Monkey Duck (http://monkeyduck.net) aims to provide bands with all of the tools they need to build a complete online presence and connect bands, fans and venues. At first glance it might seem that we are a MySpace clone but we believe MySpace is more about people whilst Monkey Duck is all about music and live performances.

Some of the main features are:

* Continuous Playback (Even when changing pages using Ajax goodness)
* Playlists (that can be shared with other users)
* Buy/Sell Mp3s
* Setup a shop selling merchandise
* Friends Feed – See what your friends have added recently, new gigs etc…
* Recommendation System – Get music recommendations based on the types of music you like (Using clever neural network goodness)
* Access Control – Release songs to your friends only.
* Blogging
* Tagging
* Statistics – See what is popular on your pages
* Discography Management
* Better Integration of photos, videos and songs within your blog.
* Video, photo and MP3 uploading.
* Daily Charts
* Gig Listing and Searching + Gig Reminder Emails
* Mailing List Management

Once we have a good number of bands, users and venues we plan on setting up regular gigs where the highest rated bands are invited to play, shows will be recorded and put online as will podcasts showcasing the best in new music from unsigned bands.

I also plan on setting up an API so that bands can have their own websites which have a custom look but read all of the data (mp3s, gigs, blogs, discography, photos and videos) from the Monkey Duck website so in a way; we act as a content management system.

1. Building the web application has cost very little, mainly because I finished University last summer and have been setting up my own design and development company since so money has been tight. This has forced me to examine closely all spending decisions to look for the most effective in terms of both cost and end result.

In total, I would say so far I’ve spent less than £100 on various pieces of software (Wimpy Music Player Bundle, A JavaScript Scrollbar Implementation, and Some Stock Illustrations). Under £50 on stationary and printing for promotional items and currently around £12 a month for hosting.

One of the impacts of the lack of capital is the need to keep growth costs minimal as well; my hosting is currently £12 a month which should provide enough space for 2-300 users at least. Understanding this need to keep growth costs low the site has been designed such that I can spread it across multiple shared hosting accounts as needed until it gets to the point where it’s cheaper to get 1 dedicated server then multiple shared accounts. This way my growth costs are the absolute minimal they can be without a big initial capital investment in servers.

Another recent decision that’s occurred because of keeping costs low relates to leaflet printing. I need around 10,000 leaflets initially; I worked out that if I made them myself it would cost around £50 but to have them printed would be over £100. A tiny saving but a saving none the less, I brought materials to produce 1000 leaflets to give it a test run, it turns out the printing is easy, the quality is good but the cutting out of A4 into A6 is extremely time consuming and prone to errors which reduces quality, the only way to overcome this is to invest in a good guillotine which would cost more than having them printed professionally. For this reason I am now paying the extra to have them made for me rather than doing it myself.

I would class myself currently as money poor but time rich so I’m happy to spend whatever time it takes to make the site work and will only spend money when it’s absolutely necessary.

2. So far, it’s probably 80% development and 20% marketing but this is all set to change now the site is launched and I’m ramping up marketing.

3. Bootstrap.

4. I would’ve loved to have lots of money so that I could’ve had a proper launch and had lots of marketing going on but I don’t have any regrets and would rather bootstrap than get into debt.

5. Development, however hard it seems is a lot easier than marketing. If you can afford it, get somebody to take responsibility of marketing and get them started early.

6. The site only launched a couple of weeks ago so it’s not profitable yet, but with such minimal costs it won’t take much to reach that point.

7. Tech support is minimal at the moment but I’m currently spending time working on video tutorials and an extensive help system which will have contextual entries embedded within the most complex pages so that people can find solutions to any problems very easily themselves, hopefully minimising tech support.

I think a key lesson I’ve learnt is, understand your weaknesses, especially if you’re a one man team like me. My weakness is PR and Marketing, I find developing fun and relatively easy but I have no clue when it comes to selling my product to others.

The other lesson I’ve learnt, no matter how keen friends are on being involved, don’t rely on their input until they put their time and money where their mouth is.

