Challenges, failures and lessons from an agency building mobile products at scale
summary
Digital agency Novoda grows from bedroom hack to ~100 people, builds hundreds of apps (Vetate for field data, MeetUp Android client, Timescape plugins), runs community with 236 meetups and 5,400 members (avg 70 attendees), submits apps to Android Developer Challenge, and later pivots to consultancy. The firm loses a major unpaid invoice — lost £1,000,000 — survives, becomes a certified B Corp, and refocuses on pragmatic efficiency: when to use cross‑platform tools and when to abandon them.
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chapters (11)
- 0:00Introduction and personal story
- 3:20Building mobile products at scale
- 7:15Choosing future-proof technology
- 10:49Starting a business with Android
- 15:05Building a community around Android
- 19:19Sharing knowledge and speaking
- 21:08Founding a conference
- 26:47Growing the business
- 28:54Overcoming financial crisis
- 31:05Finding purpose and shifting focus
- 33:55Final metamorphosis and lessons
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