Konstantinos Blatzonis

and code your functions while seeing instantly what’s happening in the IDE. You can watch your app being put together piece by piece and becoming better and better.”

Inspired by hand held devices seen on Star Trek, Konstantinos always dreamed of making his own app. After trying various coding languages and struggling, Konstantinos found LiveCode, built an app in 3 days, and launched his own App Development Company.

1. What made you want to be an app developer?

Since I was little, I have been fascinated by computers. And, when the first handheld devices became readily available, it felt for me like the “tricorder“ from StarTrek had finally been invented for real – all I could think about were the endless possibilities within our grasp given the right software.

2.What was your first app idea?

I don’t remember whether it was my first app idea, but the first app I believed I could make and finally did realize was the VFR Course Calculator. It’s an app that does basic flight calculations to set up a flight plan fast and easily.

3. Where did the inspiration come from?

I’d been learning to fly and had to suffer through hours of constructing flight plans using the analog flight calculator, Aviat. While having a lot of features, the Aviat also requires a lot of time to perform all the necessary calculations. I, therefore, created the app VFR Course Calculator to make my life easier.

4. How long did it take you to develop the app?

I planned to develop the app within three months and ended up finishing it within three days.

5. What surprised you about building your app?

I was most surprised that I was actually able to build my own app. I had often made attempts to teach myself C/C++ and had always failed. Therefore, I could hardly believe that after a few lessons of LiveCode I was ready to go.

6. What did you like most about building your app?

LiveCode allows you to design the UI and code your functions while seeing instantly what’s happening in the IDE. You can watch your app being put together piece by piece and becoming better and better. The entire creative process is very intuitive. The code is easily understood, leading to a steep learning curve. All in all, what I liked most about building my app is that I built it completely on my own.

7. Have you developed other apps since?

Yes. Since it was such fun to build the first app, I immediately started on my next app. At the moment, it’s waiting for review. So hopefully it will soon be available for download. Keep your fingers crossed!

8. What made you decide to start an App Development Company?

As I mentioned earlier, my interest in programming was sparked by the endless possibilities offered by handheld devices. Unfortunately, for a long time my programming skills were inadequate to realize my ideas. Then I read LiveCode’s slogan: Everyone can Code. I finally found a way to put my ideas into action and started my own App Development Company. Of course, I hope to make some extra money by building apps; but most importantly, it offers the fun of coding and being creative.

9. What would you recommend to App Developers who are starting their own app businesses?

Begin with small steps. Think about which app you need for your own purposes and design it. When your coding skills get better, go the next step and think about which app might be useful for a larger circle of users. Do not invest to much time trying to make the app 100% perfect on the first shot; you can always add features later on through updates.

10. What would you say to people who are just starting to use LiveCode?

To people who have already coding experience in other programming languages, I don’t think I can give much advice. I’m sure they already know what they’re doing. However, to people like me who start using LiveCode without any prior coding skills I’d like to say: You made a really good decision choosing LiveCode! It’s a great way to start app design – with fast results and without too many headaches. Last but not least, there’s an awesome community of LiveCoders who offer you help and who are a lot of fun at the annual conferences.

11. Anything else you’d like to add?

A quote from Steve Wozniak which encouraged me to start with app development:

“Don’t worry that you can’t seem to come up with sure billion dollar winners at first. Just do projects for yourself for fun. You’ll get better and better.”