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Application development for startups
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Andrew Douglas

Content

  1. Distribution of the budget when creating a mobile application
  2. How we help launch a mobile product
  3. Possible scenarios

Any startup has little time, money and no proven hypothesis, which is why it is called a startup.

Throughout the existence of the AppCraft mobile application development studio, we tried to launch our own projects, and we do it now. And from our own experience, we have made sure that the following strategy is optimal:

  1. Think over the idea that has arisen, look at existing examples, and pay special attention to closed mobile applications. Very important do not forget about the survivor bias.
  2. List everything that can be done in the project.
  3. Spend no less time to throw away everything without which the product can exist… If the main goal of the application, that is, the solution to a specific user problem, is achieved without this feature, it should be thrown away without hesitation.
  4. Draw up a marketing plan, at least an approximate one. If you do not think it over from the beginning, then at the start of an advertising campaign you will have to redo and add many things.
  5. Write a detailed technical assignment. For a startup, it should be detailed in comparison with mobile applications for already established business processes. If there, in case of questions, the answers are easily found among the established rules, then revisions of entire sections are possible here. Writing technical specifications is the creation of a product.
  6. Start a marketing campaign in accordance with a previously developed plan immediately, without even waiting for the first version of the product. Recruiting an audience and establishing close cooperation with it is a very difficult task, in fact, this is what you are doing by creating a mobile product. Therefore, you need to start doing this as early as possible.
  7. Develop the first version of the product, test it in focus groups. Complete 3-4 processing cycles and improvements based on the information collected.
  8. Carry out a soft start on the formed cohorts of the intended target audience. Cut off non-working cohorts and focus on the most alive.
  9. Move fastfocusing on early adopters. You need to communicate with them, their loyalty needs to be appreciated.
Mobile application development stages

The way to launch your own project cannot be called easy – there is really a lot of work, especially in establishing productive communication with users, and since resources are limited, first of all they need to be properly allocated.

Distribution of the budget when creating a mobile application

The bulk of the resources, about 60-70%, should be spent on gathering the audience. This includes direct advertising, and the formation of groups on social networks, and the purchase of articles, and partnerships, and many other methods.

Completely viral products that have grown without a single advertising penny are extremely rare. If this happens to your product, that’s fine, but it’s better to be able to fire multiple shots and hit the target without relying on one powerful shot in the top ten.

Of the remaining small part, 25% are for creating MVP and project management, and 50% for revisions based on the results of testing cycles.

It all looks something like this:

Distribution of money at the start of the mobile application
Distribution of finances at the start of a mobile application

First – MVP, then several quick cycles of improvement and refinement on test cohorts, then transition to large service cycles.

It is important to understand that modern IT products are services. They are not written once and for all, they are constantly changing, adapting both to the surrounding reality and to the changing needs of users.

How we help launch a mobile product

At first, we protect your idea the signing of an NDA – a non-disclosure agreement. Each specialist in our team working on your project has a similar signed agreement with the studio.

Yes, in the modern world, patenting is not as important as the speed of building business processes and the ability to form a product audience. Nevertheless, a successfully launched product is a lot of capital, and you need to work with it very carefully. Therefore, the protection of your right to your mobile application is at the forefront.

Further on the stages of development and development:

1. We carry out market analysis and write a detailed analytical report indicating the history of experiments in this niche, current competitors, links to research from global consulting companies and recommendation conclusions.

2. We help in formation of a marketing strategy…

3. We draw up technical specifications together with you, we make a clickable prototype and organize the collection of focus group information.

4. We develop MVP, preparing for a soft launch, organizing the collection and processing of statistical information. In the article about launching a mobile application we wrote about this in more detail.

5. We help in launching: we monitor the technical condition of the product, provide support, set up A / B testing of key functionality.

6. If necessary – we organize communication with investors and help in negotiations on technical issues.

A large number of developed mobile applications have formed our understanding of how it is worth and how not to do each stage. Of course, each product is different, but there are common features of the technological process that increase the chances of success.

On the blog, you can read our article on the cost of developing an app for android and iOS…

Possible scenarios

Yes, the first version of the developed product may not work. As a rule, it does not work. Everything we do the first time rarely works well.

