What You Need to Start a Software Project: A Step-by-Step Guide for Non-Technical Founders

Trying to get a software project up and running with no former technical experience is a lot like attempting to find your way around some foreign country where you don't speak the language. You have that brilliant idea, but it's just so apparently impossible to take that vision and turn it into real, actual software. Well, here's the good news: you don't have to know anything about coding to have a successful software project launch. You just need to know the right questions to ask, what resources to gather, and what steps to take in the process.

Prepare yourself with this comprehensive guide, as it will take you through all you need to know, from conceptualization to finding the right team that will help you manage costs to confidently launch your software project in 2025.

It's not for you to write the code yourself but to give a clear roadmap that others will follow.

Step 1: Crystallize Your Vision into Tangible Requirements

Define Your Core Problem and Solution

What problem are you solving? This can be written down in one sentence. If you can't explain what the problem is clearly, the development team will not know what to build.

Who is your target user? Be specific. "Small business owners who struggle with inventory management" is far better than "businesses."

What is your value proposition? How does your solution differ from what already exists?

Make a Feature List; Keep It Simple

Start with your minimum viable product, or your MVP. Smart founders in 2025 know they'd rather ship core features first than build everything out at once. In listing your features, categorize them into three different categories.

Must-Have Features: Things the software absolutely needs to function. That's 3-5 core features, maximum, in an MVP.

Nice-to-Have Features: Those things that would enhance the experience but are not crucial to launch.

Future Features: Ideas you will consider after you have validated your initial concept with real users.

Step 2: Prepare Pre-Development Documents

Business Requirements Document - BRD

This document articulates in detail the measurable project goals for one's business, users, and other stakeholders. Your BRD should include:

• Business objectives: what success looks like for you

• Target Market: Demographics, Behaviors, and Pain Points

• Success metrics: How you'll measure if software is working

• Budget and timeline: Your realistic constraints

User Stories and Workflows

Instead, write user stories like, "As a small business owner, I want to be able to log into my account in a speedy manner by using just my email address, so I can view my dashboard without having to remember yet another password."

Follow the customer's journey:

1. How does a person find your software?

2. What is their first experience?

3. What are 3-5 key actions they'll take?

4. What are their expected results?

Visual References

You don't have to be a designer, but some visual references can be really helpful. Create a mood board that contains:

• Screenshots of applications you admire

• UI that you like

• Design styles that resonate with your brand

• Examples of competitors, noting what you like/don't like

Step 3: Understand the Technical Foundation You'll Need

You don't need to know how to code, but knowing basic technical notions will help you make better decisions and enable you to communicate well with your team.

Choose Your Platform Strategy

Web Application: It is accessible via browsers and works on any device. In general, it is best for SaaS products and tools that people use while working. The general price for developing an MVP usually starts from $30,000 to $50,000.

Mobile App: iOS, Android, or both. Best for on-the-go products. Single-platform MVPs begin at about $40,000-$60,000.

Cross-platform: One codebase for all platforms; cost-effective but limited. Budget: $50,000 - $80,000.

Fundamentals of Technology Stack

With widely known frameworks, like React or Flutter, the price will be cheaper due to the lower market rates. Your development team will recommend certain technologies, but understand these categories:

• Frontend: What the users see and interact with

• Backend: the server and database powering your app

• Infrastructure: Where your software lives: cloud hosting like AWS, Google Cloud

Security and Compliance Requirements

Depending on your industry, you may want to:

• Data encryption of sensitive information

• GDPR compliance, if you have European users

• HIPAA compliance for medical data

• PCI compliance for handling payments

Factor these into your initial planning; adding them in afterward is significantly more expensive.

Step 4: Budget Realistically for Your Software Project

Now, for the numbers: Industry statistics indicate that 66% of all technology initiatives run over their original budgets by an average of 27%. Don't be that statistic.

Software Development Cost Breakdown - 2025

The following can be expected with present market rates:

Basic MVP, where the application only contains the main features.

In the US, a very realistic estimate for software development in most startups begins at about $15,000 for the most basic MVP and can easily go well over $80,000 for complex solutions.

Standard Web or Mobile Application:

The estimates to develop software range from $5,000 to $250,000, but the price for most typical applications lies between $30,000 and $80,000.

Complex SaaS or Enterprise Solution:

Budget $100,000 to $250,000+, depending on advanced features, integrations, and scaling requirements.

Regional Cost Differences

In 2025, advanced stack developers will charge anywhere from $150 per hour in the United States, while Indian developers will get paid $30-$60.

North America: $80-$150+ per hour

Western Europe: $60-$100/hour

Eastern Europe: $35-$60 / hour

Asia: $25-$50 per hour

Indeed, this has been a model for many successful founders: strategic planning and project management locally, with development either offshore or nearshore.

Hidden Costs You Must Budget For

Beyond the initial build, budget for these ongoing costs:

Maintenance and Updates: A general rule of thumb, in many developers' opinions, is that 15-25% of the initial cost should be budgeted for annual maintenance, bug fixes, and minor enhancements in custom software development.

