For Step 5 - let's not forget Nick D'Aloisios favorite tactic of spamming reporters.

http://gizmodo.com/5830076/how-i-made-a-15+year+old-app-deve...

Author makes reference to that at the end with "tips" "Lie."

Ah, I see it now. “I try to maintain a level of humbleness” HAHAH - yeah right.

I hate it when I hear people who have probably never coded in their lives, saying how easy it is to build something. From the outside everything seems like a piece of cake, but software engineering is more than that. It takes time, concentration, dedication and creativity.

> I hate it when I hear people who have probably never coded

> in their lives, saying how easy it is to build something...

I believe, in this case, the author was using a rather effective technique typically called "sarcasm."

Considering you take two off the shelf pieces of software and do the work I don't think this is implausable. Also I think it was more a commentary on how silly the Summly buy was.

You do get sarcasm right?

amen.

One thing they forgot to add: Be 15 years old so that it makes a good sensationalist medoa story. A 40 year old doing this wouldn't get anywhere even if he lined up the Ocean's Eleven cast on his board! Terrible article by the way.

Wavii did. Same $30m as Summly got. Sure age helped with press, but that isn't to say that you couldn't do the same thing at 40. Especially if you are buying PR.

It's a decent looking road map to a start-up summary business/app even if it doesn't sell to one of the big fish for $30M.

Best part of the article: Step 5. Get press. With your funding, buy off a few reporters to talk about your app. (Actually, just kidding. This is unethical to most journalists and will only probably work with TechCrunch.)

Aye, that was my favorite too.

Ha, makes sense.

We laugh that Nick got "lucky" but really this is the Bill Gates story. Find something that does something cool. Put some lip stick on it, sell it to someone big.

This isn't such a far fetched idea.

Whether you could do it a second time is harder to say.

While I know this is meant to sarcastic I think it is actually not far fetched.

worst forbes article ever.