Sometimes, your business plan will need to do all the speaking for you. On some occasions, potential investors may ask to see your business plan before they agree to listen to your pitch. The unfortunate part is, an investor’s attention span may be extremely limited to businesses they aren’t already familiar with. If your information isn’t structured into the right business plan format, you may lose their attention quickly.

At ThinkLions, we have worked with hundreds of businesses; helping them create winning business plans and raise funding for their app startups. After years of developing our process, we have put together a tried-and-proven simple business plan format that has worked for many of our clients. In this article, we’ll discuss the business planning process, examine what you need to do before writing your business plan, explain how to develop the best business plan model, and introduce our business proposal outline.

Before You Write Your Business Plan

Writing a business plan isn’t the first step you should take in bringing your idea to life. Every day that you actively advance your business, you will uncover new information that will be important to add to your plan. By nature, basic business plans are full of projections. However, if you haven’t done the necessary work beforehand, you won’t have the data needed to make an honest assessment of your business. Knowing how to format a business plan is part of the formula, but preparation is key to success. 

Your business plan format is important, but it’s more important to make sure that you have met the milestones required to prove the potential of your idea. Before you write your business plan, put the necessary time and effort into accomplishing the following:

1. Know Your Market: Having a fantastic idea means very little if it doesn’t solve a real problem for a real market. The majority of your business plan will center around proving that a market and market demand actually exists. Before writing your business plan, identify your initial market of focus. Learn everything there is to know about your customer. Go out and talk to real consumers. Join forums and online communities where your consumers hang out. Find their pain points. Listen to what they say about competitors. Get to know them intimately. The more you know about your audience, the better you will understand their needs and desires.
2. Validate Your Idea: Once you know who your market is, you should test your idea with them and validate your assumptions. Before you write a business plan and ask an investor to invest in your idea, make sure your idea is worth investing in. Build a minimal viable product (MVP) and launch it to a limited audience. Adapt your product until you’ve truly created something that effectively solves a problem and is in demand by your market.
3. Gather Data: Google is a great source of information, but if you are going to impress investors, you need real primary data from real customers of your business. As you validate your MVP, monitor important metrics such as cost per acquisition, conversion rate, and etc. This data will be used to show traction, forecast trends, and will act as a foundation for your financial projections.

The ThinkLions Business Plan Format

There’s nothing fancy about the business plan format we use at ThinkLions, but it’s a layout that has worked for our business plan writers over and over again. Furthermore, we’ll give you a few tips for each section – tips that we’ve gathered over years and years of developing startup business plans.

Click below to download our business plan format doc.

Executive Summary

Although the executive summary should be written last, it appears first in the business plan outline. In the executive summary, you will give a quick overview of the most notable details. This section should touch on all aspects of your business including the problem, solution, competition, marketing strategy, founding team, and financial projections – but in a condensed manner. Although the executive summary is a component of the business plan, it should be strong enough to stand alone as its own document.

Here are a few tips to make sure your executive summary is as strong as possible:

1. Write it last – Think of your executive summary like the back of a novel. The book itself shouldn’t be built off the summary, but the other way around. Write the rest of the business plan first, and then use the executive summary to summarize the most important points. 
2. Make it persuasive – Your executive summary should display the highlights of your business and build curiosity within the reader. It should make readers want to read the rest of your plan to find out more. Fail to gain their attention with the executive summary and they may not even read the rest of the plan.
3. Get to the point – The executive summary should be brief – about one to two pages is ideal. Be brief, but powerful. Make sure every word counts. Don’t dive too deep though, you’ll have the rest of the business plan to get into the intimate details.

Company Details

After the executive summary, we officially start our business plans with details about the business itself. This includes a company summary with milestones and history; short-term and long-term objectives; and the mission and vision statement.

Company Summary

Start off this section with a quick description of your company. Provide a great elevator pitch and talk about the milestones that you’ve accomplished to date.

Here are a few tips to make sure you nail this part of the business plan:

1. Show progress: As mentioned previously, before you write your business plan (and definitely before you start approaching investors); validate your assumptions by launching a minimal viable product. Show your progress to date. Explain how your progress proves that a demand truly exists for your product or service.
2. Tell the company story: Don’t get too lengthy here, but give readers an idea of how you started your business. Provide context to how the founders realized that a real customer problem existed. This section gives you the opportunity to really connect with readers and to get them excited about your business.
3. Provide metrics: Even if you have fantastic writing skills, it’s the numbers, stats, and metrics that investors really pay attention to. Show your most outstanding metrics here. If you have 1,000 customers already using your solution, explain it in detail. Or, if you have already started earning revenue, showcase how much revenue you’ve earned so far. Likewise, if you have generated fantastic marketing metrics, tell readers about it and explain why it matters!

Objectives

Before you start talking about the strategy to meet your goals, you need to make those goals known. Think about your financial goals, your user objectives, the goals you have for the development of your product, your team ambitions, and more. In some way or another, every section in our business plan format will be used to describe the steps you will take to meet these goals and objectives.

Mission/Vision Statement

Construct a great mission and vision statement and include it here. Think deeply about what your company really is, who you serve, and what you stand for. The best mission statements are short and to the point, but powerful enough that readers can easily comprehend why the company needs to exist.

Products and Services

You’ve already given a summarized version of what your business is, but now you will get into the real detail of your actual product or service. In this section, describe the product’s features and abilities. Consider the features that set your products apart from competitors. If you’re in the ideation stage, your product may not physically exist yet; but this section should be written so well that readers can easily visualize it. If you have a physical product, add images or 3D product blueprints. If you are an app startup, show screenshots of the app or wireframe images.

Industry and Customer Analysis

Every business plan format will include some type of industry and customer analysis. These are the sections where you will include research to prove that a market and demand actually exists for your product or service.

Industry Analysis

Don’t assume that you will be successful just because you have a cool product. Successful businesses are those that solve a problem for a specific market (or multiple markets). Furthermore, even if you can prove a market exists – you still need to prove that the market is actually in demand for the product or service your offer.

Select the market that is best served by your product or service. Research it deeply. Find the data and statistics that support your case and explain why those stats are important. Look at how the market has grown historically, and identify trends that show where it will grow in the future.

Customer Personas

Once you’ve identified the markets you will serve, it’s important to also explain exactly who your customer is. How old are they? What do they do for a living? Are there specific challenges do they face? Which publications do they read? What podcasts do they listen to? Who are the influencers that they follow online? Where do they live? What are their interests? The more you know about who your customer is, the more effectively you will be able to reach and serve them.

Detail your ideal customer as if they were a real person. Give them a name and write this section in a way where a reader can immediately understand who your customer is. After giving life to your customer persona, answer this question – how does your business solve their specific problem?

Marketing Strategy

The marketing strategy will explain specifically how you will reach the market and convert them into buyers of your product or service.

