iPhone app developer - need outsourcing reco

[dgerbs]

Hi all, I'm re-reading 4-Hour Work Week and in the process of building a few iPhone/mobile apps. I am interested in outsourcing the design/development to get it done timely and economically (until I hit it big:)). Has anyone worked with any outsourcing companies that handle this kind of work? Google searches present a slew of options but I'm looking to see if there's a recommendation I can start with.

Much appreciated!

Dan

[kbjeff]

I haven't hired programmers before, but they are certainly available on www.odesk.com and www.elance.com.

You can filter through their skills and find someone with iPhone app experience, I would imagine.

[Screeps]

Get very familiar with E-Lance if you haven't already. Surf thru past jobs that others have awarded that are similar to what your doing and look thru the reviews.

I found a design firm that turned around a logo design in 48 hours and paid 60 bux. :)

[scotts]

I use Elance for myself and clients. In addition to the good advice above you might want to consider starting with a small project to try out a vendor.

I put together a PDF on some considerations for outsourcing Website development. If you click over to the site in profile and sign up for my newsletter it will be emailed to you. A developer in Russia I found via Elance did the PHP integration for me and I was very happy with the cost and work.

-Scott

[dgerbs]

I appreciate your advice...I'll give elance a hard glance and do my best to choose wisely!

[vmgbpo]

Outsourcing is great but remember to check credentials. Don’t just read testimonials and feedback. Get references and check them. Have a phone conversation with them too. You can tell a lot from a phone conversation. And don’t be afraid to ask the tough questions.

When you settle on a provider be very specific about your milestones, deadlines and payment structure. And communicate. You can’t put projects like this on complete autopilot. Your provider need guidance and feedback and you need to know what they are doing. You have to find that fine line between too much control and too little.

And learning to outsource takes some practice so don’t give up.

[Delavaez]

I was wondering if ELance yielded a developer that you were comfortable with, but I am more interested in how you protected your idea when shopping around.

Correct me if i am wrong but from my own research I have found that in the U.S. you cannot patent software, or at least it is really difficult to patent software conceptually. You can patent the code once written but not the idea. A few exceptions have been ideas that are totally different from anything ever attempted before. Can someone clear this up for me?

I am equally interested in how outsourcing will effect intellectual property. Do international laws protect local patents? How do you get someone to sign a NDA electronically and would that even make a difference?

I have been developing an App that will revolutionize an industry and how we interact with said industry forever more. To finance this project I have been shopping around for investors but before I pitch this I really want to protect myself.

Any input from the board would be greatly appreciated.

[seth121]

iphone apps are a bit more involved depending on what you are trying to do. If it's a pretty advance app then you might have to be physically involved or else the process will take longer to complete. Depending on the app it could take up to a year to develop and test if you outsource this is including problems that may come up or issues that come up after the release.

You should do a landing page with the app description and post it on twitter and do a month campaign to see if it's marketable over the web or you might have to go directly to a customer to market it.