Hopefully by now you’ve read Guy Kawasaki’s interesting post on how he spent $12,107.09 to launch Truemors.com.
Guy says: “In total, I spent $12,107.09 to launch Truemors. During the dotcom days, entrepreneurs had to raise $5 million to try stupid ideas. Now Ive proven that you can do it for $12,107.09.”
I have this strange feeling that it can be done for even less. 😉
If you read the comments to this post, it’s simply fascinating. The reaction to a failed enterprise is often “of course, you idiot.” I’m sure Guy believed that this business was worth a shot. He spent his time on it, which I can assure you is his most precious resource. He spent very little money, and that’s just smart. He started, he tested the waters, and he’ll go from here.
I’m not saying Truemors is a failure or that it will be a failure (I don’t know, I’ve never spent any time thinking about it). But that’s beside the point.
Have an idea. Do something about it. Be thrifty. Put it out there. Fail forward fast. Learn. Repeat as necessary.
I would think the most expensive part of any web startup would be the design of the site. Most programmers cannot design and most designers cannot program =P. Furthermore, I believe that a good design is key to a site (not how pretty it is but how well the content is laid out). So if you can execute a good idea with a simple design you can make yourself of course you can launch a site for less. BUT! If you must seek the help from a professional designer then your cost can increase dramatically.