Pricing & Positioning

In this section, you will explain your pricing strategy and showcase how your business will bring in revenue. Will you succeed by being cheaper than competitors? Will you provide a ‘luxury’ service or product and charge more than less-luxurious competitors? Consider how your product will be positioned in comparison to competitors and display the prices you have selected for each product or service you offer.

SWOT Analysis

The SWOT Analysis will allow you to describe your business’ strengths and weaknesses; the opportunities that you will capitalize on; and the threats the business will face. Typically, a SWOT Analysis is presented in a matrix with bulleted points, but we advise adding a section under the matrix that explains each point in more detail.

Marketing & Promotional Techniques

Since you’ve already launched a minimal viable product to the market, you should have an idea of what techniques you need to capitalize on to reach your audience. There are many different marketing strategies you can implement from SEO to influencer marketing to ads and beyond, but you should only focus on the most effective strategies that will allow you to quickly acquire new customers with a low CPA.

Furthermore, explain the expenses involved with implementing each strategy and the return on investment that you expect. If you mention Facebook marketing, explain how much you will put towards marketing each month, how much you will spend per click, and what percentage will convert into paying customers.

Competitive Analysis

The competitive analysis should thoroughly detail how your solution compares to your competitors’ solutions. To make it easily digestible, consider adding a table that shows each feature of your business and product; and show how it compares to the features that your competitors offer.

Also, describe your competitive advantages. What makes you special? Why should consumers choose your solution over the competition? Even if your business is closely similar to the competition, there should be something that makes it unique. Explain your unique selling points and what makes your business stand out amongst others.

Operational Strategy

There is much more to operating a business than just having a good idea. Bad operations can quickly derail a business, while a strong operational strategy can help catapult a startup to success. In our business plan format, we focus on several main areas of operation – Location, Quality Control, Customer Service, Staffing & Training, and Organizational Structure.

Quality Control

No matter if you are offering a physical product, a service, or software – quality is key. Maintaining quality though can be harder than it seems.

• When dealing with physical products, it’s important to figure out how your product will be manufactured and how you will ensure that the manufacturers are maintaining a high-quality standard. Explain how quality will be assessed at each stage from manufacturing to final delivery.
• Those offering services will often need to depend upon their employees and staff to deliver the best level of service to customers. Employees that deliver underwhelming services can cause customers to perceive the entire brand negatively. In this section, describe the processes you will put in place to help employees deliver the best services, and how these services will be assessed for quality.
• Software products can be extremely fickle. One line of bad code could potentially crash an entire system. In this section of the business plan format, consider how you will deal with bugs and software updates. Describe your relationship with your developers – will they be in-house or third party? If a third party will be used, how will you ensure that they will be available to quickly address bugs found in the product?

Customer Service

Let’s face it, even the strongest brands are faced with dissatisfied customers every now and then. The way in which you deal with these dissatisfied customers will be critical to your success as a business. A single detractor can potentially turn away dozens of potential customers with one bad online review. In fact, consumer reviews are trusted up to 12 times more than a manufacturer’s description. The way in which you serve your customers, and not just the happy ones, will play heavily on how much consumers trust your brand.

In this section, address exactly how you will deal with customer dissatisfaction. Will you have a no-questions-asked return policy or will you only allow returns after 7 days? If a customer is dissatisfied by the service your employees provided, will you send someone else out to fix it? The steps you take to remedy your customer situations may have immediate implications on your financials – for example, a recall could cost a business millions of dollars. However, the impact of a dissatisfied customer (or several) will cost much more in lost business and diminished brand trust.

Staffing & Training

Unfortunately, your personal capacity is limited – there are only so many hours in the day and so much energy you can exert before you become overwhelmed. For any successful B-quadrant business, having the right staff in place at the right time is critical.

For this section, thoroughly assess what your staffing needs will need to be over the next 3-5 years to meet the goals that you outlined in the “Objectives” section. If your objective is to scale 10x over the next year, you will also need to scale your team so that there is enough capacity to meet that goal. If your goal is to expand internationally within 3 years, you may need to hire international staff to manage things on the ground in these regions. Each position should be reflected in your business plan, along with their expected date of hire and salaries.

Unfortunately, employees don’t come already trained. Even if they are highly experienced in their specific area, they will likely need some guidance. How will you train them for success? Will you have a specific training program that each employee must attend? If so, this is the section to talk about it!

Organizational Structure

Now that you know what employees you will need to hire, you can create a simple hierarchy structure that shows who will manage each department and which positions will fall within those departments.

Management Team

Great businesses don’t build themselves. Instead, they are built by fantastic teams who have the right skills and backgrounds. An amazing business idea without a great founding team is like a racehorse without a jockey – it may have potential, but it’s the rider that pushes it to success. In this section of the business plan format, show that you have the right team and right advisors to launch, grow, and scale a profitable business.

Management Bios

The most effective teams have several motivated members who each have skill sets that complement one another and contribute to the overall progress of the business. When writing the bio for each member, consider the following:

• Background: Take a look at the background of each team member. Do they have past experiences that will help move the business forward?
• Skills: What skills are necessary to successfully implement the steps described in the business plan? Are all of these skills present in your current team?
• Contribution & Responsibility: What tasks are each individual responsible for? What have they contributed to the business thus far?

Advisor Bios

Great founding teams also have extensive networks with advisors that they can turn to for advice and insight. Businesses often face challenges, but by relying on the experiences of others, teams can often avoid certain obstacles or solve them quickly.

In this section of the business plan format, provide a short bio for the advisors that have committed to working with you. Detail who they are, what achievements they have made, and the highlights of their backgrounds.

Financial Projections

When writing your own business plan, the financial model is likely where you will find the most difficulty. If you are a startup, your financial model will include future projections with a 3-5 year window. If you are writing a plan for an existing business, the model will include financials from the previous several years, along with future projections. In most cases, a proper financial model will include:

• Profit and Loss Statement: Summarizes projected revenue, costs and expenses.
• Balance Sheet: Displays the company’s assets, liabilities and equity at a specific point in time, showing a balance between outgoing and income funds.  
• Cash Flow Statement: Shows how the cash balance is affected by changes in balance sheet accounts. Also shows the impact of investing and financing activities.

Here’s the major tip for developing the financial model for your business plan – minimize assumptions. While there will be certain things that you will need to assume it’s best when your model uses real numbers.

• The best financial model uses past financial history to forecast future revenues, expenses, and profits. For startups, this may mean launching a minimal viable product, getting it in the hands of real users, and generating real stats.
• An average financial model uses secondary data from highly reliable sources, studies, and surveys. However, secondary research only relates to the overall industry – while using real numbers from your business relates directly to how your business performs within the overall industry. Secondary research is good, but statistics may vary from one study to another. Make sure you only use data from high-quality and reputable sources.
• The least effective financial models are full of assumptions. In these plans, entrepreneurs guess what their expenses will be, what portion of the market they can reach, and how much revenue they can generate; instead of backing it up with real data and research.