Therefore, the startup process does not at all assume that this will happen:

1. After the development of the technical specification, the clickable prototype is shown to the target audience. We ask potential users to rate from 0 to 10 – how likely it is that they will install such a mobile application for themselves. Almost everyone puts 7-9 – this is politeness, no one will use the product. 10 – most likely yes. Success is measured in tens. If there are not enough of them, the product needs to be redone.

2. Developed MVP is launched on test cohorts. Here the statistics are analyzed in detail and, again, rotations of individual functions or even the entire product are possible.

3. During soft start, the groping process continues, some functions are amorphous and can be changed at any time, some are removed, and some are added.

4. If, after many attempts, it is still not possible to reach profitability, a more radical change in the business model is considered: partnerships, creation of a product for a specific client, barter cooperation and other options.

It happens that the result is not quite what was intended, even in its essence, but if it works, solves people’s problems and allows you to earn money, that’s great.

We will help you at every stage of this difficult path and will be happy to share our experience. Doing something big together is always very interesting and exciting.

11 lessons from failed startups
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Andrew Douglas

If you think that all entrepreneurs are born with the talent to do a perfect business, then you are wrong. Before succeeding, many businessmen go through a series of failed attempts, deceptions and a naive outlook on life. But it is these lessons that enable them to achieve their goal.

Here are some tips for newbies from those who have already run into their own mistakes.

Photo by Christopher Sardegna on Unsplash

You will never be ready for business

It is unlikely that there will come a moment in your life when you realize that you need to start your own business. And yes, the first day of doing business will be terribly scary: everything will be new and incomprehensible, and instead of questions about clients, the thought will flicker in my head about what to pay for office rent. Just accept it and take action.

Also, remember that the original business idea usually transforms a lot in the process, so don’t be afraid to make a mistake.

Choose your business partner carefully

Choose business partners and shareholders you can trust. It’s easy to work with everyone in the beginning, but as the business grows, people change and the tension builds. Select people based on shared values, attitudes, and character.

Content should be at the center of your business

Content is a way to show the client what you can teach them. Do it with photos, videos, texts and audio.

Fashion brands help people dress beautifully, bakeries show you how to eat fast and tasty breakfast, car companies can talk about safe driving, and hotels teach you how to relax. Think about what you can teach your audience and start talking about it.

If you simply sell a product without affecting customer value, you will have to lower its price.

Buy practical skills, not education

In business, it is not your MBA degree that matters, but your experience and skills. Cold calling experience, understanding the basics of marketing and web design will help you get started more than theoretical foundations.

Focus on the practice required to make money. Everything else is trivial and useless strategies.

Expect chaos

New business is always chaos with no system or structure. If you hate clutter, you might want to reconsider your decision to start a business. Chaos is not for everyone, which is why there are traditional jobs.

Watch your ego

An uncontrollable ego can kill a big deal and ruin your business.

Even if you have a business, you are no better than other people and you do not deserve a gold medal. Nobody wants to deal with narcissistic and arrogant people.

Reduce your ego and you will remove the barrier to good business relationships and profitable business.

Hire people smarter than you

A business owner doesn’t have to be the smartest person in the company.

Find professionals who are skilled in a specific area and use their knowledge instead of trying to be a jack of all trades.

Create your own mailing list

Social media and other platforms where you talk about your business are not yours. You can be removed or the ranking method changed at any time. So you can lose customers at any time if you do not own their contact information. Collect the phone numbers and emails of your audience in a database – using mailings you can turn them into leads.

Collaborate with like-minded people

You can merge your mailing list with other business owners instead of building sales bases for years.

The worst thing you can do is not cooperate. Without partnerships, your business will grow very slowly. Plus, it’s a great way to meet interesting people and even lifelong friends.

Learn How to Lead People

People are at the heart of any business. Even if you currently employ one person, this may change in the future. Learn to interact with different people, and study what motivates them to achieve results.

Dealing with people is one of the hardest things in business. Everyone has biases, problems, and ways of thinking that prevent them from being effective. A simple business task is easy to accomplish, but once you get people to do it, it gets harder. People make decisions not based on logic, but on emotion. This is why it is important to understand people in order to lead them.

Realistically value your business

Sometimes the desire for big business is overestimated. The larger your business, the more stress you get. If you are making enough money to cover all of your needs, consider if you need more.

Some people like to be able to relax and be unknown, calmly going about their business.

We are all afraid of mistakes, but only through bitter experience do we learn something new and find the right path. You must first learn what not to do in order to start doing something worthwhile.