I’m not sure if it’s too late, but I officially launched PlugMyEvent.com

Thanks again.
Brad

$80,000 over the past 2 years building a nich CRM solution for the transportation industry (www.travel-manager.co.uk)

2. What percentage was spent on each area (Development, Design, Marketing, Legal, etc)?

Development $74,000
- $64,000 on developers

- $10,000 on a dedicated server

Design $2000
- Used Elance.com to find designers. Got a great deal from thenetmencorp.com (Argentina based)

Marketing $1000
- Again used Elance.com for having PR written and used PRLeap.com for sending PR out.

- used Google AdWords for keywords (currently spending less than $100 per month but anticipate this rising over the next couple of months as I hone the keywords)

3. Did you bootstrap or raise funding?

Bootstrapped all the way. Quit work and funded everything for 12 months.

4. Are you glad you funded it the way you did, or would you do it differently next time? Why?

Absolutely! Made me very focused on what I needed to achieve and meant I couldn’t blame anyone apart from myself. Learnt a lot along the way for sure. Probably wasted the first 6 months but as soon as the application started to come together it was easier to get into the stride of things.

5. What are some lessons you’ve learned that you would like to share?

- Believe in your idea, if you don’t nobody else will
- Be infectiously enthusiastic :-)
- It doesn’t cost a lot to start your own online business
- People do want these types of applications you’ve just got to find them.
- Start learning all about marketing from day one – don’t leave it until launch day
- Your never to old to get into this game (me I’m 59 and counting :-) )

6. Are you profitable? If so, how many months did it take to get there?

Cash flow positive. Profitable (get my initial CAPEX back) within the next 6 months.

7. How many hours per week do you spend on tech support? Who takes care of it?

20 – 25 man hours per week. I take care of it right now. Everything is web based so it means I can usually do this in my own time.

How much did it cost to build your app?
~$20,000 to date
What percentage was spent on each area -
30%-Dev
65%-Marketing
5%-Legal
Did you bootstrap or raise funding?
A little bit of both
Are you glad you funded it the way you did, or would you do it differently next time? Why?

I’m very glad it’s up and running and people are actually using it. I’d focus more on marketing if I had to do it over.

What are some lessons you’ve learned that you would like to share?
Marketing is essential
Sometimes the best way to target users is indirectly. :-)

Are you profitable? If so, how many months did it take to get there?

No Comment ;-)

How many hours per week do you spend on tech support? Who takes care of it?

Customer service is a big part of what I do.

I’ll email you if I decide to use something from your comment.

Thanks again for the feedback!

I heard the demand for our product (small business lead and campaign management) from several small businesses in my area and then when I started talking about it on my blog got responses from around the country. Also, there are tons of competitors out there – which is another indicator of demand. So the issue becomes how to differentiate yourself.

I couldn’t agree more with this – good point Scott.

2. Estimates:
Hardware/SW: 50%
Accounting/Legal: 10%
Conferences/Professional Dev: 20%
Misc (office setup, mileage, books, etc):20%
Marketing: $$TBD

3. Self-funded / bootstrap

4. Glad – nothing different. Self-funding allows you to focus on your company and customers, not your investors. Besides, for most efforts listed in these blog comment, not much cash is required.

I have had offers to perform funded work and work for equity, but at this point in time do not want to have to answer to pressures of investors or stake-holders other than customers and clients.

5. Pick a product segment where you know there is demand and you cannot go wrong. Don’t try to invent a market. Few people have the initiative, imagination, and influence to do so.

I heard the demand for our product (small business lead and campaign management) from several small businesses in my area and then when I started talking about it on my blog got responses from around the country. Also, there are tons of competitors out there – which is another indicator of demand. So the issue becomes how to differentiate yourself.

We differentiate by a) focussing on verticals (e.g. releasing insurance agency specific functions this week), b) instant signup (no salesperson will call and bug you), c) semi-custom development – if there are features not present that customers need, we will work to improve the product with them.