Funding Requirement

Finally, reveal your financial ask and explain exactly why you need that amount. Itemize where each dollar will be spent to give readers a clear understanding of your financial requirements. Lastly, state the amount of equity that will be given in exchange for the investment – based upon the current value of your startup.

Exit Strategy

Some business plan writers choose to include an exit strategy, while some do not. Some investors will require it so that they can get an idea of when they will receive their investment back along with a major payoff. Others, however, know that the future of a startup is totally uncertain, and therefore, they don’t really pay much attention to this section.

Whether you decide to include the exit strategy in your business plan format is up to you – but if you do, here are a few tips:

• Research similar businesses that had a successful and profitable exit. Were they acquired? Did they merge with another business? Did they go public? Explain how other similar businesses were able to exit and why you believe your business will be able to exit in a similar fashion.
• Tie your exit into your financial projections and show a projected valuation. Furthermore, show how an XX% ownership in the company (whatever percentage an investor would receive for matching your financial ask) will multiply in returns at exit based upon that valuation.

Using Our Business Plan Format

Unfortunately, just having a great business plan format isn’t enough – now you have to actually write your plan. When creating your business plan, stick to the facts. Investors have short attention spans when it comes to even a simple business plan, and too much fluff will quickly diminish their interest. The length of your business plan is important, but the quality of the information is what will get you funded.

Furthermore, some investors (and banks) may have specific business plan formats that they prefer. Make sure to do your research on their specific requirements before writing and submitting your business plan.

Need help getting your business plan together? Contact us today and schedule a consultation with one of our business plan experts!

The post What Is The Best Business Plan Format? appeared first on Startup Squared.

Everyone makes a huge deal about apps that made millions in profit, but we rarely hear about the tech companies that are barely surviving. Ken Delaney of Gartner said, “…of paid applications, about 90 percent are downloaded less than 500 times per day and make less than $1,250 a day. This is only going to get worse in the future when there will be even greater competition, especially in successful markets.”

What does this mean for you as an app entrepreneur? It means that to become a dominating app today, you basically need to be a unicorn; and to succeed at all, you must have a strong startup growth strategy that allows you to rise way above the competition.

What Is A Growth Strategy?

Let’s start from the basics. The definition of a growth strategy is a game plan for capturing a wider share of the market. For a more established business, this means diversifying product offerings, expanding into new regions and etc. A new startup however, must take a different approach to growth, first ensuring that they have built the right product and then identifying how to get even the first few users to their app. Another difference is, startups must rely mostly on internal growth strategies while established businesses that have enough resources can tap into external growth strategies for even quicker growth.

What is an internal growth strategy?

An internal growth strategy refers to techniques that grow your business by relying on resources from within the business. These methods involve activities such as improving staff, optimizing marketing, and further developing the product offering.

What is an external growth strategy?

An external growth strategy relies on external measures of growth such as acquiring another business or building a strategic alliance with another brand.

External growth strategies can allow businesses to grow rapidly, but in the beginning, startups typically don’t have the resources needed to successfully implement these techniques. Acquiring technology takes money that startups don’t typically have, and strategic alliances often require a strong brand awareness and a highly-defined product – other attributes that startups don’t typically possess. Instead, startups must implement the right growth strategies at the right time to first acquire early adopters; then to establish the business within the market; and finally to scale wide and expand rapidly.

Startup Growth Strategies for Establishment

While you may envision having a million users on your application, the truth is, securing just the first 1,000 users is quite challenging. In your eyes, the app you’re building may seem like the only solution for the customer problem, but it probably isn’t. Today, there are more app solutions on the market than there has ever been, meaning your consumer has options. According to data by Sensor Tower, by 2020, there will be over 5 million apps active in the App Stores.

When implementing a startup growth strategy, start by attracting enough early adopters to test your solution and ensure that you are building the right product for the market.

Identify Your Market

No matter how you choose to market or advertise your application, you will only succeed if you truly identify what market you are serving and who your consumer really is. One customer group may respond to your marketing efforts much differently than another, and the better you understand the customer – the more effectively you will be able to reach and serve them.

Here are a few ways to identify your target market:

• Consider Your App’s Features: Think about the features that you are developing, and the benefits that relate to each of those features. Then, match them to the type of consumer that needs those benefits most. A productivity app startup for instance, may find that while they can serve a wide range of different businesses, web development teams would be most helped by the specific benefits that their features provide. With this insight, they can optimize their marketing campaign to attract this specific market.
• Analyze Your Competitors: A thorough competitor analysis can provide great insight into which customer groups you should focus your attention on. On one hand, analyzing other apps with similar features will allow you determine what types of customers they are targeting and attracting. On the other hand, you may be able to find customer types that they aren’t focusing on – which may uncover market gaps that your team can take advantage of.
• Develop Your Ideal Customer: Draw up a model of your customer. Give them a name. Write everything you know about them – where do they work, what do they read, how many children do they have, what is their annual income, who do they follow on social media, what type of apps do they download, what types of problems they face, and etc. Learn how they think and how they make decisions. Identify what they don’t like about current products. Again – the more you know about your consumer, the better you will be able to reach and serve them.  
• Justify Your Decision: After you have decided on a customer demographic and/or consumer group to target, perform market research to calculate how big the market really is. You will never penetrate the market by 100% and realistically, a successful app will likely only penetrate a small fraction of the total addressable market. If you were only able to secure 1% of your addressable market, would that be enough to sustain your business? Analyze your market thoroughly and determine whether there is enough value in your target market for you to continue to grow without limiting your ability to scale.

Find Early Adopters with an MVP

Launching your minimal viable product will allow you to test your software with early adopters for proof of concept. What is a minimal viable product? According to Techopedia, a MVP is “a development technique in which a new product or
website is developed with sufficient features to satisfy early adopters.” In terms of your app, it means a stripped down software that only includes the features needed to prove that the concept is viable.

Instead of building a full-scale application with a large number of features, launch only the number of features that will allow you to validate your initial assumptions. Then, seek to bring in a handful of users and track how they behave. User behavior will give you the most valuable insight into whether your app solution is meeting the customer need in the way you expected.

How do you find early users? Here are a few tips to help attract early adopters to your solution:

• Join Communities: The great thing about the internet is that like-consumers seem to find each other and organize themselves into awesome little communities. These communities are spread across different forums and even social media sites like Facebook and Reddit. The caveat is that these groups typically hate marketing spam cluttering up their discussions. Don’t approach these communities as a marketer, but become an engaged member of the group by asking and answering questions, and naturally interacting with other members. Once you become known as a valuable member of the community, it will be much easier to tell individuals about your application without seeming like an unscrupulous salesman.
• Launch A Video: A great video has the potential to connect with the emotions of consumers and build wide scale anticipation for your app launch. Create an awesome video that showcases the features and benefits of your application and get it in front of potential viewers. In some cases, a video can be used to measure user interest before a single feature is even developed.
• Social Media Ads: Social platforms like Facebook and Twitter allow you to get your marketing message directly in front of a targeted audience. Since you’ve already listed the demographics of your consumer, choosing the right audience to showcase your ads to should be simple. Continue to optimize your ads for better performance, and it will be much easier to get the ball rolling when you scale later on.

