saddino

Hey everyone, just looking for some beta users (the link is to d/l via TestFlight) before this is ready for prime time, thanks!!

thanks for the comment! yeah our website is still our pre-launch placeholder for testers so we'll start to work on something more product focussed

well we got blindsided by Yahoo! when they released Livetext while we were still in stealth with a buggy MVP (in fact, TechCrunch broke the story the same day we submitted to the App Store)

pro: we don't have the validate the concept anymore

con: now we're playing catch-up with an Internet giant

anyway, guess there's some solace in having the only alternative on iOS for video texting without sound, and we still think our minimalist design is pretty cool

help us keep morale up by checking it out, thanks!

As someone who relocated from DC to SV two years ago, DC has always had a healthy startup scene that is, as you suspect, hampered severely by money flow. That's not to say it's not possible to fundraise where you are, it's just amazingly much harder to do so.

Your pitch is never "finished" because it's a living reflection of your conviction, your passion and most importantly, a tangible opportunity (for investment, for employment, for customers).

You should pitch whenever you can, to whomever you can, until doing so is effortless.

A pitch is foremost a test of your own faith in your project. If there is any self-doubt, your pitch will betray it, and you will know you aren't ready (or that the idea and your execution aren't going to cut it).

So by all means pitch. Test yourself.

The path I took (founded four startups previously, two exits, currently working on fifth) was to first have a go at consulting.

Working for yourself is not much different from running a startup. You have a product (yourself). You have sales (winning contracts). You have accounting (for your invoices and for your expenses) and have to keep books. You have legal (your contracts). It's a great way to learn how to run a (hopefully) profitable business and build the foundation you'll need to run a startup.

Here's a shorter version: Are you so inspired by a software product or service that you are driving yourself mad thinking about how it was created? Great, do whatever you can to write your own version. Keep at it. Seriously, keep at it. Are you so obsessed with figuring this out that you are unaware that hours are passing by while you work? Awesome. You have discovered a true passion. Now you don't need to read things titled "How to Be a Programmer" because you will drive yourself to become one innately.

For everyone else, go ahead and try to read things titled "How to Be a Programmer" but don't expect it to actually help you, you know, BECOME one.

If, worth = "love the convenience of a wi-fi enabled device that can be controlled by my phone and looks hella cool" then, yes...yes it is.