Ask Me Anything About App Business (100+ Apps, 10M+ Downloads, 1 Liquidity Event)

[EricFromCanada]

Sounds like a pretty cool approach! And the current review trend bodes well (though you need many more for the number to be significant to the point you can make decisions from it)

Now take this for wat it's worth, but in my mind for this to make significant impact/money it seems like more of a sales job than anything. If you can demonstrate somehow that aside from being cool, your software also measurably improves public speaking performance, then you can start doing things like approaching companies and getting them to buy it en masse for their employees.

Speaking-based businesses like Dale Carnegie, TED, etc would probably be interested in the technology as well (though you'd probably want to repackage it and sell it with a different pricing model). What do you think?

Would be very interested to hear more about the physical product. A friend of mine has done 7-figures in profit selling VR hardware and becoming the leading supplier in a certain overseas country (where he also lives).

First off, I would like to say thanks for all the insight, I really appreciate it. I think the idea of approaching companies and getting them to buy it en masse for their employees has a lot of potential, and I definitely see it as a potential possibility later down the line as a way to expand.

Also, I really like the idea of reaching out to speaking-based companies, but am unsure what would be the best way to get their attention at this stage where my company is fairly small. I am curious to hear your thoughts on whether I should reach out to companies like TED now, or wait a while until my company has built itself up and has more to offer.

In regards to the physical product, I have just launched a website that showcases the product. The idea of the product is that it's an all in one box that would go hand in hand with the app by providing a bunch of tools and resources to help people improve their public speaking. I would love to hear any feedback you have on the website/physical product and if you think it has any potential.

 

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[loop101]

Thank you @BrooklynHustle for being so generous with your time.

I'm going to ask you a bit of a leading question. As a software developer myself, I have been in this business. I take it you have encountered a lot of people that say that:

1. You can't make money in the app business.
2. The app business is too saturated.
3. It costs too much because you can only make money if you advertise more than X game or Y enterprise app.

If you had to boil it down. What made you different?

He is different than the others because he is not letting their excuses stop him. Ask yourself, these people who are not making apps, what the hell do they know about making apps?

 

[BrooklynHustle]

Thank you @BrooklynHustle for being so generous with your time.

I'm going to ask you a bit of a leading question. As a software developer myself, I have been in this business. I take it you have encountered a lot of people that say that:

1. You can't make money in the app business.
2. The app business is too saturated.
3. It costs too much because you can only make money if you advertise more than X game or Y enterprise app.

If you had to boil it down. What made you different?

People will always say a lot of stuff... haha

While I am by no means an anomaly or the largest example of success in this industry, being that this is the Fastlane Forum, the biggest thing I have consistently done right will not come as a shock to you...

I tend to look at what the market already wants and needs and let that guide my decisions on what to make for the market.

From what I've seen, many people are a bit self-centered, stubborn, and in some cases even delusional about their great idea, and this makes it much harder to gain traction.

The other thing I did right (though I can't really take credit for it) is to start a number of years ago, when there were less apps in the app stores (I was not there at the very beginning, but there were less apps than now). This allowed me to gain lots of valuable knowledge and insights in the years since, which I can continue to deploy and evolve from as things become more challenging.

Not saying it is easy by any means, but it is also not impossible.

 

[BrooklynHustle]

First off, I would like to say thanks for all the insight, I really appreciate it. I think the idea of approaching companies and getting them to buy it en masse for their employees has a lot of potential, and I definitely see it as a potential possibility later down the line as a way to expand.

Also, I really like the idea of reaching out to speaking-based companies, but am unsure what would be the best way to get their attention at this stage where my company is fairly small. I am curious to hear your thoughts on whether I should reach out to companies like TED now, or wait a while until my company has built itself up and has more to offer.

In regards to the physical product, I have just launched a website that showcases the product. The idea of the product is that it's an all in one box that would go hand in hand with the app by providing a bunch of tools and resources to help people improve their public speaking. I would love to hear any feedback you have on the website/physical product and if you think it has any potential.

Forget what I think... find 5-10 of your ideal target users and get them to use it and give you feedback (just find a way to make it happen).

Once you have enough data/anecdotal evidence that lets you know your product is making a difference to these speakers, I am sure you can find a way to position it with these decision makers at companies.

 

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[Ross Morgan]

Appreciate the thread, I had a question but after I researched a bit more I found my answers.