Track Metrics

Now that early adopters are downloading and accomplishing tasks with your application, it is important to track a variety of app metrics to best assess their behavior. Tracking metrics will give you the immediate data you need to determine whether your solution is a good product-market fit or whether it is necessary to pivot your solution. There are many metrics that will come into play at different stages of your business, but here are a few that you should be tracking from day one:

• Number of Users: Is anyone downloading your app? Knowing how many users are downloading your app is the first measure of how well users are responding to your marketing message. If your marketing message is strong and you are showcasing features that truly serve your market’s need, you should be able to convert a good number of those who view your ads into downloaders. An app that is receiving little downloads (compared to marketing efforts) is typically either offering features that consumers aren’t interested in, or aren’t properly presenting valuable features in their marketing campaigns.
• User Retention: It’s important that users are downloading your app, but it’s more important that you’re able to keep them around after you’ve acquired them. If you are successfully acquiring new users but they are only using the app once or twice before they delete it; this is a clear sign that an issue exists. This could mean that users aren’t satisfied once they download the app; or that they find it too confusing to navigate; or even that the app is too buggy for them to use effectively. The longer you are able to retain customers, the more value you will be able to pull out of them in the long run.
• Cost Per Acquisition (CPA): Acquiring new users doesn’t mean much if you are paying more to acquire them than they are worth. For instance, is it worth spending $50 to acquire a customer for a $2.99 app? Probably not. Tracking your cost per acquisition will keep you informed on what it costs to get a single customer to download your application. Once you have dialed in your marketing strategy and have created a great product-market fit, you should be able to improve marketing conversion; reduce your cost per acquisition; and increase your overall profit margin.

Develop Your Product

App development is never complete; and as you continue to learn more about your consumer, your app will morph to better serve the market. An app that never progresses in functionality will eventually reach a market plateau. Think about this – how many times does your smartphone notify you to update apps on your phone? Some of the most popular apps out there like Facebook and Instagram update regularly with new features and abilities.

Don’t make assumptions – use the data that you’ve collected in the previous steps to decide whether you are on the right path, or whether you should pivot your idea to serve your customer better. 

Take Groupon for instance. When they first launched, the model was quite different than what it is today. Initially, it was called “The Point”, and was a platform where people could get together to solve problems. After launching a simple WordPress blog and tracking user behavior, the founders realized that what people were really interested in – was grouping together to receive deep discounts on their favorite products and services.

A pivot in strategy based on customer behavior data allowed Groupon to grow into the multi-billion dollar mega platform that it is today.

Product development is necessary across every growth stage. As you further develop your product, you will be able to attract more users, retain them longer, and acquire them at a lower cost.

Startup Growth Strategies

After a product has successfully passed through an initial stage of user testing and all immediate assumptions have been validated, startups can begin widening their startup growth strategy to increase user acquisition, consumer spend and internal capability. The following techniques can be used during this stage to bring an app startup to the next level.

Test Monetization Strategies

The only way to become a financial success as an app is to monetize users. Even ‘free’ apps must have some type of revenue model (like advertisements) to sustain and grow. There are several types of monetization strategies, and finding the right app business model is critical to your growth as a business. Here are a few models you can test to generate the most value from each user:

• Freemium: A basic version of the application is offered for free, but users can access additional features by paying a monthly subscription fee.
• In-app Purchases: The app can be downloaded for free, but some type of virtual goods can be purchased within the app. Mobile games often use this model, allowing users to purchase additional credits, coins or virtual items.
• Advertising: Users can access the application for free, but advertisers are charged to display ads to these users.
• Paid Apps: Users are charged an initial fee to download the application.

Optimize To Convert Better

It’s important to acquire customers, but what’s more important is being able to convert them into paying customers. Unfortunately, startups often don’t pay enough attention to or put enough effort into converting users into customers. According to HubSpot, for every $92 spent acquiring customers, only $1 is spent in converting them. If you can’t convert users into customers, it will be impossible to earn enough revenue to maintain growth. As is the case, it is vital to optimize conversions before scaling your marketing campaign; ensuring that you are growing your revenue potential as you grow your number of users.

While the technique you use will be specific to your individual business, here are several common ways that app entrepreneurs have effectively improved their conversion rates:

• Free Subscription Trials: In some cases, freemium users may not upgrade to paid subscriptions because they don’t understand the value of doing so. Maybe they are able to fully satisfy their need just from the free version, or maybe they are just confused as to whether the upgrade is worth their money. Offering a free month of subscription will allow them to try the upgraded package with no risk, and access additional features without any payment. Apps that offer free trials acquire significantly more sign ups to their paid packages and typically have a much higher conversion rate than apps that do not offer a trial period.
• Discounted In-App Purchases: For apps that sell in-app goods (like mobile games), offering limited time discounts is an extremely effective way of increasing conversions. Games that allow you to buy coins or credits for instance, are known to frequently push notifications to consumers during usage; offering a high number of credits for a discounted price – but only if you capture the deal now. Just like in a convenience store, consumers who engage heavily with mobile games are more likely to buy on impulse when a discount is involved. Furthermore, by offering a discount, you may be able to convert users who would not have purchased otherwise.
• Pricing Optimization: In some cases, users may not purchase larger subscription packages simply because they don’t like the price. Optimizing your pricing is critical – charge too much and users won’t purchase, but charge too little and you may kill your profit margin. Run A/B tests on your packages,
  trialling different pricing structures against each other to find the ideal balance between customer value and price.
• Feature Optimization: If users don’t find enough value in the additional features offered in upgraded packages, they’ll simply continue to use the free version. Consider the features that you are asking them to pay for, and the ones that you are offering for free. Confirm that there is a considerable value added each time the user upgrades to a higher package; and furthermore, verify that each upgrade helps them solve their problem more effectively than the less-costly or free packages.

Generate Referrals

One of the best ways to grow at any stage is to tap into the networks of your existing users through referrals. According to reports by Nielsen, 92% of consumers trust recommendations from family and friends above all other forms of marketing. No matter what your marketing message is, it is exponentially more effective when your consumer hears it from someone that they trust, as opposed to when they hear it from you as a marketer.

In today’s online world, users love to share- that is, if something is worthy of them sharing with their peers. Take advantage of this by offering user incentives for recommending your app to their friends, family and associates. Referral marketing isn’t just one of the most powerful methods of marketing, it is also the most fruitful. This means that by compelling your users to refer your app, you can acquire several new users for the price of one.

Build Your Team

Don’t underestimate the value of an awesome team. Great strategies bring in valuable users, but it’s the team that forms and implements the strategy. Take an objective and subjective look at your current team – and the skills that they possess. Compare existing skills to those that are really needed to push your startup forward. When you find gaps, fill them in with the right people. As a result, you will strengthen your team, build your internal capacity, and leverage the abilities of other specialists to get to the next level of growth.

