Shortly after returning from the Global Entrepreneurship Congress in Medellin Colombia in early 2016, I had a serious question to ask my mum. That question was "Mum are you financially able to assist me with the cost of developing the MedRegis app?" She initially said no, but after a few seconds she followed up her initial response with a positive reply. She said I was going to inherit land, but I can sell it beforehand to assist with the development of MedRegis. She concluded by saying I would need to convince her why she should make such a decision. I explained what I achieved so far with determination and resilience and how MedRegis has the potential to be the Caribbean's pioneering health technology start-up. At the end of the conversation, I had a verbal agreement for the sale of the land once I find a buyer. This process with my mum thought me another valuable entrepreneurial lesson; the lesson was about finance. Entrepreneurs must be aware of the value investors put on their money and assets, and their support is connected to the worth you as an entrepreneur can provide. Shortly after my mum decided to place the land for sale, I found a buyer. The overall sale process would take longer than I expected but the development team decided to put their trust in me and start the development of the app even as I awaited the funds from the sale. I garnered their confidence over the preceding months as we conversed about my dreams and when we initially met in Ireland to discuss MedRegis' business strategy.
In stating the above, I must also commend the Youth Entrepreneurship Scheme who I collaborated with from 2012. They saw my vision and when I realized the sale of the land did not adequately cover the cost of what I wanted to achieve I turn to them for financial assistance. As a result of our continued and notable relationship, I was able to accomplish the additional funding which enabled me to attain what I set out to achieve. It is of high importance to build relations with entrepreneurial entities. When it comes time for serious assistance, they already have an understanding of who you are and what you are aiming to achieve.
My development team provided insights into areas such as aligning my wireframes with what doctors require, how the app should be developed, utilizing clinics and doctor offices to pilot the solutions once development started and how to protect my intellectual property. Development began with the creation of professionally designed wireframes. Designing is a process of back and forth between the design team, my wireframes designs and myself. The development team utilizes InVision which was a different wireframing application than the one I used. Their wireframes reflected an actual app in comparison to my wireframes which was very basic at best. As they redesign the app, it made me think about the times when I was stressed out about how I was going to get the funding and start development but with a sense of achievement. In retrospect, one crucial aspect you learn about designing a prototype for the development of the actual app is how the design team must fully understand all correlated parts as they were some misunderstandings.
Even with wireframes when the actual development starts there still is a lot of work and changes that will be made based on unforeseen circumstances. These conditions can produce unexpected results which can positively benefit the app or not. This unpredictability is why the project manager who presides over the developers and designers is very crucial. I would recommend using a company which appoints such a person for each project. This project manager must have the ability to guide the project efficiently. They must be able to assist with developmental ideas by doing their homework on the project by analyzing similar technologies, markets, regulations, and policies. Commitment like this provides you with a person who is equipped to challenge you on the design of the app for the betterment of the app. From the beginning, one must realize that development is NEVER going to be a smooth process, and I did not know this initially. There will be setbacks which will make you rethink parts of your development process. However, with an excellent development team, these issues can be worked out to produce the first version of an app from which you and potential clients should be able to realize a solid foundation which has a future to accomplish much more.