To create the new super successful Web service and/or mobile app (potentially super successful, that is), this is in theory all you need, even though it might be rather lonesome and depressing if it’s only this. If you have a family, a pet and/or a steady job, you better take care of them too.
- Yourself, your ideas and your gusto
- Food, and don’t forget a healthy breakfast
- Shelter, anything from 10 square feet will do for specifically this
- Electricity
- Laptop, a good fast one, a Mac if you do iOS development as well, otherwise buy with general discrimination; this will be your workhorse
- 3G/4G modem with subscription, or Wi-Fi to broadband
- Free development tools: NetBeans, Eclipse(/ADT), VS Express, XCode, etc
- A low cost Web host account, for services and for basic info about what you offer, but don’t over-inform: Stick to one-liners if possible and an eye-catching clean design
- Developer accounts at Apple and Google, unless you make pure Web services, including mobile Web apps
I’ve heard of people sitting at cafés developing and maintaining services and apps. Hence “I developed this while enjoying a latte and a cookie” is substituted for “We started in a dirty garage”.
Having a steady job in parallel is strongly recommended.
And don’t listen to people that say your ideas are stupid. They always do, and people can’t wrap their heads around new concepts, even if they are simple, as they don’t see the need. That very much so goes for techies too.
So get to it :)!