Startup Expansion Strategies

At this point, you should have a large number of users, a proven product, a winning marketing strategy, an app business model that converts well and a strong founding team. Now, you should be able to access external resources to expand the application or launch it into new markets. Here are a few techniques that can be added to your startup growth strategy in the expansion stage.  

Secure Funding

If you’ve penetrated enough of your initial market with a proven solution – you’ll likely be in a strong position to secure seed funding from an angel investor. Write your app business plan, create an awesome pitch deck and network like crazy.

Pitch your idea everywhere you can and to everybody that will listen. You never know who knows who, and ‘six degrees of separation’ is more real than you could ever imagine.  

Joining an app incubator is also an effective avenue to raise funds for your software business. In addition to funding, these entities also typically provide advice, office space and even connections with potential investors and customers within their network.

For more information, check out our article: The Best Ways To Raise Seed Funding For Your App Startup.

Build A Great Marketing Funnel

Unfortunately, not every consumer who needs your app will realize they need it the first time they see your marketing message. At the time they see an ad for your app, they may not yet need the solution; or may not realize that they need the solution; or may not realize that they need your solution. Building a great marketing funnel allows you to capture consumers across all purchasing stages and funnel the most qualified leads into customers.

Fully examine each stage of the marketing funnel and determine whether your funnel best serves the customer at every step. Focus on on strengthening any weaknesses. For example, you may find that you are losing customers in the consideration stage, because when they search your app online they don’t find anyone talking about it. This may mean you need more press or that you need to showcase your app on more online outlets.

As another example, you may find that users downloaded the app but often leave at the sign-up stage because the process is too lengthy or difficult. A strong app marketing funnel ensures that you are able to best serve a customer from the time they discover your app until the day they become a customer – and beyond.

Scale Your Business

Finally, you are in the position to really scale your business. With financial backing and a strong marketing funnel in place, your startup can leverage this foundation to grow even further — and even faster.

There are several ways to expand an app business once it has been proven and validated, such as:

• Seek New Audiences: Once you’ve successfully penetrated your initial target audience, start looking other market sectors that may benefit from your technology. Preferably, look for niche markets that your competitors are not serving – which will give you a major competitive and first mover advantage.
• Penetrate New Locations: Many app startups have realized the extreme advantage in initially targeting one specific location. After you have figured out how to effectively penetrate one particular region, it is highly likely that you can duplicate the same strategy to quickly penetrate new locations. Seek locations that are similar to your launch region – locations where you can reach the same consumer demographic and attract them the same way you did previously.
• Add New Features: Finally, as you are building your user base, you should also continue to seek opportunities to further monetize your existing users. By adding new features and functions to your technology, you can create new revenue streams and add more product value; enticing users to stay on your app longer, return more often, and spend more over their customer lifetime.

A strong startup growth strategy is integral to your success, and if the optimal strategy is followed, you will be able to set yourself apart from the dozens of competitors that you will likely compete against over your journey.

At ThinkLions, we have worked with hundreds of businesses around the world, helping them develop and implement startup growth strategies that win. If you have an awesome app idea or a soon-to-launch app, we’d love to help you develop a step-by-step startup growth strategy and business plan. Contact us today to set up a free consultation with one of our app startup experts.

The post The Best App Startup Growth Strategy For Each Business Stage appeared first on Startup Squared.

For most of us, our name existed even before we did. While awaiting our arrival, our parents went through a stressful process of considering dozens of names before finding the perfect one. Whatever your name is, it has followed you throughout your entire life. In some cases, people may have heard your name before they ever met you.

Naming an app is similar to naming a child. The name will follow your brand forever. Like your name, potential users will often hear your app name before they ever actually use your app.

When someone says Google, everyone knows what it means, regardless of age, location, or experience. The name is so powerful that we don’t say, “I’ll search it online.” Instead, we say, “I’ll Google it!”

But how do you come up with such a clever name for your interesting app? How do you choose a name that sticks like Google, Facebook, Twitter, or Evernote? For inspiration, we talked to several app developers and entrepreneurs and found out how they came up with their app names. In this article, you’ll learn everything you need to know about how to name an app.

1. Reflect Your App’s Core Features

Many successful apps choose a name that describes what the app does. It doesn’t take much effort to understand that WeChat is a messaging app. Similarly, the name Netflix implies that the brand offers some type of content on the internet. Potential users won’t always read your app description, so having a name that explains its features can provide a massive advantage.

Brian Swanson, co-founder of Inspironto, explained how his team came up with the name for their app, QuestionAir. He said:

“Our team discussed the speed that our app sends questions from the poll manager to the respondent. Someone said it was like sending questions through the air. That’s how we came up with the idea to call it ‘QuestionAir.'”

The best app names aren’t extremely clever. Cleverness can often be too complex and complicated. When it comes to choosing the perfect name for your app, keeping things simple is always a good idea (K.I.S.S). A simple name is easy to remember.

Ionuț Mănășturean, the founder of Mini Games, explained how her team came up with the right name. She said:

“The name of our app, Mini Games, is simple and easy to remember. I picked this name because I wanted to express that our app has many mini-games to play.

When we did research, the first ranking app for the ‘mini games’ keyword was a Russian-language app. I saw this as an opportunity and began working on an English mini-games app. Now, our app ranks first for the ‘mini-games’ keyword in the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.”

2. Create Your Name With A Play On Words

Sometimes, a play on words can provide you with the perfect app name.

Take the app, Free Map Israel. By 2008, the company changed its name to one that you’ve definitely heard of now – Waze. Waze is a play on the word “ways.” The name represents the number of ways an individual can take to get to a certain location.

Aggrey Ellis, Director of Customer Experience at Gopher Leads, shared how he chose a name when he created an app. He said:

“We created a simple mobile app that allows employees to earn rewards by referring opportunities to their company. Gopher Leads, sounds like ‘Go For Leads’, as we try to convince employees to rally around and ‘go for’ sales.”

This approach is a great way to brainstorm new app names. There is a caveat here, however. If you get too creative, you might make it harder for users to find your app. If users don’t remember the spelling, they may search for Ways instead of Waze.

3. Keep It Short and Memorable

If your name is too long and complex, people will forget it immediately. We’ve seen names as long as 30 characters to 50 characters. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you what those names were, because I never remembered them.

Ideally, you want a short name with a minimal number of characters that is unique and memorable. Skype, SnapChat, and Tinder are all billion-dollar apps that have short and memorable names. These simple names make it easy for users to communicate when recommending these apps to their peers.

Yusuf Motiwala, founder and CEO of Mesibo, explained how he came up with the name for his app. He said:

“We were trying to come up with a name for our new messaging startup. We wanted it to be easy to pronounce, unique, and be less than eight characters. As simple as that sounds, finding a name with those criteria became an almost impossible exercise.

