The Gift of the Modern Magi

Jim and Della had a great deal of love but no money in the bank. The money they’d been gifted for their wedding had long since been blown on crazy things like electricity and rent. Their wedding presents hadn’t been the most expensive and had long passed the time when they might have brought a decent amount of money at the pawn shop. Christmas presents would probably be impractical gifts like paying the rent and buying groceries.

But Jim and Della did have two things of value. Jim had an idea for an app that he’d already proven would be successful if he could only finish it. He spent what time he could trying to develop it, but he was far from an MVP. Sometimes, he let himself dream of what it might be like to hire some developers to help him. He even knew he could probably sell the idea, but he clung to the hope that someday, his app would go big. When it did, he’d buy what Della needed to achieve her dream.

With her DTG printer, Della dreamed of growing her own business designing and printing t-shirts. Of course, she really needed a pretreatment machine. Maybe someday. For now, she faithfully set aside money with the plan of hiring developers to help Jim – but developers were expensive.

With Christmas coming soon, Jim and Della became sadder and sadder.

Jim desperately wanted to buy Della her pretreatment machine. Della wanted to hire some developers to help bring Jim’s idea to life. But developers didn’t come cheap, and the pretreatment machine might as well have cost a million dollars.

Being rich in love and lacking in common sense, Della sold her DTG printer and used the proceeds and her small savings to hire a few developers to help Jim. Jim sold his idea and code so someone else could bring it to reality and used the proceeds to buy Della her pretreatment machine.

On Christmas morning, they both presented their gifts to one another. 

Jim had no idea for the developers to work on. Della had no DTG printer to use with the pretreatment machine.

And so they laughed and decided to have their dinner together.

This story could be ended the way O. Henry did his, “The magi, as you know, were wise men—wonderfully wise men— who brought gifts to the newborn Christ-child. They were the first to give Christmas gifts. Being wise, their gifts were doubtless wise ones. And here I have told you the story of two children who were not wise. Each sold the most valuable thing he owned in order to buy a gift for the other. But let me speak a last word to the wise of these days: Of all who give gifts, these two were the most wise. Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are the most wise. Everywhere they are the wise ones. They are the magi.” 

But what if this story doesn’t have to end as O. Henry’s famous story did?

What if Della had contacted Swan Software Solutions that provides reliable, scalable, and affordable custom solutions for 67% cheaper than average US prices.

Then the story might have gone like this.

“Jim, I’ve found the perfect developers to bring your idea to life.”

“That’s wonderful, Della.”

And so Jim worked with the team from Swan Software Solutions. The MVP was released and began to bring in revenue. Jim used some money to continue to pay for development, and some he used to buy Della her pretreatment machine and eventually even a heat press and other equipment. Jim and Della’s businesses both flourished. They remained happily in love, and soon, they had tiny humans join their family.

Which version is the happiest? Which version has a better moral? That’s for you to decide.

In any case, outsourcing your development to Swan Software Solutions could be the wisest choice you make for your company. To find out more, contact us. If you’d like to see this story as a video, check it out here.

And have a Merry Christmas season.