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For the first in a series of developer profiles Uneasy asked Terence Pua, developer of Bandwagon; an online iTunes library backup and synchronization program for OS X, about what it takes to develop software on a small scale and what issues you hit up against running a small business.

UNEASYsilence: What made you come up with the idea of backing up and syncing and backing up an entire iTunes music library?

Terence: I lost a bunch of Desperate Housewives shows (yes, I watched it at one point) and some music. My wife also wanted to listen to my tracks on her Mac. There didn’t seem to be a solution to these issues so we built one (Bandwagon).

UES: Were there any technical hurdles that you and your team had to overcome to get the program up and running?

T: We were originally focused on the speed issue of uploading and as such, we spent most of our first year coming up with a bittorrent-like protocol for backup and sync. That was a terrible mistake. We probably wasted 3 prototypes on that and at least a year of coding. Focus on what’s most important and while speed is an issue, it wasn’t the most important and in ALL cases, out of our control.

UES: Do you have previous experience of Mac programming before Bandwagon?

T: None. Zilch.

UES: Were there any programs that held inspiration for you during development?

T: Bittorrent for our original transport protocol. More recently, 37signals for their “less is more” approach to apps. And we all love simple apps like Twitter and Beast (forum software).

UES: How did you decide on $2 a month? That seems quite accessible..any catches?

T: We had the same problem so being potential customers ourselves, we asked how much we would pay. There are no catches, except you have to “bring-your-own” storage.

UES: You said that you’d start development of a Windows version at 500 signatures, but the online petition only has 86 signatures. Are there any plans for a Windows version in the works?

T: A Windows version of Bandwagon is something we plan for. There are apparently many couples that don’t share the same OS and have the same problems.

UES: I saw that you’re looking for a programmer. Any awesome features coming up soon that you are really excited about?

T: For Bandwagon, we will be adding additional storage platforms like Omnidrive and MediaMax. We are also working on our multi-library sync across the Internet. We just released a new feature called Grab which effectively lets a customer “grab” or download a song from a different computer (ex. you want “Fly Me to the Moon” but it’s on your home Mac and you are at work. Just launch Bandwagon on your work Mac and click on the Grab pane and download the song).

We are also working on Headphones, our 2nd app. It allows remote access to your Mac from your iPhone. Like Bandwagon, we are initially focused on access to iTunes but will be adding documents (pdf, txt, xls, doc) and photo support soon.

UES: How many users are you currently at?

T: Bandwagon has thousands of users. I can’t get into specifics.

UES: Do you think that your college experience helped you to be a better programmer or small business entrepreneur?

T: Hmmm…probably not. I learned everything by actually doing.

UES: What was the #1 surprise you encountered when starting up your own business?

T: How many times the product and business model changes. Note to fellow startups: it is rare that you will have everything figured out the first time so focus on building.

UES: How does it feel having C.E.O. in your title?

T: You mean chief everything officer? I get to do all the non-sexy parts of a startup (incorp, accounting, etc.).

If you are a hardware or software developer and want to be considered for a profile drop me a line at Jon@UNEASYsilence.com.