We were unable to come up with a convincing name, even though we brainstormed for days. One day, a team member suggested that we should think ‘beyond messaging.’ We came up with Mesibo by choosing letters from the phrase, ‘Messaging and Beyond.'”

4. Make Your App Name An Action Word

Some brand names have transformed from a noun to a verb. When someone says “Skype me,” we know exactly what they mean. When a friend says, “I’ll Uber to your house,” we understand the action.

Your business has probably reached the pinnacle of success when its name becomes an action. If you want to have similar success, consider how your app name sounds in everyday speech and flows with normal language.

Lori Cheek, founder and CEO of social media and dating app Cheekd explained her app’s name. Lori said:

“Growing up with the last name Cheek finally came in handy. For weeks, I was racking my brain about the verb that was going to finish the statement, ‘You’ve Been ______.’ One day, the answer came to me – You’ve been ‘Cheekd!’ The word ‘Cheekd’ is now in Wikipedia.

A few years ago, I was on ABC’s Shark Tank. My episode re-airs all over the world. One day, I received an email. It said, ‘Did you ever wonder how different your life would have been if your last name was Smith?

Yes, I have!”

5. Choose A Name That Is Searchable

If you want to maximize your reach, choose a name that fits into your marketing strategy. According to statistics, 63% of smartphone users discover apps through the app store. They search specific keywords to find an app that solves their specific problem. To maximize your app store optimization (ASO) potential, choose a name that aligns with your audience’s keyword searches.

For example, the app LiveAuctions directly aligns with the customer search. In this industry, customers are likely to search the keyword “live auctions.” With a related name, they are more likely to rank higher in the search results than other auction sites. Furthermore, customers know exactly what the app is about as soon as they come across the name.

Powerphrase‘s Marketing Manager, Newaz Chowdhury, told us how they created the name for the game, Trump’s Great Wall of America. Newaz said:

“When you’re brainstorming app name ideas, make sure it has keywords that people are searching for. We looked at competitors to see what apps were showing up for our keywords. Words like Trump, Great Wall, and America had massive search volumes.

‘Great Wall’ is also a popular search term in China. Therefore, we received a spike in downloads from China and elsewhere. This positioning led us to consistent traffic and downloads.”

Combining a great name with SEO and app store optimization leads to greater organic reach. When you’re choosing a name, consider how your target audience searches for information.

6. Align It With A Domain

If you’ll have a landing page or website associated with your app, you should align the name to an open domain. Choose one that is available and has a domain that isn’t currently in use.

Talk Travel’s founder, Saurabh Jindal, explained how domain availability helped him select an app name. He said:

“Talk Travel is a voice app that enables travelers to speak to destination experts in their own preferred language. We wanted to convey the idea of travel and talk to make travel simple.

We also wanted something seemingly memorable that customers couldn’t forget. It came down to a choice between Travel Talk and Talk Travel; but, the Travel Talk website domain wasn’t available. Hence, we decided to go with TalkTravel.”

Patrick van der Mijl, co-founder of Speakap also chose a name as a result of domain availability. Patrick said:

“It was a rainy Sunday when we did our research for a business name. Our criteria were that the name had to be short, simple, and related to our industry. Most importantly, the domain had to be available. Speakap was the top choice since our mission is to enable employees to have a voice.”

7. Pick The Obvious Name

Sometimes you don’t need to choose a name, because the right name may just choose you. Choosing a name like Tasker didn’t require weeks of brainstorming. The name made sense and is a rather obvious choice for an app that helps you manage tasks. Likewise, theScore is a pretty obvious app name for a sports score app.

Often, the obvious choice still fits the criteria of our previous tips. It reflects core features, it’s searchable, and it’s memorable.

Cody Swann, CEO of Gunner Technology, explained how he named the uConsent app. He said:

“uConsent is an app designed to foster communication around sexual intimacy. The app creates a secure record of each party’s consent, including location, time, and specifics.

It’s all about consent, so uConsent was an obvious choice. Many times, the name is obvious if you think about it long enough. Still, it’s important to let the name produce itself naturally.”

8. Connect With Your Consumer’s Emotions

Some app names evoke emotion. When users read the name, it connects with them and puts them in a particular mood.

An example of an emotional name is MyFitnessPal. It isn’t just another fitness tracking app, but it’s a pal. It’s something you can depend on to hold you accountable for your fitness goals.

Family Locator is another app name that immediately pulls on the emotions of users. The name makes you think of how you’d feel if you couldn’t locate a family member. With high emotion, it is more likely that a prospect will make a purchase decision.

Zach Hendrix, co-founder of GreenPal told us a similar story of how they came up with their app name. Zach told us:

“We wanted our mobile app’s name to invoke a personal response from our users. When you are looking for a lawn care service, you usually ask a friend or family member for a recommendation. We decided to combine the color of green grass with the feeling of receiving a recommendation from a friend. After brainstorming for weeks, we landed on GreenPal and it has stuck.”

The Most Important App Naming Tip

The app name you select will follow your brand forever. Sure, you can use an app name generator, but it won’t consider your brand and target audience. Instead, follow the tips from these great app founders and choose a name that represents your product, audience, and mission.

We’ve mentioned several fantastic tips for naming an app. However, there is one tip that is most important – make sure your app is as good as your app name. A great name is meaningless if the app is going to let them down.

As always, we’re here to help you build awesome apps. Our team has assisted dozens of startups in innovating market-leading technology. We’d love to help you, too. Contact us for a free consultation and learn how we can help you bring your app idea to life.

The post How To Name An App: Tips, Tricks & Expert Secrets appeared first on Startup Squared.

While a great app idea may start at a hackathon, most apps aren’t built overnight… or in a week… or within a month. According to a study by Goodfirms, it takes an average of 3-5 months to fully build out and launch a mobile app. Why does it take so long? An app launch doesn’t just rely on how quickly your app developers can code it – but also includes many other steps like customer research, concept validation, pre-launch marketing, and more.

To build a successful startup and experience a strong app launch, there are many factors that need to be in place before, during and after you push your app to the app stores. If you’re just starting development today, you’ve got at least 90 days to get everything together before launching. In this guide, we’ll guide you through each step that you need to take as you approach the day of your app launch.

Phase I – 90 Days Before Your App Launch

Three months before the official day of your app launch, you should already be setting the foundation for a strong launch. More specifically, you should be focused on validating your app idea and laying the groundwork for your marketing and branding.

Validate Your Assumptions

Before taking on the expensive journey of building a new piece of software, it is critical to validate your concept; proving that there is actually a market experiencing a specific problem, and that your product is the solution that the market is looking for to solve that problem. Not every app startup will change the world like Facebook or Uber, but there are thousands of highly successful apps that simply solve a small problem for a large number of users.

