[evan]

This summer I'm thinking of starting my own (tiny) software company, really as an excuse to play around making iPhone/iPad apps and to not have to have a real job. I realize it would probably end up being MORE work than an official internship, but I really enjoy figuring things out for myself and if I'm even moderately successful I think it could look really great on a resume for after I graduate. (fyi, I'm a 3rd year looking to graduate with a degree in computer science in just over a year). It would probably be just me and a friend or two learning objective C then getting to work.

I've done a little bit of research and decided that the best way to do it business-wise is to start an LLC, but beyond that I don't really know. Gonna do some more googling but I figured I would also post this here to get your opinions/advice.

So, does anyone here have any experience with start-up software companies, or start-ups in general? Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated.

[joveblue]

Dunno. But I've quite enjoyed reading Paul Graham's essays. He's a partner at Y Combinator, who provide seed money for tech startups, so he has a fair bit of insight on what makes for a successful startup. And many interesting essays on other tech stuff too.

(his primary piece of advice seems to be to move to Silicon Valley though :/)

Best of luck.

[scratt]

Can't really give you any US centric corporate advice, re. company type, tax etc. etc.

However, what you're doing is basically what I've done out here in Thailand.
I've handed our small web based businesses over to my wife and apart from providing tech. support for her I am now full time consulting and working on my own software.

Consulting brings in the bulk of our big money (when we need it). But for the last 18 months I've been able to focus primarily on my own creations - which is fantastically liberating.

I've learned a lot about the iPhone/iPod ecosystem from all angles so if I can be of any assistance with problems / questions then feel free to bend my ear.

One first tip I'd give you (and I only did this because of my iPhone work) is to embrace Twitter, and start joining communities on there which are related to the iPhone. There are a very large number of Indie Devs. on Twitter, and we all network all of the time. It's probably the fastest way to get "into the loop", and the best way to start "existing" in the ecosphere. That, and producing cool stuff of course.

[evan]

Alright, well nothing's happening on the internship front for this summer and I'm a hair away from procuring enough of an investment (from family and close friends, but still...) to get what I need: an iPad, web hosting for a site, LLC fees, developer license. And what I want: 27" iMac* (my family and friends are generous I suppose). Luckily i was lazy and I'm only taking 12 credits this semester so I'll have some free time to dive into xCode so I'm not completely starting from scratch this summer. Anyway, wish me luck!

A few questions...

...would mobileme and iWeb be sufficient to give me a professional-ish presence on the internets? The main purpose for it would be customer support (assuming I could get some customers) and to show to possible employers for a job next summer.

...anyone wanna throw some name suggestions at me? I'm still in the brainstorming phase and could use a little help (names and titles have always been difficult for me in creative endeavors and for papers, I guess it still applies to company names )

...and any general advice geared towards either/both a novice in Obj-c and also starting my own LLC would be greatly appreciated


*my strategy for asking for money is usually to start off pretty high and gradually get worked down, but nobody really raised questions. Go figure & Go me

[torifile]

Squarespace for your site if you'd rather spend time on the software than the site. I've switched my practice site and my son's blog both to squarespace. It's more expensive but worth it so I don't have to deal with stuff I don't have the time for.

[Robo]

Originally Posted by CoachKrzyzewski ...anyone wanna throw some name suggestions at me? I'm still in the brainstorming phase and could use a little help (names and titles have always been difficult for me in creative endeavors and for papers, I guess it still applies to company names )

Hahaha, that's my summer venture. If you PM me a little bit of info about what exactly you're doing, I'll think on it. No guarantees though

[evan]

Originally Posted by torifile Squarespace for your site if you'd rather spend time on the software than the site. I've switched my practice site and my son's blog both to squarespace. It's more expensive but worth it so I don't have to deal with stuff I don't have the time for.

That actually looks pretty good... i guess I would have to get my own email though?

[torifile]

Originally Posted by CoachKrzyzewski That actually looks pretty good... i guess I would have to get my own email though?

I use Gmail for domains. It's free and only requires a little bit of tweaking at your registrar. Google gives directions for most major registrars. You just need to change your MX record to Google's servers. It's easy once you get it set up. I'm sure that someone over in their forums can walk you through the process.

