You can ask yourself a few questions and get started accordingly. For example, what languages are you interested in ? PHP ? Python ? Java ? Pick up 1 of them. Since you mentioned Django,I assume you are working with Python. But then, play around with at least 2 frameworks. May be try Flask (micro-framework in Python) which I am falling in love with. Build the same app in both frameworks. I personally did User management/registration app in both Django and Flask. Start small. Build layers on top. There is no one way of course but building a few small apps just for learning will help tremendously.
Startups do not have the cushion or luxury of time and resource compared to larger companies like Google. They usually have a specific tech. stack that they use especially in the early days. OTOH, Google etc. have engineers building things in every possible language. So there is no specific need to only hire say Python engineers.
Since I own a small business (freelancer 1 man company), I can assure that if the idea is just to save money on international merchant account etc, the OP should do more research about cost and benefits. To setup any corporation in the US, there are multiple steps which also include cost. Do not go for the online ads that claim you can setup a company for $100. There are far more things like state filing etc. that are usually not included in those. Not to mention that you will be dealing with one of the most dreaded income tax collectors (a.k.a IRS in the US). I say this having lived in 3 different countries including the US.
If you absolutely need a foregin company outside Egypt, look into Asia (Hong Kong or Singapore preferably).
You won't feel bad if you decide to quit. You are not in a comfort zone in terms of money which will make you think before spending and probably become a better manager of finances. You might be motivated to keep your skills up to date in case u have to find a new job.
I did my first professional programming in Tcl/Tk used by a trading system. It was awesome and even though most people have not heard of it when I talk to friends/clients, glad to see this post.
"after entering in the addresses"
Exactly. Why should I enter the address to see a preview. I am interested in knowing how it looks right away. Address is not the key input. You can always collect it during payment time.
I have always wanted to build this where people can create interactive resumes and not just old style boring word document resume. Got some ideas but never formalized so far. I still own the domain though :)
"'and they take £££ from me a day"
People do not gripe about recruiters taking money. People gripe about recruiter taking an unfair share for which they will lowball the candidates. If you are a good developer and have a decent idea of your market value, then it hurts to find out that you had to take a cut just because the recruiter wanted to keep extra even though the employer paid market value.
"They're good at it otherwise they would have died out long ago."
Not necessarily. They have not died out only because of lazy employers. Employers do not mind paying extra cash since they are too busy to even take an extra 10 mins out to quickly screen candidates. Having said that, I have come across some good recruiters who actually know the employers well, understand the industry and are not complete jerks. But that is like a needle in a haystack.
exactly. It is disappointing to see hiring manager ready to shell out top dollar to find that guy but they do not even take out 5 mins of their own time during the search process. The question is: how to get these middle men out and get the hiring manager to interact directly for finding the A-listers.
I like and agree with this article in terms of finding A-listers. But one of the biggest challenges is getting the hiring team/managers to be more proactive. The culture especially at larger companies is to give it out to 3rd party vendors/recruiters who just shoot in the dark to find a good candidate.
"For me its paying bills ... it sucks, so now im building something to make it suck less."
I have the same pain point. I posted this on HN today
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4107367
Thanks for your feedback. Yes the challenges is getting businesses to trust this platform, being PCI compliant etc. But as a consumer, I would love something like this. I am sometimes surprised at the horrible bill payment systems that some of these guys have. For example, I once bought diamond ring for my wife (fiance at that time:) and used some special offer through a bank with 0% interest etc. Their bill payment system: only a phone call and paper statements. This was 2010. Just to check my balance, I had to call them everytime. Only way I know that they got my payment was to check my bank account and the check cashing.
It happens to me all the time both with business ideas and the learning of things I am interested in. I started learning Django framework for python, did a small user management app but did not like it much, moved on the web2py framework, built a couple of small CRUD apps, did not like it much, then moved to Flask framework (currently playing with). Sometimes, I dabble between JQuery, CSS etc. bits and pieces. here and there. nothing concrete yet but if I really think about it, it makes me happy.
Focus on a specific item instead of a more generic item. Instead of thinking "I will do a iOS self study course", say "I will build this x function by building a small iOS app". When you try to build that small app, you will learn many things on the way.
"There are, however, several things that bother me with their business idea and planning "
I agree with other posts that startups are more about teams and executions. If you are bothered by the team planning etc, you need to resolve it upfront before agreeing to anything. Think about this. if you are not comfortable raising your objections/points to your good friends, how would that turn out when you actually start the partnership?
"I'm giving a bonus to the citizen "
But that has nothing to do with visa status. Many employers choose not to give bonus to US citizens as well. Bonuses these days are something that you should feel lucky if you actually get any.