codebits VI

Bits to Business, how to sell your software
November 15th, 16:00 - 17:00
Pavilhão Atlântico, Sala Tejo
Main Stage
Parque das Nações,
Lisbon, Portugal

Abstract

We all have brilliant ideas and are talented to implement them, but when is it the right time to make the jump to freelance or startup?

In this talk, I'll go through a few of the major issues and gotchas of running your own startup and actually making a living from your software.

Not everyone likes clients, heck, some of us actively avoid them. Until I started rigorously tracking my time, I never knew what per cent of the day was spent on meetings or getting new customers. And what's worse, I'm not sure those percentages are normal! If you are going to try and make a living selling your open source software like I do, you should at least see what I have to deal with, you might not be so different.

With experience working for startups that took millions in investment and a ones that scraped by on government grants, I've seen it all. Do you know how much of your income should be client work and hourly invoices and how much should be from software sales? Keeping a nice balance prevents any major downturns and guarantees you pay check no matter what the competition does.

Even if you are not founding a startup, but joining one. How much should you sacrifice in good pay in return for the risk and reward of stock options? I thought I was winning until some explained delusion. Should your team even take investment or join an accelerator program and if yes, when?

I certainly don't have all the answers, but I'll explain how I turned a weekend hobby into a startup able to support 3 people only selling B2B software in education, and hopefully encourage everyone that they can do it too.

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codebits VI

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