Cloud Hosting and Infrastructure: $50-500 dollars a month for small projects, scaling with users. For an application that continuously grows, budget $1,000-$5,000+ per month.

Third-party services for things like payment processing, API subscriptions, analytics, and even customer support may cost anywhere from $200 upwards to $2,000-plus a month.

Marketing and User Acquisition: Even the best software means nothing without its users. Budget at least 30-50% of your development cost toward initial marketing.

Step 5: Assemble Your Development Team

It doesn't take a 10-person dev team to get up and running, but you do need the right mix of skills and mindsets.

Option 1: Hire an Agency or a Development Company

Best for: First-time founders, complex projects, tight deadlines

Pros:

• Team completeness in one place

• Structured processes and project management

• Risk reduction

• Faster time to market

Cons:

• Higher costs

• Less direct control

• Less likely to be vested in your success

What to look for:

• Portfolio of similar projects

• Clear communication style

• The prices are fully transparent

• Client testimonials

• Post-launch support options

Option 2: Freelancers

Best for: Very simple projects, tight budgets, technical oversight available

Pros:

• Lower hourly rates

• Flexibility

• Direct communication

Cons:

• It varies in quality

• No team structure

• Higher risk

• May disappear mid-project

Critical tip: If employing freelancers, hire a technical advisor or CTO-as-a-service that can help to vet candidates' skills and review code quality.

Option 3: In-House Team

Best for: Well-funded projects, long-term product development

Pros:

• Full control

• Strong product knowledge

• Faster Iterations

• Team alignment to the vision

Cons:

• Expensive: over $300,000 annually for salary costs of a small team

• Slow to build

• Requires administrative skills/experience

• Benefits and overhead

Key Positions You Will Require

For MVP Phase:

• 1-2 Full-stack developers

• 1 UI/UX designer

• 1 Project manager-can be you initially

For Growth Phase, include:

• Frontend developer

• Backend developer

• QA Tester

• DevOps engineer

Step 6: Create Your Software Requirement Specification (SRS)

The SRS is the technical document of your project, describing functionality, features, design, limitations, and objectives. This will serve as your blueprint for your project.

What Goes Into an SRS Document

Introduction and Overview:

• Project purpose and scope

• Target audience and use cases

• Assumptions and constraints

Functional Requirements:

• Detailed feature descriptions

• User workflows

• System behaviors

• Data requirements

Non-Functional Requirements:

• Performance expectations: load times and concurrent users

• Requirements of security

• Scalability requirements

• Compatibilities' needs

External Interfaces:

• Integrations with Third Parties

• APIs you will connect to

• Hardware interfaces

Technical Constraints:

• Browser or Device Requirements

• Technical limitations

• Regulatory Requirements to Comply

In other words, the SRS document describes the way the software product should work and how the development team should make it work.

Most development agencies will help with developing this document; it is a collaborative effort, not something that has to be wholly developed on your own.

Step 7: Choose Your Development Methodology

Understanding how your project is going to be managed helps with setting expectations, and it also ensures better communication.

Agile/Scrum (Recommended for Most Projects)

How it works: The development happens in 2-4 week "sprints." You'll regularly review the progress and be able to change priorities at any time.

Best for: Projects where requirements might evolve, MVPs, innovative products

Pros:

• Flexibility to change direction

• Regular feedback and visibility

• Faster time to initial launch

• Risk is lower.

Cons:

• Harder to predict final costs

• Requires your active participation

• Can feel less structured

Waterfall

How it works: Complete planning upfront, then design, develop, test, and launch in sequence.

Best for: Projects whose requirements are fixed, well-defined, and will not change

Pros:

• Clear timeline and costs

• Comprehensive Documentation

• Less day-to-day involvement needed

Cons:

• Inflexible once started

• Takes longer to show results

• Higher risk if requirements were wrong

2025 Reality: Most startups are on some form of Agile methodology, the quality bar is higher, and expectations continue to shift.

Step 8: Avoid These Critical Mistakes

Learn from others' very costly mistakes.

Mistake #1: Building Too Much Too Fast

It's tempting to add in features, but for most users only a few will actually matter. Shipping too much at once slows you down and makes bugs harder to track.

Solution: Launch with your core 3-5 features; add more once real users have validated your concept.

Mistake #2: Not Conducting User Research

The fastest way to waste money is to build something nobody wants. Most of the failed software projects out there didn't fail because of bad code; they failed because they solved the wrong problem or solved it in a way users just didn't care about.

Solution: Speak with 20-50 potential users before writing a single line of code. Their feedback saves you from building the wrong thing. Ask them about their current pain points, what solutions they have tried, and what would make their life easier.

Mistake #3: Lack of Documentation

Documentation isn't for large teams only. Even if you're a solo founder, document the decisions and how things were set up. Six months from now, you'll forget why you made certain choices or where important information lives.

