JJ Lumagbas -- Turning a financial glitch into an application

JJ Lumagbas
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

Eric Clark Su -- Philippine's Mark Zuckerberg

Eric Clark Su

Co-Founder/CEO, Twidl Inc.

Generalist, PicLyf (Product of Twidl Inc.)

1. Who are you and what’s the elevator pitch?

I am Eric Clark Su, co-founder of PicLyf - communicating around pictures.

 2. I remember it was Twidl.it before. Why did you change it to PicLyf?

The idea evolved enough that it didn’t fit the name at all anymore. Twidl it came from Twitter + Doodle but we were excited to build something that can let people communicate visually in an open-ended way so we needed a new name to fit that idea.

3. Before PicLyf, were you already doing other start-up ventures or involved in other start-up projects? If yes, what were they?

Not really a startup per se, but I started an indie game development shop with one of my PicLyf co-founder - Blue Jayson Basañes. I wasn’t really aware of this whole startup movement / philiosophy until a few months after deciding to do Twidl it (which became PicLyf) with both BJ and Andrew. 

What made you decide to go the start-up way?

I think it came from wanting to solve the problem of having no good place to communicate visually. I had an idea on how to solve that and got partners to sign on board to help me realize it.

4. Back to Piclyf, of all the ideas you can create a web application, why create about pictures? 

Pictures have very great characteristics in them that I thought made them a very good form of communication compared to text, audio or video. They are less boring to look at, easier to make interesting, more freeform, universal and very portable. There were a lot of application that lets you share photos but each site had philosophies that were less freeform and as a consequence made it very weird or out-of-place to show off something that didn’t conform to the community.

Who came up with the idea?

It was initially my idea though it evolved greatly as I bounced it off of my co-founders and what the early users were doing. 

5. What are the high/fun moments of Piclyf as a start-up?

There were no high moments during PicLyf, it was pretty much depressing stuff after depressing stuff. Just kidding. The highs came mostly from solving problems and watching what our users do on the site.

Any moments/events that make you think of backing out from Piclyf, or from ‘start-up life’ in general?

Gosh, I never thought about quitting it but I always thought about moving the company somewhere else besides the Philippines. I wish this wasn’t true but Philippines is probably one of the most weirdest place to be a startup. The friction is huge with everything and a lot of the people you think who can help you, won’t. But I am glad we are starting to grow a community on the site, i do think it will get easier as we go along.

6. What were the biggest mistake you have done so far?

It would probably be not focusing enough on the mobile clients, we probably took a bit too much time on discovering our user experience but i still it was necessary.

7. What was the most surprising thing you have encountered while building PicLyf?

How hard it was to find the right people. We have cycled thru a total of around 40 applications, interviewed and tried 10 to 13 people and retained only 2. We still lack a couple of key hires but we believe that its better to be understaffed than being wrongly staffed.

8. You have the generalist title in the Picly’s About Us page, what are the different roles you have in Piclyf? 

I’m responsible for the vision of the startup (which changes every week or so.), the visual design, the user experience and a few other aspects of the company. BJ does all the hairy technical stuff and architecturing, Andrew handles the operation, finance and the ‘etc’s. Mark does all the magical jquery UI stuff + some modules and Sherwin is in charge of the game mechanic modules as well as a couple other ones.

Which role you like most/most passionate about?

I think it would be where I am shaping the product and designing it.

Which role you least like, if there is any?

Dealing with paperworks, and other non-product tasks.

9. Last, what music puts you in the zone to ‘work’?

Lately, its been a dose of Interpol, Radiohead, the National and new stuff from thesixtyone.com or wearehunted.com.

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The slides from his y4it event talk.

How to make the next Mark Zuckerberg in the Philippines

View more presentations from Eric Su.

Milo Felipe -- Thoughts from the Man Who Started a One-Man Software Company

Milo Felipe
Founder/Developer, milObjects Software




1. Based on your blog, The Art of the Start of Guy Kawasaki inspired you to start a company back in 2006, so what was the first thing you do when you start your company? Did you quit your job? Or, you started milObjects as a side project while you maintained a corporate job?

The first thing I did was file my resignation. Then during the 30 day notice period, I went through the process of registering my company. My last day was Oct 20, 2006. I didn’t have any idea what product to do when I started milObjects. I really just wanted to not be an employee. I was freelancing while I maintained a corporate job. I thought,”why not make freelancing my main job?” My goal then was to just earn the same income as my corporate job’s income. I was hoping of getting more consulting projects if I had a registered company, even if it’s a one-man sole proprietorship business.  