<referral whoring>Hey, if you do use them, can you use my referral link? PM me if you want. </whoring>

[evan]

Originally Posted by CoachKrzyzewski ...anyone wanna throw some name suggestions at me? I'm still in the brainstorming phase and could use a little help (names and titles have always been difficult for me in creative endeavors and for papers, I guess it still applies to company names )

started thinking about names that would be meaningful to me and kept coming back to my favorite shakespeare quote of all time

To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, To the last syllable of recorded time; And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player, That struts and frets his hour upon the stage, And then is heard no more. It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.

Sound and Fury Software LLC

what do ya'll think?

EDIT: Just realized, and I kinda like, for irony's sake, that you could say my company is "a tale told by an idiot, signifying nothing"

[joveblue]

Originally Posted by CoachKrzyzewski Sound and Fury Software LLC what do ya'll think?

Needs an ampersand: Sound & Fury LLC.

[Robo]

Originally Posted by CoachKrzyzewski what do ya'll think?

Well, if you want my honest opinion, it poses a few problems.

First, "Sound and Fury Software" is too long. Studies have shown that the limit for a communicative name is five syllables. This is why "The Bank of New York" rolls of the tongue but "The Bank of New York Mellon" is bothersome to say, despite the fact that the first five syllables are identical. "Sound and Fury Software" might be the legal name but I would wager that even you would start calling it simply "Sound and Fury." I think it's best to keep the legal name and communicative name the same, whenever possible. Besides, "Software" is an unnecessary addition -- if we see your brand in the App Store, we know you sell software.

So why not just use "Sound and Fury"? Well...

soundandfury.com is registered. (Apparently it's a band?)

twitter.com/soundandfury is registered. (I check them both simultaneously these days, even before looking at legal. Twitter is that important.)

joveblue suggested using an ampersand.

Oh boy.

I love ampersands. Love them. But not in branding. Why? You can't put an ampersand in a URL (or Twitter name, or even Twitter hashtag) and users without touchscreen phones will find it difficult to even Tweet (or SMS) an ampersand, when they want to tell everyone about your great product. AT&T is probably the easiest example here. Their URL? att.com. Remember 1-800-CALL-ATT? (Dial down the center!) And yet they still have an ampersand in their logo. (If I was rebranding AT&T -- and I wish I could -- I would change the ampersand to an interpunct. This would keep the familiarity of the ampersand, but no one would try to pronounce it. Also, the interpunct would nicely fill the awkward space between two capital Ts. But I digress.)

The problem is that if you have "and" in your name, some people will link to you using "and" ("Sound and Fury") and some people will link to you using "&" ("Sound & Fury"). I'm no SEO expert, but that probably won't work wonders for your search engine rankings.

Finally, perhaps the principle problem with Sound and Fury is that it's an arbitrary name that doesn't sound -- forgive the pun -- like one. I'm a fan of arbitrary names (Amazon, Apple, Shell) over descriptive names (America Online, Cablevision) but Sound and Fury sounds like it could be either. You see that Apple makes computers and you know that there's no actual connection between their computers and apples -- it's arbitrary. You hear of a company named Sound and Fury that makes software, however, and the immediate temptation would be to assume that they make software relating to sound. The idea of a computer made out of apples is implausible, but the idea of a sound-focused software company is very plausible. "Sound and Fury" probably wouldn't be a good choice for a software company that doesn't focus on sound, for the same reason that "Apple" is a fine name for a computer company but would be a poor choice for a fruit company that doesn't sell apples.

I'm glad that you're bold and bright enough to consider arbitrary names. Lots of far larger companies never get that far; their names are inevitably reduced to alphabet soup until more insightful leadership launches a rebranding later at great cost. (Suppose you're a manufacturer of warning signs. Which is a stronger name -- "HCS," for "Hazard Communication Systems," or "Clarion"? I rest my case.) But it's essential that the name be recognizable as an arbitrary name. Amazon is a memorable and evocative name for an online retailer but "Amazon Tours" would be a poor choice for a South American adventure tourism company that didn't visit the Amazon. You get the picture.

Just my two cents. But keep the discussion going! I hope I'm not going to discourage you from posting more. It's okay to come up with lots of off-the-wall ideas that never work out -- that's what the most creative branding and advertising agencies do. The more you post about names you are considering or even just words you like, the more of a sense of personality your venture develops, which is important for me to know but far more important for you to know. So keep it up

[joveblue]

FWIW, AFAICT, the brand of the company behind software on the app store isn't terribly important (so long as it's not dodgy-sounding or something. If you're looking at a app on the store it should be immediately obvious whether or not it's a sound app from the app title and logo etc., the company name wouldn't really put this into question. So I say roll with what you like.

