posted in Outsourcing Companies
You don’t necessarily have to be a multi-year startup guru to come up with great, new ideas. As a matter of fact, you could stumble upon a great idea in your first year of enrollment. The bottom line is that a great idea is a great idea, and turning that great idea into reality isn’t as far-fetched as you may think. Phil Michaelson, founder of KartMe.com and KartMe Mobile, shares his story of how he launched a successful web and mobile business without missing any classes, thanks to professional elancers from all over the world.
How did I graduate from Harvard with a live website and iPhone app, without spending my days programming? Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates dropped out of school to get their companies off the ground. But with Elance, I was able to get KartMe.com and KartMe Mobile running while still making it to all my classes and getting my homework done. Soon after launch, Apple awarded KartMe Mobile a "Staff Pick". This led veteran investors to get involved. Before I knew it, I was living my dream of building a useful product used by thousands.
It all started when I told people I’d be moving to Boston. Suddenly I received lots of recommendations–restaurants to try, books to read, movies to see, hotels, ski resorts, and more. At first, I saved these ideas on scraps of paper. Then in a draft email. Finally, in an Outlook contact that sync’d with my phone. Months later, I realized I never used these recommendations. When I was out and about in Boston—I couldn’t quickly see which restaurants were around me. When I was walking by a bookstore or planning to go to a movie, I couldn’t quickly pull up my “bucket list” (that is, lists of recommendations of things to do). That’s when I had the idea for KartMe: an Internet site for the creation of online lists, where recommendations, reviews, prices, and notes are at my fingertips. It would help me organize and save. When a friend asks, I could share a list. I could use it at home, work, in class, or on-the-go. Saved information would instantly be available on my iPhone, BlackBerry, or Android.
I wanted to get a prototype together quickly, but at the same time I didn’t want to spend my days in front of a computer. Class was interesting and meeting classmates was really fun. I’d only be in school briefly—and I wanted to make the most of it. I chose to outsource so that I could be efficient with my limited time in school. Elance was my first choice because of the number and quality of vendors who could bid on my proposal.
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Ever since an opinion piece I wrote for my high school paper, The Proconian, and won an award from the state press association, I’ve been hooked on the op/ed page. 
