you can build yourself

The more you build, the more it costs



1. Partnerships are relationships, they only work when both parties benefit

2. Partner for the long term, sub-contract for the short term

3. Business Partnerships should be binding through a legal framework/contract

4. Always have a backup plan should your partner fail to deliver

5. Check out the partner before entering into an agreement

Partner where prudent



1. If a solution exists to solve your problem easily, you need a compelling reason not to buy

2. Remember that you need to consider third party support if using a 3rd party product

3. Check out the user community, is it well followed and how quickly does the supplier respond

4. Integration is key, if easy then great, if not then it’s a risk

5. Versions change, work out how quickly and the impact on you when it does

Spend time investigating off the shelf components



1. Mass produced wheels are cheap, specialist ones cost more

2. Problems are spotted more quickly, the wider the wheel is used

3. Testing is expensive, why would you do it when others have done it for you

4. Ask yourself a question, why would I buy a cake from the supermarket when I can make one with my own ingredients

5. Kit cars are fun to build, but people buy from major manufacturers, why ?

Don’t re-invent the wheel



1. Be honest about your strengths, recognise your weaknesses

2. Be realistic about the time you can truly devote to a product

3. Don’t underestimate the power of motivation but you need to be motivated for a long, long time

4. Your hobby is something you do for fun, business is something you do for profit

5. Don’t think you can do everything, identify the things others do better

Play to your strengths, not your passion
