I'd recommend going to some local area developer meet ups. For example, if you wanted to develop something on an Apple phone you could go hit up an iOS development group. Be sure to be nice, mingle, don't stress if you don't understand what they're talking about and have beers with them afterwards. Easiest way to network in my opinion. But please keep in mind that these same people are getting 20-40 recruitment emails per day and that you're not the only person that's pitching them app ideas. Best of luck and let us know how it turns out!

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YouTube

Don't. You don't need it or you don't want it. Depending on what's your plan.

Software product is a complicated thing (I don't mean a piece of code that compiles and runs somewhere). It's not a rocket science, but does require meticulous management of a hundred of small details.

If you just want to spend time doing something technical, google tutorials in any technology you want: React, Swift, Android Kotlin, etc and follow them step by step. You can do it solo and just google error messages when you get stuck.
If you want to create a product, I'd suggest working for a couple of years as a developer in a software shop so you at least gasp the complexity.

I am, but no.

The two previous posters are both correct. I will make some points and repeat some of theirs for emphasis. For background I have been in software development and testing since 1996, built an App for the app store, done many side projects in addition to working for companies and starting my own company. I have been down the path that you are thinking of walking down and I have all the tools to walk down it by myself.

1) Software product development is much harder than you think if you haven't done it before. Some things that seem easy can be very difficult. If you don't have experience you don't know what is tough and what isn't.

2) Software developers are in demand. As mentioned previously not only do they have people approaching them with ideas, they have their own ideas and interests. It is my belief that every software developer will do one company/project for equity or to be a founder. When that doesn't go well they will not do it anymore. Therefore if you are looking to partner with a developer you will get a very inexperienced one because you will be their first try.

3) Apps are hard to market. Building a great App that meets a need is just the start. You need adoption and even if people say they need it that doesn't mean they will use it. The build a better mousetrap quote doesn't apply at all.

4) Don't do it

5) If you want to do it, do it yourself. There are tons of online resources to help you. You will have no financial pressures and you can go at your own pace. If it doesn't work out you have a valuable skill and all that you missed was watching reruns of The Walking Dead.

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The first time man split the atom was when the atom tried to hold Jens Voigt's wheel, but cracked.

I was once approached by someone with the idea of a product. I knew the guy was serious as he was already running a little business based on his ideas with 80 subscribers (all businesses). Instead of a software product he needed to run his business he had bunch of softwares cobbled together and sort of doing something but far from what he really wanted. He did lack the funds though to pay $250K - my quote for first functional version. We did settle on the following arrangement: I develop the product and own it. He becomes an exclusive customer and pays me a license fees. Long story short after one year of suffering I started to receive initially small but ever increasing stream of licensing fees which fed me for 15 years. In the end he was paying me large sums for long time and he wanted to buy out my product. The price offered was laughable, I declined, and it took him 2 more years of licensing fees to develop and deploy the replacement (way, way more than the proposed buyout price). Meanwhile I started another projects. He was ok as well (somebody bought out his business and his share was bout 10 mil).

Moral of the story here is that he did not just have the idea. He had tiny but viable business based on his idea. This was the only reason I've agreed to participate (also I just started my own software development company and was looking for something more interesting then being gun for hire). And before he met me he was shown the door by whol bunch of developers and companies he was trying to convince to develop the product.

You know how easy is it to open a restaurant, but how hard is it to open a successful restaurant? Because it needs to be at just the right place at just the right time serving just the right food in just the right atmosphere appealing to just the right people to draw enough crowds to make it all worth it?

Software development is like that, but much much harder than restaurants. Like the kids who form a band. For every Guns N' Roses there are a 1000 bands that never went anywhere. Like that.