Entries by Carol Vercellino

Testing a business with off the shelf software

As an app developer, we get to speak with a lot of businesses and entrepreneurs about new apps and ways of using software to solve problems. Most conversations have one thing in common: people immediately think they need custom software development to bring their concept to life. This can lead

Shoestring Market Research

Two weeks ago we hosted a workshop discussing market research and validation. We shared several methods, tools and resources to use while researching a market opportunity. Most importantly, we covered why you should do research before building anything. Today’s post summarizes a few of those items and will give you a starting point

Agile 101: What It Is and Why We Use It

At Oak City Labs, we’re an “agile shop” meaning we practice a project management methodology known as Agile, the specifics of which are interwoven throughout our relationship with each client. Most of our clients are entrepreneurs and organizations that are coming to us with a brand new app idea and don’t always have a background with

How to Find Total Addressable Market Numbers for Free

Many people ask me if their app idea is a good one. They are often searching for validation of the idea before spending a ton of money building it. If it’s a market that I’m familiar with I can give a gut answer. More often than not though, I’ll start asking questions about market size and opportunity. In a few weeks, we’ll be hosting

Saying Hello & Lots of New

The date of our last blog post reads September 2015 and its safe to say that a lot has happened since that Fall. Today we’re dropping in to give an update on the latest at Oak City Labs and our plans for the future. Releasing into the AppStore just before the holidays, CurEat is the culmination of several months of work with one of Raleigh’s most engaging

3 components to any software project

We talked about asking “Why” you need an app and hopefully you’ve got the answer.  Next up is budget.   Apps cost anywhere from $20K – $250K (and probably more depending on the dev shop).  We haven’t seen anything super impressive under the $20K mark, it’s not impossible…we just haven’t seen anyone selling the app […]

4 Takeaways from the BCVP Entrepreneur Series Panel

Braving the icy roads of North Carolina on January 14, 2015, we had the opportunity to attend an outstanding event hosted by Bull City Venture Partners.  Here are four takeaways to consider as you think about your next venture and the road ahead: The Market – Both panels said they were looking at the B2B space. […]