Q&A

How to Build a SaaS Product While Having Limited Technical Skills

Being a SaaS founder is no easy feat if you don’t possess necessary technical skills. Today I’m answering a question by Tobey Tozier, a designer from Portland, Maine:

“Say you have a big idea for a SaaS project, but many of the skills needed to execute it are outside your expertise as a designer. Where do you start?”

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Should You Include Solutions or Mockups in Your Proposal?

How do you win the heart of a new client? Should you do free work to quickly illustrate your skills? Here’s a question from Tiffany Teng, a UI/UX designer based in Malaysia and Singapore:

“In order to win a client project, would you recommend us to include mockups (proposed solutions) in the proposal? And why?”

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Founder Freedoms: How to Stay Accountable in a Healthy Way

What if you’re falling behind on a promise you gave to your audience? Ben Gremillion (from this podcast episode) is asking a great question today as the founder of Grawlix CMS:

“We’re in the midst of a major overhaul to our web app. But we’re behind deadline by… well, quite a bit. So far people using our software and donating to our team have been patient, but I’m concerned that won’t last. We write blog posts and tweet regularly to let people know we’re still around. What else can we do to reassure people that our product isn’t vapor- or abandon-ware?”

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How to Publish Professional & Tactful Teardowns

Today I’m answering a question from Anna Sabramowicz, an e-learning strategist. Anna would like to publish teardowns within her knowledge domain, and is asking for advice:

“Teardowns are obviously an excellent way to show domain expertise and market yourself. My question is, should I simply find things that are public on the web and do a teardown? Or should I be more formal and notify the owner, or ask for permission? Any lessons learned or things I should watch out for?”

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Is There a Way to Convert Ideas into the Actual UI?

Here’s another Q&A post. Today I’m answering a question from my friend Benedikt Deicke. He’s a super-awesome software engineer and founder of Stage — a CMS for music bands (have you heard of Nightwish? Their website is running on Benedikt’s CMS, too).

“When it comes to design, my biggest problem is that I’ve got ideas in my mind which I usually can’t get out of it. It takes me a lot of time to design something that I actually like in the end. So in the end I usually throw everything away. Is there a way to better convert ideas into the actual UI?” (more…)

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How Can I Move from Delivering “Objects” to Bringing Change to the World?

Ladies and gentlemen, here’s a new line of Q&A posts inspired by your questions. I’ll start with a question by Orlagh O’Brien, a graphic designer from Ireland:

“How can I move from delivering “objects” to bringing real value and change to the world? What will I wish I did when on my death bed? How can I mature from being perceived as a technician to acting as a strategic agent of change within innovation and cultural structures? Yes, I worry about money, but what really worries me is the prospects of not growing professionally or contributing to something bigger.” (more…)

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