FULL AND UNCUT! I am counting the views! "30 sec" version below
in "30 sec"
Follow Along: https://accountingplay.com/blog/
Direct Link: http://tinyurl.com/pdm93qn
CREATIVE REVIEW COMPETITION : D
Review any app or Kindle book... snap a screenshot and post to facebook or twitter to win a Grand Prize!
@accountingplay | https://twitter.com/AccountingPlay
WIFI: WW Public
Learn with illustrations, lessons, & audio: Accounting Flashcards iOS | Learn Accounting Flashcards Droid
Debits & Credits: Accounting Play – Debits & Credits iOS | Debit and Credit Droid
Accounting Quiz Game iOS
Key links: Super Enlightening FAQ | Accounting Play Syllabus
Let's get real SF for a minute - Because we invented this. Please have your cellphones and computers on and out for the presentation. Get drinks & food as needed, but please save questions for the end of the presentation. Note that this will be recorded and posted online.
Please, everyone open the app to the first flashcard...
What is it?
Thank you to everyone for taking the time to get here… From Boston, to 6th street San Francisco Tenderloin, it is greatly appreciated.
Special thanks to my biggest fiscal sponsor, whether the know it or not, Professor, my mom… and my biggest emotional supporter, QA tester, 5-star review hero and girlfriend.
This is the story of Accounting Play – The Best Way To Learn Accounting In The World – But this is also the story of all the other businesses that helped me along the way… Over 20 people… 3 years and 3,000 hours of real human life. Graphic designers, devs working in unknown conditions abroad, illustrators sketching into the wee hours of the night, graphic designers in Indonesia & the former USSR, translators in Spain & Singapore… ex-pats living in China giving out terrible advice at $8 an hour and it goes on… Accounting Play has never been a one man show – and I am grateful for all of the help along the way.
App Icon Mockup...
This story is one of business… trying to make a dollar out of 15 cents and California love - or rather, California Dreamin'
Illustrator and Journalist: Courtney Quirin Dev Team, Punjab Region
The Legendary C@#$#
In this room alone… there are over 20 businesses that have been present tonight. Special thanks to the sponsors – Tiny Home Music AKA shake your peace AKA Gabe Dominguez, Bay Bucks, WeWork, Drexel Productions, and the delightful provider of the after-party fries and Champagne – the Fine Mousse. This evening is the result of our joint efforts. I insist that everyone meet each other, exchange numbers, and do some business – because that is what accounting is all about: Business.
Team II !
Each and every individual and business matters… every user matters… as we will see!
MVP by a CPA how a CPA (me) – Certified Public Accountant – produced a Minimally Viable Product… For those not entrenched in the vernacular of “Unicorns” – “Pivots” and “Funding” “failing fast” “scalability” let me please give a very brief intro –
(Initial Capital Contributions for Accounting Play)
The idea behind a minimally viable product is creating the most stripped down version of a product that may actually be sold and then adapting the product around core users needs – the core users that can actually pay…
Unicorns – See my socks. The particular unicorn is blasting pink rainbows into the sky… and the silicon valley unicorn is not so different – Big money as in billions… thin Uber, Google, Facebook…
hitting it out of the park. Accounting Play has never been a unicorn in the classic sense, but it is my unicorn, my… personal unicorn…
Pivoting – I start selling accounting apps and end up selling an educational platform for fitness instructors… that would be a pivot – and exemplify what an iterative business is – start with one thing and end with another.
I chased the study of money so hard… that is seems to have run away… and in this chase I feel like I could SEE numbers… SEE debits and Credits – in strange, unique, and powerful ways… What if I could help others… save 1 hr of time for !!! 50,000 students!!! In Espanol! En Chinese! UP UP UP The story of the best, most engaging, technologically driven, creative, AND cost effective way to learn accounting…
WHY
So I wanted to make accounting more visual…
Working with CQ
Domestic dev experience
I "did it" !!! (not really) : http://accountingflash.com/
$10,000 & 500 hrs Later – I FAILED
Space dust: 
Time to double down! 
IDEA - DEV - PRODUCT - SALES - CASH FLOW - RETURN ON INVESTMENT
Roommate Inspiration... I can do it too!
An App is to be born!!!
But what about advertisement...
Fixed Cost Milestones are your best friend
Not until a mentor asked me how things were going did I realize… I gotta make this thing happen
DEV Success
DEV Failure
THE SECRET SAUCE
Have a very small start, contact 20 devs, see who can make it and then get to it!
What a product looks like:
Idea…
The early days... Is that a bear with a gold tooth promoting an app? I think so. This only took me like 4 hrs.
Anyone can make an app - that is a problem!
Self doubt? Never!
Get your gloves on. It is gonna be a ride. "Most Entrepreneurs Have Issues"
Vector graphics…
Flashcards…
Content…
Audio….
Video initiative:
ACCOUNTING MUSIC GAME? Debit cash up, credit down, other side now, flip around. I got revenue credits, expenses as debits... Accounting Play, for the Pay, from STL, - now back to the Bay... Punjab, Indo.... what did you want me to say?
Not so easy…
MARKETING????
App store "Accounting" #1 and #2 - NOV 19 - TODAY, WHAT'S UP? Enter the zone of self-proclaimed success.
The Value of contained markets...
Podcast
SEO - ASO - Adwords, Facebook, Spend - Tracking - In App features (virality, social share, incentivization)
Dirty- cost? You can do an all that costs money for $1,000! Just gotta explain it and get something out there you can actually buy something and promote something.
"Dreamy isn't it..."
Now just charge $2.99... - commission "about $2" net... Only need to sell ) 5,000 units to break even... Well that is going to happen for accounting play.
Steps often combined and convoluted:
So... find your team! / communicate your vision... Mini steps and milestones.
And then!!!! WOW... Can't believe... Users real chinese users. (User actually profiting from my work) - but they is how it is! Kids don't pay to watch a movie! So you get it when you can get it.
And then... All in ... Accounting Play is the Best Accounting Education Ever
So it is: "a few thousand a week who find us now" maybe a hundred buy and stick around... So now the marketing game... $XX,XXX in, risk what I wanted "#1 in accounting app education"
So now: "cash flow positive" Aka can pay the bills.
Stoked: A company grounded in positivity and differentiation. We don't need another accounting text book. But we just need to learn without too much time and keep it relevant.
What does Accounting Play want for the holidays?
*2016 - NO months with negative cash flow - AKA chill out on dev and work on organic promo
*Solid branding
*Marketing baked into the app (yummy) - Incentivization, virality, in-app ads for the accounting suite
*More academic partners
*Affiliate and large scale sales - Work with other high traffic websites - 1 contract in process!
*Podcast and classic press to boost back links
*Long-term accreditation and mass adoption in accounting classrooms
*Ditch the cheesy pics and get some better ones tonight
*Academic and Fintec tradeshows & events
Thank You
Q&A - Competition Results
Nov 25... Followup - Thanks for the 50 RSVPs (Data To Prove) and the more supporters that rolled in and out.
And the Red Carpet... In all cases I have attempted to load mostly flattering & professional pictures. If not satisfied, please let me know and I am happy to take it offline.
Good stuff John! Thanks for sharing your journey. Keep at it!