Product development from within

Knectar recently launched its first product to some glowing reviews. This is a talk about the process of conceiving and developing a professional-grade SaaS product from within the context of a high-capacity web production shop. It’s been a dance, but unexpected synergies have formed to make the process one of the most challenging yet satisfying projects of my career and a new experience for many on the Knectar team. I want to share what we’ve learned through this process, and promise barely a passing mention of the product itself (along with coupon codes of course)! Topics to include:

Ideation
How do plausible business ideas emerge? Brainstorming vs emergent happenstance.

Cold hard cash
Internal vs. external investment.

Tech selection
Emphasis on risk mitigation strategies

Discovering Marketing 101
And the mixed blessing that comes when your web production shop gets all of its business through referrals.

Flipping the switch.
Letting go of iteration and just launching already.

Spinning multiple plates
Time and resource allocation (and plug).

Experience level: 
Beginner
Session Time Slot(s): 
Time: 
Sep 13 2014 - 11:00am-Sep 13 2014 - 11:50am
Room: 
168C
Allowed Types: 
Session
Speaker Bio(s): 

Chris is the founder and team leader for Knectar, a twelve-person web development firm based in Western Massachusetts. He specializes in advanced web site architecture, team development, technical project management. Chris has managed dozens of complex web application productions, including global content management systems, enterprise level e-commerce systems, and custom API (application programming interface) designs. Clients include Harvard Medical School, Jack Daniels, Buzztala.com, MIT, among other global brands, start-ups, and universities.