Founder/Developer, txtexpense (Alpha)
In one of our conversations, JJ once told me he wants to build his own version of Mint.com. And, he's not faraway from it, his can be even minter than mint. He is also currently a ComSci professor at University of the Philippines Cebu.
1. Of all the ideas you have in mind, why create an application that is about expenses? Was it a random decision?
You know that feeling you get when your paycheck runs out and you say, "Now where did all my money go?" Multiply that by 4 years and you know how I felt after I quit my programming job last year. Since then I've always tried to keep track of my expenses. I started by listing them in a notebook at the end of every day, then switched to my phone, since I had it with me wherever. After 2 months, I wanted a big-picture, so I encoded my expenses into Access. It was such a pain-in-the-ass to encode that I started thinking of an easier way.
2. How long did it take you to build the app from scratch to alpha?
I spent a month learning ruby (leisurely ;)), 2 weeks to get the basic structure of the app down, and another 2 weeks to get the SMS part working.
3. How do you manage creating/maintaining the app at the same time teaching at the university?
I got to be a faculty intern at CodrSchool, so I had a summer break to build it. Since real school started I'm down to once a week for a few hours for maintenance and new features. Embrace constraints, right? (Ed: Embrace Constraints by 37signals)
4. Please tell me about how you design its web interface, and what’s underneath it?
Plain-vanilla HTML. Repeating "keep it simple" kept me from adding ajax and other fancy javascript. For now, at least.
5. Why are you doing this?
To become this guy -- Markus Frind of Plentyoffish.com.
6. Upcoming plans and features we can look forward to in txtexpense. What feature you are currently working on?
Budgets
Top features/developments that are priority on your list now.
Better analysis of expenses
Email/SMS Notifications
Great interview. It's fun to be one of the people who tried the app before its release. Good job, Jay. :)
ReplyDeletethanks, lia. i really wish i can write like you. =)
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