What was your family/friends reactions to your decision?

They we’re all supportive.

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2. SignAppNow (milObject's online sign-up sheet product) was launched in 2009, so what projects were you involved between 2006 and SignAppNow then also your Android applications?

I’ve been doing consulting work since I started and up to now. It is still my main (and only) source of income. SignApp Now and my android apps aren’t generating substantial revenues (yet). I do consulting to bootstrap development of SignApp Now and other product development efforts.

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3. About SignAppNow, of all possible applications you can develop, why online sign up sheets?

I was consulting for a company and I was given a company email address. I noticed HR sending emails to everyone asking them to sign up to something by replying to the email. Everyone was hitting “Reply to all” so everyone was receiving all the messages. The email thread became so long as people were appending there names to the thread. I got the idea for SignApp Now from this. I thought, “What if there was a simple way to get the names of people who’d like to sign up for something?” It had to be very simple. I got the idea for the no registration required from Posterous.com. I didn’t even bother to look at there were already existing sign up sheet apps until after I released (there were some existing sign up sheet apps already). I was also learning the Grails framework that time so I was quite determined to build the app. I release a very basic version and got some positive feedback. The current app is quite simple and people are requesting for some advanced features. So watch out for version 2. =)

SignApp Now won’t definitely be the last app from milObjects. =)

4. SignAppNow has a pretty web app interface, it looks neat, eye-candy but not cluttered. (Sorry for my non-techy terms.) Are you the only one behind the interface design?

I came up with the design idea and asked a friend, Irving DelaCruz, to implement it. He’s my partner for SignApp Now.

Are there other web apps you get inspiration from when you do your design?

I get inspiration from the apps of 37signals and all the other “simple” apps out there.

Do you have someone you look up to in terms of designing?

No specific person. I just try to learn from the design of all the other apps out there.

Any books you read and can recommend when it comes to designing web interfaces?

Don’t Make Me Think, Defensive Design for the Web, articles from the web.

Any secret weapon/tool you use for designing?

None

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4. How many are you in your team? What are the different roles you have to play?

milObjects is just me. I’m a one man company. For SignApp Now, it’s just me and Irving. Irving does everything involving graphics and images. I do everything else. I gave him 3% of SignApp Now.

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For more screenshots
of milObject's 3 Android
Apps, click here.

6. Just based on your SignAppNow, my impression is that you are an Apple fan (they’re usually so obsessed with interface design), so I’m wondering why you created android apps? Why not apps for iPhone?

I like Apple products, but I’m not a fan. I don’t buy every new Apple product that comes out. I don’t stay up late to watch Apple announcements. I had a MacBook before that lasted me for 3 years. I’m saving up for a new MacBook Pro, but I’m not in a hurry to get one. I can still work with my Asus laptop. I have a first gen iPod touch that I still use up to now (just for watching videos). I created android apps because I already know Java (android uses Java). iPhone uses Objective C and I just don’t have the time (or don’t want) to learn Objective C.

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7. As a start-up guy, what are the funny moments? Moments that inspire you to continue doing what you are doing?

I can’t think of any funny moments. I get inspired by other startup’s success stories that I read or get to know of.

Are there moments that you also feel giving it up? 

Yes, always. For example, when I think of an idea and try to do it and realize how big the scope is or how difficult it will be for a one-man team to pull off. Sometimes I think of just returning to being an employee or migrate to another country.

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8. What is your dream application to build?

I don’t have anything specific. My dream is to build something that will give me enough income to stop doing consulting work. =) It doesn’t have to be a multi-million dollar app. Just something small and easy for a 1-5 person team to maintain.

Coder at Work: Frederick Louie Ba-a

(This post was also originally posted from the Wakulu blog, when I was still part of the team.)
Frederick Louie Ba-a

Programmer, Caresharing

(Wakulu.com)

Drixx

Fred started with Caresharing as part of the CodrSchool internship program. After the internship, he continued to work on Wakulu while finishing his bachelor's degree in computer science.

Fred is one of Wakulu's pioneer coders, and the so-called poster boy. He works on the front end of Wakulu (such as Profile page, membership, events/reminders, and goals features, and more to come).

Fred is a Java/ C/ Ruby programmer, a rookie DOTA player, and an aspiring photographer.