 

[LearnPersistenly]

Hi,

I would love to pick up on this ebook.

thanks so much for sharing your journey and knowledge congratulations on your success!

 

[jramos02]

Hi @BrooklynHustle , this thread has been awesome and thank you for taking the time to do so.

I have some good experience in apps as a product manager and I was wondering - do you need help from a Product Manager? Helping figure out what to build for the apps and help with assigning the tasks to the engineer?

Let me know if you are interested in working something out. Would love to lend a hand.

Cheers!

 

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[anthonyseoul]

Hi! First of all, thank you for being generous with your time in answering everyone's questions and giving advice.

I currently have a few online courses that I'd like to turn into apps. Does this work if the niche is popular enough?

I basically want to create an app where students can watch the videos, download some extra resources to their device (mp3s and PDFs) and ask questions if they want.

How easy is this to do?

Secondly, are there any decent 'no coding knowledge required' app builders out there? Something like WordPress, where you can create decent looking websites without knowing lots of coding/

Thank you in advance.

 

[Pilnik]

Hi!
I was very sceptic about making money from apps. As someone mentioned, the market seems to be saturated. Other people say that nobody is using the apps anymore. And of course, every person has at least couple of ideas for the next great app making billions.

So I thought that's the worst idea for business, because that's something that first comes to mind almost anybody from young generation.

Then I noticed a niche and decided to give it a try
I thought you should treat an app as a book. There's plenty of books published daily and market is saturated, but the ones worth reading still make a good money. Despite the common opinion that "nobody reads books anymore".

I've been working on the app over a year already. Much longer than I thought, but I've heard that's normal. Some even say that it takes 10x longer than making a website.

I don't code as I have good source to decent coders and my present job helps easily to pay for them. I would have to spend a couple of years of learning to get to their level, so that would be just a waste of my time.

I decided though to focus on learning design, interface building and fundamentals of programming for iOS. I want to be able to make myself working prototype and hire one coder to make everything work later.

My idea is to make 3 universal apps, that will be useful for people for years and see what sale it can generate. I understand also, that this maybe a big disaster and no income whatsoever. My mission would be accomplished with $1000 monthly income.

I don't want to hire people and do everything except coding myself.

First of all, If you could please let me know, if my approach makes sense to you?
What would you change?

And a couple of more questions that others will find helpful:
What would you focus in the whole process of building an app the most?
What things are very little or not important at all?
What would you recommend to read/learn?

 

[andyandy]

Thanks for this thread! I have couple questions:
1)Is it good idea to offer an app initially free and then for new customers paid/subscription based?
2) Keeping in mind -if it clicks - should it be registered with my existing IT Consulting company or separately as an Individual or a separate company? T
hank you!

 

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[ShellShock]

Thank you for doing this AMA. What do you think are the main challenges an entrepreneur looking to build a successful app will, more than likely, encounter?

 

[BrooklynHustle]

Appreciate the thread, I had a question but after I researched a bit more I found my answers.

Great to hear!

Hi,

I would love to pick up on this ebook.

thanks so much for sharing your journey and knowledge congratulations on your success!

My pleasure!

Hi @BrooklynHustle , this thread has been awesome and thank you for taking the time to do so.

I have some good experience in apps as a product manager and I was wondering - do you need help from a Product Manager? Helping figure out what to build for the apps and help with assigning the tasks to the engineer?

Let me know if you are interested in working something out. Would love to lend a hand.

Cheers!

Not currently looking for help, but I do appreciate the offer.

 

[BrooklynHustle]

Hi! First of all, thank you for being generous with your time in answering everyone's questions and giving advice.

I currently have a few online courses that I'd like to turn into apps. Does this work if the niche is popular enough?

I basically want to create an app where students can watch the videos, download some extra resources to their device (mp3s and PDFs) and ask questions if they want.

How easy is this to do?

Secondly, are there any decent 'no coding knowledge required' app builders out there? Something like WordPress, where you can create decent looking websites without knowing lots of coding/

Thank you in advance.

My pleasure! I will tell you that subscription apps are currently among the most profitable in the app stores. If your students are willing to pay a recurring subcription fee for access to your content, that could be a winner. I would first look for evidence of people doing similar things successfully in the store. Should not be a difficult app to build

There are some code free solutions out there, but I honestly don't have much experience with them, other than Buildbox, which is a pretty good code free solution if you're making ultra casual mobile games.

