Welcome to zinCode, the newest Micro-ISV!
You might be wondering what is a Micro-ISV. The term made famous by Eric Sink depicts a small (usually one person) software development shop. The owner, me (Chris Martin) is responsible for all aspects of the business including architecture, development, sales, support, and everything else that goes along with running a technology business. Technically, any shop of ten or less people is considered a Micro-ISV, which is a good thing because there are about five of us working at zinCode.
The who, what, when and where?
Who - We are a group of highly skilled technologists. The people working with zinCode are senior systems architects, senior application developers, business & database analysts and even some interns (you have to start somewhere).
What - We are currently developing two different types of products with interest in a third one. The first product zinList will be available (in BETA) mid June for select customers. The other products are still in the works so we cannot dicuss the details of them. However, zinList will revolutionize the list industry by putting the power of list fulfillment (via an online portal) into virtually anyone's hands. And we are still consulting, which is where the least of our focus is at this point.
When - As mentioned above, our first product zinList is expected to be released in BETA mid June. We are always working, so the when is pretty much ongoing!
Where - Most Micro-ISV's start out of the home of the owner. Why should we be any different. I personally have been developing applications for clients for the last 11 years out of my home. There is just now a more official name for it! We expect to grow quickly, so the term Micro-ISV may not be attached for too long.
zinList Features
Our goal during the development process was to keep it simple, make it functional, flexible and most of all fast to implement a list
- Functional Design - the list management console and website both incorporate features that follow common industry practices. The design of the system is functional yet very flexible.
- Flexible List Options - you choose how to present your selection criteria, you choose the columns to export, you choose everything, it's your list. If you change your mind, well that is not a big deal, you change it. No longer do you have to wait on a programmer to make the change. And if you have something that does take a developer, then we will be available to do it.
- Fast List Deployment - it is possible to host your list in one hour. Our goal during the development process was "let's give someone the ability to hang a list in ten minutes." Although, not realistic it put into perspective the need for faster way of hosting lists. No longer does it take a team of developers weeks or months to build and deploy hosting solutions.
NOTE: Our BETA release will not implement all of functionality planned for the final release. Even after the first production release we plan on adding new features every 30 to 60 days.