Another lesson – get a product out asap – don’t wait. And as Ian said, don’t be secretive about it. There is no better way to improve your product than to get it in front of people. Don’t worry about being perfect or meeting expectations of everyone on your first take. Just get the basic core of your app out so people can start using it, start talking about it, and start helping you improve it. People love to give feedback. People love to see continuous improvements and enhancements. If you release your end-all product, what are you going to do to show current and potential customers that it will continue to improve? Release something simple and dazzle customers that your product is ever-improving.

Final lesson is something that I – as a technology zealot – need to improve on. Realize that unless your customers are other web-app builders or are in the tech business, you better learn their business. Most businesses have no interest in learning about IT. They just want to solve business problems. For example, don’t talk to your customers about how you are using the latest RubyOnRails or how you are all ajaxy. Talk to them about how your choice of tools allows you to deliver results and product faster! Talk about how your choice of browser technology allows you to make apps seem more responsive. Better yet – show them! Show them that you understand their business by demonstrating the benefits – not the features – of your product. Show them that your product increases their sales, or reduces their costs, or improves their customers’ experience.

6. Are you profitable? If so, how many months did it take to get there?
Just launched.

7. How many hours per week do you spend on tech support? Who takes care of it?
Unknown.

1. I’m a developer so the cost to build the app has mostly been my time. I’ve done a little advertising via Adwords (

How much did it cost to build your app?

At this stage of the game (probably a month or two before launch) we have not spent any money on development, only time: our own. That said, we do have a monthly hosting fee of about R1000 (70 quid).

What percentage was spent on each area (Development, Design, Marketing, Legal, etc)?

All our time has been spent on development and design, for marketing we’ve only used the blog. And a bit of word of mouth.

Did you bootstrap or raise funding?

Bootstrapped all the way!

Are you glad you funded it the way you did, or would you do it differently next time? Why?

Hmmm, I wouldn’t mind a bit of funding: mainly to allow us to spend more time developing the app. We’re still holding down dayjobs!

What are some lessons you’ve learned that you would like to share?

You really need to believe in what you are doing. I think that’s probably the reason the Getting Real approach is so valid in today’s marketplace: it’s a conduit that allows you to express what you’ve always known to be right, and what you’ve always known will work: that itch that needs scratching. Our itch is web dev: we’ve built sites for all sorts of clients over the years and we’re taking our expertise and turning it into an app.

Also keep everything flexible; your code, your framework, your pre-conceived ideas as to what you think is right, even your business model!

Are you profitable? If so, how many months did it take to get there?

We hope to be, within 6 months.

How many hours per week do you spend on tech support? Who takes care of it?

Most of the time is still spent on development. I expect the table to turn here though.

It’s designed for any size of event, our customers range from tiny corporate events to huge festivals.

It’s our second major web app (the first being http://www.sign-up.to which has been live and profitable for nearly 4 years now).

1. How much did it cost to build your app?
We used a lot of our internal resources when they we’re standing still long enough, and one freelance coder, total cash expenditure was around £10,000

2. What percentage was spent on each area (Development, Design, Marketing, Legal, etc)?
75% development, 20% design and marketing, 5% legal

3. Did you bootstrap or raise funding?
Completely bootstrapped! This was our second major web app and we have a healthy revenue stream from the first so it wasn’t hand-to-mouth but this app. had to pay it’s way.

4. Are you glad you funded it the way you did, or would you do it differently next time? Why?
Totally glad, we’ve built all our projects this way, wouldn’t do it any differently.

5. What are some lessons you’ve learned that you would like to share?
We took a much faster approach to market with this app. from idea to live in about 6 weeks and then we’ve been tweaking it every since – this was a great way to build as users started suggesting features we would never have thought of.

6. Are you profitable? If so, how many months did it take to get there?
Yes, we were profitable within about 8 weeks of launch. We’ve now got clients around the world. In December we processed just over $250,000 of ticket sales for our clients.

7. How many hours per week do you spend on tech support? Who takes care of it?
It’s shared amongst support for our other apps. but at the moment it’s about 2 hours per week on pure support.