Solution: Keep a simple wiki or shared document listing the key decisions, credentials, and technical setup information. Document as you go—it takes 5 minutes now but hours to reconstruct later.

Mistake #4: Ignoring Technical Debt

Poor planning at the outset means accumulating technical debt, which then costs much more—3 to 5 times as much—to fix post-launch than it would during the course of development. Technical shortcuts and quick fixes tend to snowball until eventually your software is slow, full of bugs, and costly to maintain.

Solution: Build quality into the product from day one. Code reviews, testing, and proper architecture are a must. Sure, they cost more upfront, but they will save you exponentially more time and money later on.

Mistake #5: Unclear Communication

Miscommunication between you and your development team can lead to wasting time, developing the wrong features, and frustration on both sides. What is obvious to you may not be obvious to the developers.

Solution: Use visual aids, examples, and user stories instead of abstract descriptions. Record the meetings so you can reference what was discussed. Maintain a shared project dashboard that everyone can view. Over-communicate rather than under-communicate.

Step 9: Your Pre-Launch Checklist

Before approaching the developers, you should have the following ready:

Business Foundation:

• Problem and solution clearly articulated

• Target user personas

• Competitive analysis

• Business model (how you'll make money)

• Preliminary budget range

Project Definition:

• MVP feature list (prioritized)

• User stories for key features

• Visual references and inspiration

• Platform decision: web, mobile, or both

Technical Considerations:

• Security and compliance requirements

• Must-have integrations

• Scalability expectations

• Performance requirements

Team and Timeline:

• Realistic launch timeline

• The preferred approach to development, i.e., agency vs. freelancer

• Budget for development and first-year operations

• Post-launch support plan

Step 10: Launch and Learn

Your MVP launch isn't the end; it's actually just the beginning of your real education.

Weeks 1-4: Gather Intensive Feedback

The first month post-launch is the most important. You will learn more during this time about what works, what does not, and what you should have built instead.

• If possible, talk to every early user personally.

• Track which features they actually use, not which ones they say they'll use.

• Document bugs and issues systematically.

• Take note of feature requests, but do not commit to building them yet.

• Watch people navigating your software: Where is it that they are getting stuck?

Months 2-3: Iterate Based on Real Data

Now you have real usage data instead of assumptions. It's time to act on that.

• Anything critical, meaning bugs that prevent people from getting value, gets fixed first.

• Improve features that people actually use—not the ones you think are coolest.

• Remove or hide features no one touches. It's just clutter.

• Add features that are requested, but only when a number of users request the same.

• Improve onboarding if people drop off early.

Months 4-6: Scale What Works

By now you should know what works and what does not. Double down on what works.

• Invest dev time in features with proven engagement.

• Improve performance and reliability: speed matters more as you grow.

• Build out your sales and marketing systems.

• Plan your next big feature releases centered on user needs, not around your wishlist.

• Consider hiring additional team members for areas where you are stretched thin.

Keep Learning, Keep Improving

Software is never really "done." The best products evolve from how real people use them. Stay close to your users. Answer their needs. And keep making your software better little by little.

Your First Steps Tomorrow

Starting a software project as a nontechnical founder isn't about learning to code; it's about learning how to lead a technical project effectively. You don't need to understand algorithms or databases. You need to understand your users, communicate your vision clearly, and make smart decisions about resources and priorities.

This week:

1. Write down your one-sentence problem statement.

2. Enumerate your 3-5 MVP features (only the bare necessities).

3. Research 5-10 agencies or freelancers within your budget range.

4. Set your realistic budget. Be honest with yourself.

This month:

1. Interview at least 3 potential development partners.

2. Create user stories for your main features.

3. Get feedback from 20 potential users about your idea.

4. Finalize your requirements document.

Next 3 months:

1. Start development with your selected team.

2. Participate in weekly progress reviews.

3. Start building your launch audience through content and outreach.

4. Prepare Marketing Materials and Launch Strategy

Final Thoughts: You Got This

Thousands of non-technical founders have had success with launching software products. You're actually at no disadvantage-you're free to focus on what matters most: understanding your users, validating your market, and building a sustainable business.

The key is knowing what you need, communicating clearly, and partnering with the right technical team. With this guide, you now have a comprehensive roadmap to transform your software idea from concept into reality.

Remember, your first version is not going to be perfect-and that's okay. The goal is to get something working in front of real users as quickly and inexpensively as possible. Every successful software company started with an imperfect version 1.0. They succeeded not because they built everything right the first time, but because they listened to users and improved rapidly.

Your brilliant idea deserves to exist in the world. Now you know exactly what you need to make it happen. The only question left is when you will start.

Ready to take the next step? Start by documenting your answers to the questions in this guide. When you have clarity on your requirements and budget, go ahead and confidently reach out to the development partners. You are no longer a confused, non-technical founder; you're an informed business leader who is going to spearhead your software project to success.