True market disruption comes when a founding team creates an app that solves a problem that no other solution exists for. However, you don’t have to be the first to market to succeed as an app startup, you just need to solve the problem better or more effectively than other competing solutions. Consider how some of our favorite apps solve our largest problems:

• Uber solved transportation problems for citizens, making it easier to procure a ride without waiting on a taxi. Furthermore, Uber made it simple for the average person to earn extra income by monetizing their automobile and free time.
• AirBnb simplified the property booking process by giving easy access to short-term rental options outside of the traditional hotel. Furthermore, it made it easy for property owners to earn an income without a long-term tenant, by monetizing their property through the platform.
• Tinder didn’t solve a new problem. Online sites like Match were already leading the market – but they were expensive to use and was a huge commitment for the average person looking to casually date. Tinder made it easy for singles to mingle with other singles by literally bringing dating right to their fingertips. A simple swipe of the screen can generate a new dating relationship without the huge monthly commitment of other dating solutions.

Believing that your concept is the best solution for your market isn’t enough. Your ‘belief’ can quickly lead you to blowing through your development budget only to find that your audience doesn’t believe in your solution as much as you do. There’s something that’s better than great assumptions – validation through real data. No matter what, you will validate your app – you’ll either validate it early on, or you’ll use all of your resources to build it and then validate that there is a major flaw when no one downloads it. Successful apps are able to validate their assumptions early on and pivot where necessary to ensure that they are building the type of solution that is truly in demand by users experiencing a specific problem.

There are several ways to validate an app idea, including:

1. Smoke Tests – The purpose of a smoke test is to determine buyer intent as cheaply as possible. In practice, a smoke test gives the impression that there is a product to be purchased, even when the product hasn’t actually been built yet. An example of a smoke test could be a landing page that explains the functionality of an app, displays several app design screens and allows users to ‘purchase’ a subscription. The ‘smoke’ part of the test is that there is no product to be purchased because it doesn’t yet exist. This allows startups to test how many people would be interested in the application if it already existed; giving them immediate clarity on whether it is worth it to go forward in building out their app concept. Smoke tests can be built and executed rather inexpensively but can provide an incredible amount of insight to make your app launch more successful.
2. Crowdfunding – Platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo give startups the opportunity to pre-sell their product or service and raise the funds to build it. Pre-selling is a great way to prove demand for your app before it’s official launch. App startups that are able to crowdfund successfully have an additional advantage since they are usually able to generate enough capital to build at least an initial minimal viable product (see below), are able to build strong brand awareness and are able to sign up thousands of customers months before their app launch.
3. Minimal Viable Product (MVP) – Launching a minimal viable product is another excellent method for proving your concept and validating your assumptions on all aspects of your application. A minimal viable product is a stripped down version of the product that only includes enough features to satisfy early users. In terms of apps, an MVP will be a real and launched application but stripped down to only its core features. This allows developers and app startups to launch their software quicker and with a smaller budget, but be able to attract early adopters in order to generate insights and feedback. Instead of spending tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars to build a full-featured app that may or may not succeed in the market, an MVP only includes very few features to test interest and usage behavior before developing further features.

Lay The Groundwork for Branding & Marketing

Marketing is critical to the success of any startup, and you don’t actually need a launched product to start communicating with your audience and building brand awareness. If your plan is to wait until your app is already on the market before you decide to begin building the foundation for your branding and marketing, you will be seriously behind the ball on the day of your app launch.

Ninety days before your app launch, take the following steps to build a strong branding and marketing foundation:

Buy a domain and launch your website:

At some point, your app will need a website, and the sooner you launch a site that explains the features of your upcoming app, the quicker you can start building up anticipation from potential users. A website for your app gives you many benefits – you can offer pre-registration, showcase demos of your application, generate feedback and use it to launch a content marketing campaign. Furthermore, setting it up early ensures that you align your app name and website domain.

Create all your social media handles:

Marketing through social media is one of the most effective ways for app startups to reach their audiences. Lay the foundation by creating all of your social media handles on the various social platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Reddit, and others. Even if you don’t think you’ll use a certain platform, having your app’s handle there ensures that if you ever change your mind, you will already own the appropriate handles.

Become part of the community:

If you know exactly who your target audience is, it isn’t hard to find them. In many cases, your audience has probably already organized itself into a community on a platform like Facebook, LinkedIn or Reddit. Become active in these communities and groups, but don’t start immediately advertising your app and annoying everyone. Instead, engage with them – answer their questions, get in on the action, learn about their likes and dislikes, and identify their complaints about your competitors. These groups are a highly valuable source of market research, and after you establish yourself as an expert; advertising your solution will be perceived as an expert recommendation instead of an annoyance.

Phase II – 30 Days Before Your App Launch

If you’ve been building your app according to lean startup principles, you should have some core product built for testing with early adopters – even before the full app that will be launched to the public is completely developed. Thirty days before your initial launch, you want to start testing your software to validate your assumptions and kicking off your marketing plan. Here are several steps that should be taken a month before your app launch date.

Submit MVP To The App Store

Even though your full-version app may not be ready, you should still submit your minimal viable product (core-features only) to the appropriate app stores. Be sure to take a look at all the guidelines for both the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store to make sure your app meets their submission guidelines.

Why submit your app 30 days in advance? There’s a chance that your app may get rejected by either store. If this happens, you’ll have a 30 day buffer to make the necessary changes and get it resubmitted before your app launch date arrives.

Invite Beta Users For Testing

After your app has been successfully submitted to the appropriate app stores, launch it in beta – an initial private launch that allows only invited guests to access, download and use the application. Fortunately, both app stores (Google and Apple) allow developers to invite users to test their apps before officially launching it.

Don’t launch your app without beta testing it first. A beta test is basically a dry run that allows you to test each feature, discover any bugs, and gain valuable feedback from your users. Furthermore, it will help you identify any final improvements you need to make before the official launch and will help you earn some initial reviews.

How do you find initial beta users to invite? If you’ve completed the previous steps, you’ll already be in the right position – you will have a list of pre-registered users from your website, as well as an expert presence in several communities and groups. People who need your solution will be more than happy to be invited as a beta user, you just have to let them know that the opportunity exists.

Kickstart Marketing Activities

What does a failed app launch look like? It’s when you’re anticipating your launch for a whole month, and then on the day you launch, not a single user downloads your app. It can be a depressing day for those who are not prepared. Due to this, it is essential that you kick off your app marketing  activities early on to start building up brand awareness and anticipation throughout your market. Here are three marketing activities you can focus on thirty days before your app launch:

Create Marketing Materials:

Ideally, you want to have strong marketing assets ready to go on the day of your app launch. It takes time and effort to optimize a marketing campaign for ideal conversion, and time will be wasted if you wait until the day of your app launch to start producing your marketing materials. Focus on high converting assets like the content for your app’s website landing page and creating engaging promotional or explainer videos that will draw interest from consumers.

Develop and Market Your Content:

Many app startups fail to take advantage of one of the most effective marketing strategies out there – content marketing. Developing great content has two major advantages. First, it allows you to establish your brand as a leading industry expert. Second, if optimized correctly, content can help you rank for important keywords on search engines like Google, which can drive organic and free traffic directly to your application.