Q: First things first, how did you end up being a programmer?
Fred: I never actually planned this ever in my life. I was stuck from choosing what course to take during college, and my only options were Accountancy, Nursing, or Computer Science. The former 2 choices were so mainstream to me, especially that most of my highschool classmates were taking those courses, so I chose to be unique and took CompSci.  That's how it started.
Q: How did you juggle university and your programming work -- not to mention your social life?
Fred: It was difficult but okay. Honestly, I never really thought that programming would be this hard and challenging. Not to mention, I also had to pass minor subjects. I was a dean's lister so I also needed to maintain good grades. It was tiring, but I never complained. I still managed to socialize, hangout with friends and watched movies, and have a girlfriend. That's the essence of being a student, and I embraced it. :)

Q: Being a newbie, do you see yourself programming for a long time?

Fred: Yeah, I guess. I mean I love programming. The cool part of it is I get to learn something new everyday. I'm like a juggernaut when coding. hahaha! I think it's one of those things that keeps me alive everyday. So I guess I can see myself still programming even until 10-20 years from now. :)
Q. What programming language(s) you would choose to master, and why?
Fred: C, Java and Ruby. C because I think it's the most basic and it's the foundation of all programming languages (structured or object-oriented), and the language is still really powerful. Java because it's the only object oriented language that has been used in most desktop and mobile applications (the future of programming). And of course, Ruby (on Rails) because of its consistent approach of building web applications in an out-of-the-box architecture, and its pragmatic convention-over-configuration philosophy that makes coding a lot easier.

Q: Let's now talk about Wakulu. From a developer's point of view, can you please tell us the original idea, and how it evolved to Wakulu?

Fred: It was first named "TwitterForHealth", dedicated to medical coaches (usually retired doctors/psychiatrist/psychologist/etc.) who want to provide coaching online. It was more like Twitter, only that the communication was between a coach and his members, and that the coach can share resources (books, and videos) to his/her members for better interaction. After that, we realized that we can also cater to users not only limited to the medical field, but also to other coaches who want to share their knowledge on other fields (cooking, photography, music, sports, etc.). We then considered a bigger scope for our application, made some revisions and added some features to cater to more coaching program categories. We renamed the app to "Wakulu" which an African term for "group dance", and now an application dedicated to provide tools for on-line coaching.
Q: Can you describe to us how were the early days of Wakulu?
Fred: Wakulu was really simple during its early days. The main group page has a timeline for coach and members messages where they can ask the coach and the coach answers them and a resources feature where the coach can add files or share a Youtube video for his/her members. Since it was only made by newbies of Ruby on Rails (4 of us interns), we focused on these areas because these are also the most important features for coach-to-coachee iteraction. After seeing the potential of the application, it was taken to a higher level, we have then a senior programmer (Mr. Norlan) who joined us and led us in the development and refactoring of the app (he was also my mentor in RoR). At that time then Wakulu was buffed with more features to provide better interaction between users.
Q: What were your struggles back then? And, how did you and the rest of the team cope up?
Fred: Basically the struggle we experienced in the development of the app was when we took for granted the workflow of the app. It was okay to have features added but it made the workflow kind of fuzzy in the long run. And we didn't see that because we didn't have real users back then to comment on our work. When we finally have testers to try out our app, their first comment is the workflow, and basically we missed to emphasize that, when we were busy adding new features and not thinking what it might do to the workflow. So what we did is we halted on adding new features and redefined the workflow to make it very clear to users. I think the app will be totally useless if the users cannot even grasp how to use it.
Q: On the positive side, what are the fun surprises that you get out from developing Wakulu?
Fred: I LEARNED A LOT! I learned many things about Ruby on Rails (RoR), jQuery, Ajax, javascript, css, Twitter and Facebook. I learn something new almost everyday coding this app. I'm still a newbie at RoR but it didn't stop me to be hopeful in developing this app. I am so thankful that I was able to continue doing Wakulu. And now Wakulu still gives me a lot of surprises.
Q: Having Wakulu as somewhat the first software application product you 'seriously' worked on, what is your dream application that you want to develop?
Fred: A mobile application since it's the in thing today (android apps specifically). And I also want to venture into developing more web applications but I'm still brainstorming on what to work on. :)

To know more about the other side of a programmer's life (if there is/are), you can check his Information Overflow blog site.

