Posted by Ashu Desai on January 29, 2011 at 7:21am
"Best app ever""I play this computer game all the time, and I was extatic when I found out it was an app. It is my new favorite game! :D""Helicopter is AWESOME!! Definitely one of the most fun games ever! Extremely addictive though which is a good thing!""Disgusting, not only ads, but a limit to the score you can get. Filthy greedy monsters."Forget the 30,000 downloads and over 20,000 dollars in my bank account.Forget the current 150 downloads a day and the Verizon iPhone adding millions of potential new buyers in a few short weeks.Forget the equivalent of $100/hr wage I made as a summer job, and the 10 job offers I got the next summer as a result.What feels better than basking in the glory of all those absurd statistics, is the fact that something I created made someone smile.This is why I do what I do.Sure not everyone likes my iPhone app, ironically enough the free demo version is rated two stars and filled with reviews calling me a filthy greedy monster. But the paid version is rated 5 stars, with dozens of gushing reviews. This makes me happier than any amount of money could. The simple thought of people in over 30 countries playing a game I made is the best thought of the world. The simple moment of joy they feel when immersed in my game, gives me a feeling of joy as well.But in order to better understand why I do what I do, let me tell you the story of what I do.It all started in the beginning of summer after my junior year in high school. My parents wanted me to get a job, but me working? That clearly wasn't going to happen. So I had an idea, and got a couple books to learn how to write an iPhone app and after a frustrating week of reading through minimally helpful material, I completed my first app "The Game of Life" (a phrase I would soon find out was trademarked by Hasbro) and posted it for free on the app store.This success drove me to tackle a bigger project, my first paid app, "Helicopter". During that time my parents questioned my sanity, my friends questioned the whereabouts of my social life (as 90% of my outgoing texts read: “I’d love to but I want to finish my app”), and I questioned my love for computer science. I worked for hours straight, eyes glued to my computer screen, my hunger drowned by my greater desire to solve every little problem in my path. Many nights I went to bed having given up. But many mornings in those weeks I had wild ideas and moments of ‘aha’ that were somehow able to solve my problems. Each problem I faced stimulated my mind, and each solution I found gave me the confidence and desire to keep on working. When I finally finished, I was very satisfied with my work, but now I had to make it sell. I marketed the app on Facebook fan pages until my account was disabled for “soliciting.” Fortunately sales kept going strong without the illegal advertising.Three weeks, two iPhone apps, one potential lawsuit and one deactivated Facebook account later, I can honestly say I’ve never had more fun.I like to call what I do entrepreneurship. Whether it's writing iPhone apps or, more recently, starting websites and making hardware accessories for the iphone, I love the thrill of taking an idea and turning it into something real. I love dreaming and inventing. I love making people happy with my products, and sure the money is nice too.But the biggest reason I do what I do, is that maybe when I'm a billionaire girls will obsess over me instead of all the fucking athletes.
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