 

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[BrooklynHustle]

Thank you for doing this AMA. What do you think are the main challenges an entrepreneur looking to build a successful app will, more than likely, encounter?

There are so many, like any other business. Hard to know until you get into it.

• Falling in love with one's idea is a recurring problem for many
• Finding the right development team can be a challenge
• Approaching with the correct long-term mindset for success
• Learning all the necessary skills to operate effectively
• Delivering value: Developing an app that people actually want/need
• Standing out in a crowded marketplace
• Conducting effective market research
• Conducting effective marketing
• Designing an experience that retains users
• Running your business profitably/cost-effectively
• Finding the right data sources and using them to your advantage
• Choosing & executing the right business model & monetization scheme

I'm sure I can keep going, but I think you get the point.

 

[BrooklynHustle]

Thanks for this thread! I have couple questions:
1)Is it good idea to offer an app initially free and then for new customers paid/subscription based?
2) Keeping in mind -if it clicks - should it be registered with my existing IT Consulting company or separately as an Individual or a separate company? T
hank you!

1. Yes, if you have a good hook to convert customers and continue delivering value over the long term, subscriptions can be very effective

2. Your choice. Doesn't really matter in terms of effectiveness.

 

[BrooklynHustle]

Appreciate the thread, I had a question but after I researched a bit more I found my answers.

Even better! That's what we like to hear

 

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[LiveEntrepreneur]

Hey man question, I have been struggling getting responses from editors and bloggers to review my app. Was wondering if you provide your pitch letter as an example please? Alot of them have opened my email, so I assume my title is good but no response whatsoever. Also some other questions

2. What is your opinion on using forums to get back links to your app? So say for example if you answer someones question you provide value but then leave a link to your app?

3. Should I also be doing this on Facebook?

 

[BrooklynHustle]

Hey man question, I have been struggling getting responses from editors and bloggers to review my app. Was wondering if you provide your pitch letter as an example please? Alot of them have opened my email, so I assume my title is good but no response whatsoever. Also some other questions

2. What is your opinion on using forums to get back links to your app? So say for example if you answer someones question you provide value but then leave a link to your app?

3. Should I also be doing this on Facebook?

I have not depended on any of the above strategies heavily, as I have not found them to be high ROI on my time. That said, what social media is good for is building a community who can give you feedback on if the app is entertaining/fits their needs/etc and really help you to develop an app that they find valuable in some way. Facebook groups or Instagram would work well for that, or wherever else your target audience is already hanging out.

My buddy Steve Young of the App Masters Podcast is great at doing the email pitch and forum stuff for his clients and getting results with it, so you may want to check out his content if you are interested in going that route.

 

[LiveEntrepreneur]

I have not depended on any of the above strategies heavily, as I have not found them to be high ROI on my time. That said, what social media is good for is building a community who can give you feedback on if the app is entertaining/fits their needs/etc and really help you to develop an app that they find valuable in some way. Facebook groups or Instagram would work well for that, or wherever else your target audience is already hanging out.

My buddy Steve Young of the App Masters Podcast is great at doing the email pitch and forum stuff for his clients and getting results with it, so you may want to check out his content if you are interested in going that route.

I see thanks.

 

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[stephen kageche]

If you were starting over and had little to no coding experience and you wanted to build an app, what approach would you take to find or partner with developers to get at least an mvp built??

Hello,personally i believe getting an MVP built and testing it out is the best way to go about it.Engage the marketplace first and get the feedback quickly so that you know the direction you are to go based on (act,assess and adjust). I have followed this and now the MVP for my app is ready you can check out the website at www.safiripal.com

 

[Soder]

Amazing thread @BrooklynHustle thank you for it.

I found a need in a specific field and I am working on a teaching book that covers this need. The point is that a good computer friend who is dedicated to making APPs in his work told me about the possibility of making an APP with this idea.

Thinking big the idea would be an APP of courses in certain subjects, the most similar thing I see although in another subject is the Brilliant APP Brilliant | Learn to think

I planned to make an APP ourselves and grow little by little, but perhaps that is to think small and it would be better to look for investors, as Brilliant did Brilliant.org - Wikipedia or another example of success Calm Calm (company) - Wikipedia

I imagine that there is no single answer, but I would like to know your thoughts about the different strategies that can be carried out.

Thanks in advance.