The other side of a programmer -- drixx

Coder at Work: Norlan Mumar

(Note: This was originally posted in Wakulu blog. I made this post when I was still part of the team.) 
NORLAN MUMAR

Programmer, Caresharing

(Wakulu.com)

Norlan just came back from Singapore when he joined Caresharing. He is one of Caresharing's Programming League Heroes by being the 4th developer in the team. Wakulu's lead programmer who has been in different computing eras -- from the floppy disk to the all-in-the-cloud technology, from Cobol to OOP programming, but when it comes to operating systems, he has always had MAC OS X in the heart.

With his university stint and diverse programming experience, it is natural for him to get Wakulu Coaching application to the next level. He is the all-in-1 guy in the team -- from the user interface to the information architecture to the system design.
On his free time (if there is free), he slays dragon and monsters in DOTA, and builds beautiful mobile applications for iPhone.

Q: Can you take us back to that point in your life when you decided to be a programmer?

Norlan: I never dreamed of becoming a programmer. Back then I always wanted to become a computer engineer (more on hardware), but a relative of mine told me that getting a computer engineering course is a bit expensive. So I opted enrolling in computer science since it's the only course that's affordable and at the same time more or less related with computer engineering.

Q: What about programming do you enjoy?

Norlan: Problem solving and the satisfaction you get when you manage to solve a problem simply.

Q: Now on Wakulu, you came in at the later part of the product development. Did it make your job easier, or not any better?

Norlan: I already had a good idea of what the interns were developing around that time, and they were using Rails for the app which I already have a lot of experience with, so joining in the product development was a bit easier for me.

Q: What exactly is your role in Wakulu?  Are there unexpected roles you need to do in Wakulu (designing, business model/plan, etc)?

Norlan: Code janitor :-). Yep, leading a team.

Q: Which part of the role was a struggle for you at the start?

Norlan: Managing a team, until now I'm still struggling.

Q: What's your typical day working on Wakulu?

Norlan:

50% Designing

30% Coding

19% Planning

1%   Dota (and answering this question ;-))

Q: What was the hardest decision you made for Wakulu?
Norlan: Rewriting Wakulu from scratch -- it wouldn't be hard if I'm  the only one writing the code but if other people are involved you might hurt somebody's feelings in the process :).

Q: Having been a long time programmer, was coming up with the system design for the product easier? What are the new things you have to implement in Wakulu?

Norlan: I think experience really helps when you design new product, but I can't say it's easier because each product has it's own set of requirements and it's own challenges. There might be some areas that they tend to be similar with an existing product that you are working but most of the time they are different. There's nothing new with what I implement in Wakulu, and the part wherein a coach can collaborate with a member to achieve a goal, is similar to what we did in Hotchalk (I was a freelancer before I joined Caresharing), if you substitute coach -> teacher and member -> student the idea is quite similar.

Q: Can you point to a particular past programming or non-programming experience that helps you in creating Wakulu?

Norlan: I think the experience I gained working in Rameses helped a lot. Back then our head programmer always reminded us that if we ever create an app, make sure that it is beautiful in the inside (code) as it is on the outside (UI). This is one of the reasons why I opted to stop working with the existing Wakulu code and rethought the app. It did not pass the "Rameses" way of creating apps. I do hope the next version will.

Q: If writers have writer's block, do programmers also have coder's block? How do you deal with coder's block?

Norlan: Yep, programmers do have coder's block, it will start to happen when you are working on a project for months without shipping it. What I normally do is relax and look for inspiration. It might come from a very good UI design or a clever algo implementation. I always admire the guys at madebysofa, culturedcode and panic. Just by visiting their site actually motivates me to start coding inorder to reach their "level". So far, it's very effective.

Q: In developing a product -- from scratch to shipping, what is the easiest part? the hardest part?

Norlan: Easiest - starting the project. Hardest - actually shipping it.

Q: How do you decide that it is the right or not the right time to ship out the product?

Norlan: When my wife can actually use it without asking me for help.

Q: Any surprising moments, at the top of your head, that you had with Wakulu?

Norlan: That there are people actually interested in the product :-)

Q: Given your experience with Wakulu, if you are to advise people who want to develop their own product from scratch, what would your advices be?

Norlan:

• A solid idea that you and your team believe in. It's important to be on the same page.
• Everything is temporary until you actually ship the product and people started using your app.
• Don't be afraid to throw away your code if you are not happy with the outcome. It's not a waste of effort, the experience you gain from it is valuable on your next design.
• Build the bare minimum of the app. You still don't know if your app is worth using so why implement all the features?
• Test early.
• Have fun.

For more non-programming tidbits of a programmer, you can check Norlan's blog site. What makes him smile...