GramyDown: How I Built This App For $600

In 2018, Gramydown was an app I created to make downloading photos and videos from Instagram super easy.

While managing my Instagram accounts, I found that resharing videos from other pages was a hassle, so I hired someone on Fiverr and Upwork to develop this tool.

Over time, my plan was to add more features and tools to help creators grow their Instagram audience, but I eventually let the project go.

Here’s the original logo I sent to my designer and what he delivered. I think he nailed it!

Here's the design I sent to the developer. I put it together in Photoshop, but looking back, a more detailed wireframe would have been a better approach to ensure everything was clearly understood.

I initially started on Fiverr, but my lack of experience meant I had to go through three developers before the project was finally complete.

Developer 1 offered to create the whole app for only $100 USD, but the final product hardly worked. It felt like $100 wasted.

He delivered the source code though, so I posted on Upwork for someone to finish the job. I hired Developer 2 for $340 USD, but he ghosted me after two weeks! Luckily, Upwork refunded me. I then posted the job AGAIN and found Developer 3 for $500 USD. Here are those Upwork listings I made six years ago:

I started working with developers and received many versions of my app. Sadly, a lot of problems popped up that didn’t match the mockups I’d given them. We had to go through several rounds of revisions and there was a lot of back-and-forth. But eventually, we got there.

These are the screenshots I used for the Google Play store.

In our contract, we agreed that the payment would only be released if the app was live on the App Stores and fully functional. This turned out to be a smart decision, and I was very happy with the outcome.

So $600 and three developers later, I ended up with a functional app and valuable experience collaborating with programmers. Despite the many roadblocks along the way, it felt incredible finally receiving a working product. Here's a photo working on the mockup and a video of the final app:

One reason I built Gramydown was to gain experiencing outsourcing. The app was relatively simple and inexpensive to develop, which kept the risk low.

For anyone looking to build their first app, I recommend starting with a simple design and basic features. This approach will reduce costs significantly and help you get comfortable with the outsourcing process. Once you've found a reliable developer, you can then move on to bigger projects and add more features.