Campfire Apps: Shawn and Stephanie Grimes bet big on app development in New York Times profile

For two years, Rosedale, Md., residents Shawn and Stephanie Grimes have been writing software applications for the iPhone, iPad and Barnes & Noble Nook, freelance work with no steady income, retirement funding or health insurance accompanying it, reports the New York Times.

Today the couple owns and operates Campfire Apps, a development shop producing smart phone apps for children, like Henry’s Smart Headlamp, which was produced specifically for preschool-age kids. But the work is difficult, with no guarantees for a big payoff. As the New York Times writes:

The couple aimed for one new app a month, but progress was slow and sales were slower. In March, with the apps bringing in only about $20 a day, they cashed in Mr. Grimes’s 401(k), which yielded $30,000 after taxes and penalties. They had already spent the severance from his job at Legg Mason. … The Grimeses’ quest cost them more than $200,000 in lost income and savings. So far this year, their eight apps have earned $4,964. [more]

Read more at the Times on the struggles of app developers to make a living.