Table of Contents
Updated July 2021
The past decade has seen a sea of change in technologies that are used by consumers. We’ve gone from the PC to laptops, to smartphones. With the increasing popularity of smartphones, mobile apps have become a necessity. In fact, nowadays, you haven’t really used a smartphone unless you’ve used Android apps or iOS apps.
Whether you are a business owner operating in the B2B or B2C industry, you need smartphone apps to reach out to a wider audience, get valuable feedback, and increase sales. Besides that, there is a growing number of businesses that have started to integrate ready-to-use or custom-designed apps to improve their productivity and increase the quality of their service.
Tips to Create a Successful Mobile App Startup
Since apps have become a necessity (over 204 billion apps were downloaded in 2019, with the average user having up to 40 apps on their smartphone), the number of mobile app startups have mushroomed over the past few years. Sadly, all mobile app startups are not created equal. If you are thinking of entering this niche as a startup, then here are some of the top tips to keep in mind when creating a successful mobile app startup.
Solve a Problem
One of the mistakes that startups make is concentrating too much on an idea for their mobile app, rather than on providing value. During the planning stage, it is crucial to ask yourself, “What problem does your app startup solve?” If your startup does not solve a pain point of the user, it is unlikely to succeed. With over 5.5 billion Android and iOS apps available to download, it may seem impossible to create an app that’s unique. However, with detail-oriented market research, it is possible to find gaps in the market that you can fill with a new and unique app.
Mobile App Startup Funding
Before you can go ahead and ask people for their hard-earned money, you will have to first determine what problem your app will solve. This will require a lot of market research, but putting in the leg work usually pays off. The one thing that you need to remember when it comes to mobile app startup funding is that nobody is going to give you their money if you’re not sure of what you’re doing.
The cost of developing a mobile app is mainly going to depend on the app itself. But, that doesn’t mean you should low ball when it comes to the budget. Some of the funding options available for a mobile app startup are crowdfunding, venture funds, and angel investors.
Crowdfunding
Indiegogo and Kickstarter are two of the most famous crowdfunding platforms around, but there are also other options that you should try out such as Appsfunder, Appsplit, etc.
Angel Investors
An angel investor is a wealthy individual who is interested in making an investment in a promising startup in exchange for equity. Angel investors are normally the go-to choice for startups looking for seed money. You can find some of the top angel investors in your city by simply doing a quick Google search.
Venture Capital Funds
This comes after acquiring seed funding. The funds can be obtained from multiple sources, and are usually of larger amounts. It is important to note that venture capitalists tend to invest in businesses and not ideas.
Choose a Mobile App Platform
So, how does one choose the right platform for your mobile app? When choosing a platform, you will have to first consider your target demographic. For this, you need to carry out market research and create a persona. It is important to note that platforms vary by region. For instance, if you are targeting users in European countries, then you should know that most Europeans prefer to use Android devices over iPhones. In Asia, user preference may vary depending on the country, while in the US, users use both Android and iOS devices.
Create a Business Plan
Regardless of which funding options you choose, you are going to need a solid business plan if you want to attract investors. This can only be achieved once you have gained some insights into your target demographic. Having a coherent and realistic business plan is a great place to start and will save you from unnecessary expenditures.
It is okay for your business plan to be equal parts strategy and tactic, but it is difficult to come up with the former when you’re just starting up. It is best to begin with writing down your short-term plans and keep the larger goals for later.
Your business plan also doesn’t have to be too detailed or complex. In fact, it should be simple enough for you to get your main idea across to investors. As a rule of thumb, the business plan for any mobile app startup should take into account the cost of developing a mobile app, and the possible ways of earning money, which is what your investors are really interested in.
Prototyping and User Feedback
Congratulations. You have a business plan, and you have found investors who are interested in your mobile app startup. Now you can get to the part where you actually build the app. Chances are, your first iteration is not going to be spot on, in which case, you will need user feedback and tweak the app, which is a process that can take anywhere from a few months to a year.
The best approach to create an app is to build an interactive prototype first. This should preferably contain the main feature of your mobile app, and a visual framework that will work as a test drive for your app. This should get you enough feedback to help you tweak your mobile app to perfection.
How Do You Identify the Right App Dev Technology Partner?
Identifying the right mobile app development technology partner (someone that has experience in hybrid app development because that is what the world is leaning towards these days) is highly critical for the success of your mobile app. You need to be upfront and ask all the important questions when selecting a potential development partner. These questions include;
- Asking them to share their experience building similar apps (including hybrid apps).
- Their development phases and overall process
- The level of involvement the team would you expect from you
- The maintenance offered by the team post-launch.
- The kind of documentation provided after completion of the app development.
These are just some of the questions that you need to ask a potential app development partner.
How Do You Build and Release Your Mobile App?
After selecting the right partner, you should develop your app with a minimum viable set of features for the initial launch. This way, you can launch early, get early feedback and understand market response before investing more resources into your project. Deploying your app will require a lot of planning to ensure smooth release to live environments.
Capture Key Metrics
As the number of users of your app starts to grow, you will need to collect key metrics and analytics to measure the features of your mobile application that is a hit with your users.
Once you have captured the metrics you need, you should plan to add improvements and features to your mobile app.
Does Your Business Need a Mobile App?
If you or your medium to large business needs to get an app built we can help. We offer custom web application development, custom software development, and mobile app development services near you.
Here are some of the questions asked to us by startup business owners:
Q: How will my business benefit from a mobile app?
A: Our transformational mobile app development projects provide technological and business advantages to every business we work with. Our New York-based app development team is equally adept at building standard features in apps such as push notifications, social integration, location services and mobile purchases as well as advanced features like QR/Barcode scanning, advanced analytics and augmented reality. With vast experience in mobile application development and a versatile portfolio, our development company takes a holistic approach, employing web, mobile and cloud solutions to solve our customers’ application needs.
Q: How much does it cost to have a mobile app developed?
A: The time and cost it takes to complete a project varies from one project to another, as each client’s requirements are unique. In some cases, depending on the nature and complexity of the project, a detailed discovery phase i.e.; requirements gathering phase is required in order to assess the total effort (time, money and resources) for project completion. Our costs scale based on the size and the end goal of the project.
Q: Will your mobile app comply with our standards and security policy?
A: At Asahi Technologies, we ensure the code of your software is secured and follows all of your strict business guidelines.
Let the established software development team at Asahi Technologies help you with your next custom app development project for your business.
Want to read some of the 5-Star Reviews of our application development services?
Contact us today for a free consultation.
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Vinod Subbaiah
Founder & Chief Strategist
Vinod is a deeply devoted digital health enthusiast who believes technology is a great enabler that provides the key to unlocking a better world. He is driven by a singular goal: to help healthcare organizations leverage technology to deliver better digital services for patients, providers, payers, and other community health stakeholders. His expansive computer science domain expertise, humanity, and commitment to community are major assets for healthcare, medical, pharmaceutical, and life science enterprises.