However the URL check should always be the first step after thinking of something.

As for interpuncts, having a character in your name that can't be typed easily (without using some keyboard shortcut or character palette) doesn't sound like a great idea to me. The URL issue with ampersand is a valid point though. In AT&T's case, not only does the ampersand look nice, it also prevents it from being yet another bland three-letter acronym.

[jdcfsu]

I majored in entrepreneurship and small business management in college and what you want to incorporate as is a Sub Chapter S Corporation. This will help with your tax liabilities, etc. They have some specific requirements, such as board meetings with minutes, etc but, as my professor explained, he had quarterly board meetings with himself and made sure to take the minutes.

My advice, and the best advice they gave us in school, was to get a CPA to take care of everything for you. You're going to be dealing with capital expenses (the computer, the hosting, development tools, etc) and all of that has tax implications. In fact, with a good CPA you'll be able to write off a ton of purchases on your taxes and charge it to your business including portion of your rent/housing expenses as it will be used for "the business."

Basically what I'm trying to say that if you're serious about this, make sure you do it right and use a CPA that is familiar with small businesses.

As for the naming, like people have said above when it comes to app store companies (or all tech companies anymore for that matter) as long as your name isn't "I'll Rob You Blind, LLC" it doesn't really matter. But Robo brings up great points about making sure that your name is available as a domain and a twitter name before moving ahead. I know this could make things difficult, but you want to make sure people can find you.

Finally, I wish you luck in your venture. I applaud people who are willing to take a risk and make it on their own.

[Partial]

The first thing any software developer (who wants to be successful, anyway) is read Getting Real. It's a free eBook and it's a very, very quick read.

[evan]

I've also thought about using my middle name - wingfield - as a starting point for the company, or is that too self-centered?

As for domain names / twitter, these are available:
wingfieldsoftware (too long for twitter, but could do evan_wingfield (my first+middle name) or something?)
wingfieldapps

[jdcfsu]

Originally Posted by CoachKrzyzewski I've also thought about using my middle name - wingfield - as a starting point for the company, or is that too self-centered? As for domain names / twitter, these are available: //urls removed//

Using your name will cost less as you won't have to file a Fictious Name when you get your business license (at least that's how it is here).

Also, don't post or search domains until you are ready to buy them cause they'll get poached.

[Majost]

Careful linking 'available' domains. Some enterprising schmuck *cough* could snag 'em before you do.

[evan]

Pls don't poach!

[evan]

still brainstorming names... if I were going to name it after a work of art could I incorporate said work of art on my website? It was made in the mid 1920s by a guy who is long dead if it makes a difference.

[jdcfsu]

I don't know copyright laws but I believe stuff goes public after 50 years in the states. But I think it's a little tacky IMO. If you're going to represent your business with a work of art, you better deliver at the highest level. My opinon, keep the name game simple. The less explination needed for the name the better.

[evan]

Originally Posted by jdcfsu I don't know copyright laws but I believe stuff goes public after 50 years in the states. But I think it's a little tacky IMO. If you're going to represent your business with a work of art, you better deliver at the highest level. My opinon, keep the name game simple. The less explination needed for the name the better.

the name works well on it's own, the painting would just be a little part of the "about" page or whatever. to simplify things I'd probably just avoid posting it directly and link to it or something... assuming I go with the name. I'm giving myself another week to come to a decision, hopefully it doesn't take that long.

[Frank777]

My tidbits of wisdom: Never start your own company unless you have a management team.

That means - at a minimum - an accountant and a lawyer.

If you're not comfortable with a Board of Directors, find someone in the business world you trust and ask them to offer advice (like a mentor.) You need someone to be accountable to, if only to keep you focused.

It's always worth the effort to go through the exhausting process of writing a business plan.
Again, it keeps you focused and looking towards your goals and milestones. If you aim for nothing, you will always hit that target.

[evan]

I think I've settled on a name! Not official yet but I'll make sure you guys know when I get it all settled

edit: gosh, I sound like robo...