Neutrinos, LLC.
Name of business: Neutrinos, LLC.
Mission : Neutrinos seeks to capture opportunity from emerging softare platforms by rapidly exploring SDK boundaries. Our focus is to develop a portfolio of in-house iPhone and iPod Touch applications that demonstrate superior software design to our clients.
Began: July, 2005
Where: Portland, Oregon
Founders: Robert Banagale, David Peixotto
How The Idea Began: Our original development efforts include web 2.0 projects and applications for the Facebook platform. When the iPhone 3G was released in the summer of 2008 we shifted focus to the Apple Touch platform. Getting started on the Touch platform was challenging, so our initial idea was simply to get a tip calculator available for sale in iTunes. Since then we've been able to launch more functional applications with a more pleasing interface design.
Our knowledge building has resulted in our offering consulting services on the iPhone and iPod Touch, however our long-term goal is to position ourselves for expertise in designing software for a next-generation Mac Tablet Touch device.
Initial Preparation to Germinate Idea: Our business building has included all of the basics, from setting up a bank account and registering with the Oregon Secretary of State. Our more advanced preparation work has been largely technical, including low-level configuration of our server and installation of appropriate web applications for rapid software development.
Following IT infrastructure building, we worked on rapid prototyping and implementation of iPhone applications. Once our initial knowledge of the iPhone and iPod Touch platform and official SDK had reached a certain point it became clear that we had a lot to offer as a software consultancy.
Favorite Thing about the Business: Everyone seems to have or know someone who has an iPhone. The device has been a game-changer in the mobile space. My joy is when we move from the iPhone simulator to a beta copy that runs on our devices for the first time. There's nothing like using your fingers to test out something that was a just an idea only days before.
Biggest Challenge: Capital constraints make it hard to grow our team. The iPhone and iPod Touch development platform is a mere 60 days old. Because the platform is so young, there are relatively few people out there capable of doing effectively doing the specialized development and user interface design required for the Touch platform. This shortage of specialized knowledge combined with limited capital has meant that we're having to grow our team by nurturing developers and designers interseted in developing their portfolios.
Lesson Learned: Follow Google's mantra: Launch early and iterate.