How to Launch a Software Startup With No Funding or Technical Knowledge

Let’s get a quick introduction out of the way…

My name’s Will Blunt, and I’m the crazy one that is trying to make this whole thing happen.

I started this blog to share the warts and all story of the launch of FlypChart – a marketing calendar software for small businesses.

From ideation, through development, to launch and beyond… I will share the ups, the downs, the big blows and groundbreaking milestones with anyone that’s interested in seeing what goes on behind the scenes of a software startup.

This isn’t a fairytale story from Silicon Valley. FlypChart is a software startup with a founder (me) who is learning everything by taking action, and figuring out most of this stuff on the run.

Disclaimer: I’m a marketing geek, so most of the content will be about the tactics we are using to pre-validate, launch and grow the business from scratch… Not much of the technical stuff.

Getting things straight from the get go…

I’m not a software developer…

I’ve never run a software business (until now)…

And in fact the whole thing kind of scares the crap out of me. Every day I question whether or not it will all work out.

But that’s what makes this whole journey exhilarating. Exciting. Once in a lifetime.

This blog isn’t about glorifying anything. I will share the mistakes and all the things that go wrong, as well as the victories.

Because we haven’t even written a line of code for this thing yet and there have already been several potentially fatal roadblocks.

More about that later…

Where the idea for FlypChart came from

After dreaming of running a business since I was a little kid, and dozens of fanciful business ideas being tossed on the scrap heap… I finally started a business about two and a half years ago.

The success of that business, Blogger Sidekick, is the reason I now have an opportunity to go on this journey with you.

But like you care right?

The reason I bring it up is that the lifeblood of Blogger Sidekick involved working with marketing agencies, small digital businesses and digital entrepreneurs.

This gave me a unique vantage point into the day-to-day life of these marketers, and the frustrations they came up against.

What I found is that digital marketers in businesses of all sizes tend to run regular campaigns that involve a range of different content inputs, on several platforms. Emails, webinars, blog posts, social media messages and ads – to name a few.

Despite some enterprise level software to support these needs, there is no all-in-one solution for setting these campaigns up and tracking their progress in one place.

Instead, you need to visit multiple platforms to create each part of the campaign, and use spreadsheets and 3^rd party calendars to keep on top of the whole thing.

This frustration soon became an opportunity…

It became an opportunity to create FlypChart – an all-in-one marketing calendar that draws from the API integrations of several other established platforms, and makes tracking marketing activity more effective.

So I had an idea, what happened next?

I sat on this idea for a long time, for well over 12 months actually.

Every time I would think about doing something about it, there was a little nagging voice at the back of my mind saying:

“What do you know about running a software business? If it fails, what will you do next?”

My fear of failure and constant doubt about my ability to execute was holding me back… So the idea waited.

I guess I was waiting for an excuse, an excuse NOT to do it. Something that would justify me sitting happily in a risk-free bubble the rest of my life.

About six months ago I was sitting down with a close friend of mine, reminiscing on our big dreams and naïve aspirations when we were at university.

We were going to build a business… a BIG business.

But life (and reality) got in the way at some stage.

He asked me: “If you keep doing what you are doing today for the next 20 years, will you be excited to turn up to work every day?”

The freight train of regret that hit me between the eyes as soon as those words came out of his mouth is why you are reading this blog today.

You only get so many chances to have a crack at building something special, and I’m not willing to let this one slip through my fingers.

So if you’re ready. If you’re willing. And if you’re excited to hear more about this crazy little journey, from ideation to MVP, and beyond – let’s do it.

For the next few months, this blog will breakdown every step I have taken to get to where we are today…. And everything we plan on doing from this day forward.

If you have any questions about FlypChart, want to be a part of the first release of the software, or just want to keep up to date with our startup journey – sign up for our mailing list below.