From the moment I started getting involved in computers and programming, I’ve continually kept thinking of new ideas that I would like to implement. Whenever a new one popped in my head, I would document it and file it away in a folder.  But in early 2009, I decided to try a little experiment.

My experiment is quite simple:

Find out if I’ve got what it takes to single-handedly build a small startup around one of my ideas.

And by single-handedly, I mean single-handedly. This goes way beyond the full life cycle development that a typical Java developer would expect. It includes everything from market research, developing the business plan and use cases, weighing the benefits of different tax structures, designing and building the user interface (HMTML, JS, CSS, all images hand-made using Photoshop), designing and building the business logic (Java, JSP, Struts, MyBatis), and database (MySQL); researching web hosting, scalability, reliability, monitoring, E V E R Y T H I N G.

The point of all this isn’t to make tons of money, although I’m definitely designing and launching these projects with the capacity to do so. For now my goals are much more simple:

1. Implement a real solution to a real problem.
2. Become more knowledgeable in the process.
3. Encourage others to follow their dreams.

Here are the top 3 projects from my list of about 10. Sites are not yet active.

MarkMyMovie.com – A movie information and review site with a realistic presentation of how people interact with movies. At its core this is a typical movie review site that everyone is familiar with, but it includes a few new features that made this project worthwhile.

AboutNASA.org – A public outreach site dedicated to helping the masses understand and appreciate NASA and all that it represents. Space and Science is what I’m most passionate about. One day while browsing Nasa.gov, I got frustrated that the site seemed so big and complicated. I figured many others felt that way, so I decided that I would create this site to help visitors get to the pertinent info more quickly. I can’t wait to start this project.

ResumeBadge.com – This site will offer a realistic view of a user’s career, enabling the right employers to find the right employees for the right job. In a way its similar to LinkedIn, but it addresses several of the issues people have with their concept, while putting my own mathematical spin on it.

About a year ago I started working on Mark My Movie. While working for a demanding startup as my real job, having our third child and getting very little sleep, I am happy to say that Mark My Movie should be ready for a May 2011 launch. Its taken much longer than I ever expected, but experiments never go exactly as planned, do they?