Optimize Your App Store Listing:
According to Forrester, 63% of apps are discovered through app store searches. Just like ranking on Google, ranking highly in the app store can bring significant traffic at no cost. Optimize your app listing using ASO best practices to ensure that potential users can find your app when they are looking for a great solution.

Phase III: 7 Days Before Your App Launch

A week before your app launch, you want to start building anticipation amongst your audience. When users are excited about a new app release, they will rush to download it as soon as they are able to. Facebook, for example, first launched to a single university, and slowly spread university to university. Each university knew when it was coming and students anticipated the day that they could join in on the platform that all of their friends at other universities were talking about. As soon as Facebook opened up to a university, it was quickly adopted by a large portion of that school’s student population.

Likewise, you want to build anticipation for your application and get the word out that your app launch is coming soon. Here are a few ways to start spreading the buzz about your upcoming app launch:

Build Strong Media Relationships

One of the quickest and most effective ways to gain the trust of an audience is to gain the trust of people that they trust. Sure, you can acquire customers by persuading them one-by-one; but media and influencer relationships allow you to immediately reach pre-existing networks with the backing of a credible source. Building strong media relationships can be a difficult task, and it takes some practice to learn how to reach out to influencers and journalists successfully. Many businesses choose to hire Public Relations agencies who already have contacts so they can gain coverage sooner. Whether you hire a PR agency or choose to do it yourself, here are a few tips to getting your app mentioned by the right people, shortly before the day of your app launch:

• Contact Influencers – Look for individuals that influence your market; whether they are on Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, or anywhere else. An influencer is someone who possesses enough power to sway the purchase decisions of individuals who follow them. ‘The Oprah Effect’ for example, is a phrase that was coined to explain the influence that Oprah Winfrey had over her viewers for the last couple of decades. A simple mention on her show immediately transformed never-before-heard-of businesses into multi-million dollar brands. Maybe you can’t reach Oprah, but there are thousands of influencers out
  there from social media influencers to published industry leaders. Identify who these influencers are in your industry. They may not have millions of followers, but even someone that can influence several dozen people to try out your app may be valuable to your mission. Contact them and introduce them to your
  software. Offer them a free trial or invite them to your beta, and ask them for their feedback. If they like it, they may mention your app on their blog, podcast, YouTube video, or even just share it with their social media following – providing you with valuable exposure.
• Pitch Your Brand Story To Journalists – Brands need their stories exposed, and journalists are always looking for great stories to write about. This creates a mutually beneficial relationship between entrepreneurs and the media. However, a great story has to really be extraordinary – nobody really cares about a new app that no one has ever heard of. Instead, find the parts of your story that really matters. Do you have a fantastic founder story or some never-before-seen industry data that would be interesting to those in your industry? Find the angles that give the most light to your business and pitch it to journalists that write for the publications that your audience read. The amount of exposure you can get a week before your app launch will directly relate to the number of downloads you can expect on the day you launch.
• Showcase Your Expertise With Guest Posts – Many blogs also often look for new and interesting content that they can expose to their audiences. Identify which blogs are most popular among your market, and offer to provide an expert article to that blog. By guest posting articles on popular blog sites, you can directly reach large established networks that may have been impossible to reach previously.

Setup Analytics and Tracking Software

The day of your app launch, you’ll need to start measuring KPIs and tracking app metrics to analyze how your software is performing. Without the right software in place, you will be unable to collect the metrics needed to optimize your strategy and progress the success of your application. There are many metrics that can be tracked, and here are some awesome analytical tools that you can use to measure your app’s performance:

1. Flurry is an analytics tool that allows you to measure how many users you have, what actions they are taking when using your app, and what pages they are dropping off at. Furthermore, Flurry provides a report any time there is an error or crash; and allows you to track revenue, sales, events and other important metrics.
2. Apple App Analytics is Apple’s developer analytics tool. This tool offers in-depth reports on the performance of your app store listing, gives you an overview of your user engagement metrics and provides detailed reports on crashes and bugs.
3. App Annie allows you to easily access an in-depth analysis about your app’s performance over any period. You can measure unique metrics like the performance of your keywords, your position on store charts, cross-app usage and much more.

In addition to your app tracking software, it’s also a good idea to make sure you are subscribed to and setup with all relevant marketing software as well. If you’re using apps like Mailchimp, Squarespace, Buffer, Unbounce, ActiveCampaign or another marketing software, ensure that your subscriptions are up to date and that your marketing materials (like email marketing scripts) are already put together and ready to send.

Decide On A Monetization Strategy

Apps can be expensive to grow over the long run. While some app startups turn to investors for funding, many successful app startups are able to sustain their initial growth through earned revenue. How much you charge for your product or service – and how you charge – depends on what your app is, how it works, and how much your audience is willing to pay. For example:

• Minecraft and Afterlight are successful apps that charge up-front for full access to the application.
• Headspace and Evernote rely on a subscription model, requiring users to pay a monthly fee to access and operate the software.
• Fortnite and Pokemon Go rely on in-app purchases to earn revenue and monetize their users.
• Social media sites like Facebook don’t charge anything to users, but instead, charge advertisers to promote ads directly to their users.

According to statistics however, the most successful model for most apps is the freemium model. With this monetization approach, users are able to access a basic version of the application for free; but if they want to access additional features, they must upgrade to a premium monthly subscription. This model allows developers and app entrepreneurs to capture a broad audience and transform a handful of these free users into paid customers.

For more information about monetizing your mobile app, check out the article, “How To Identify The Most Profitable App Business Model”.

Phase IV: The Day Of Your App Launch

One of the most important days as an app entrepreneur is the day of your app launch. If you’ve taken the proper steps so far, you will start receiving downloads immediately. The day of your app launch, there are two major steps you should take – announcing your launch and measuring your app metrics.

Announce The Launch of Your App

Remember a month ago when you started interacting in different social communities and built a widespread email list of interested consumers? Today is the day you can finally take advantage of the relationships you have built. Announce the launch of your app on your social media pages and send an email out to your list. Remind them of the benefits of your application and provide them with a link where they can access your software immediately.

Furthermore, send out a press release and a link to your app to reporters and influencers that you have built relationships with. Invite them to download the application and encourage them to share it with their audience. Influencers have power, and this power can give you a major advantage. Offer influencers an incentive to check out your app; maybe consider giving them free access to a premium package or some initial credits for in-app purchases.

There is much benefit in driving traffic on day one. Apps with promising traction can end up in the “New and Noteworthy” or “Trending Apps” categories; making it quickly visible to millions of users.

Start Analyzing Your App Metrics

Since you have already decided which metrics you need to track and have setup the right software to do so; now you need to start actually analyzing these metrics. At minimum, on day one you should begin measuring your number of downloads, active users and engagement metrics like Daily Active Users, Monthly Active Users and Number of Sessions Per Day.

Furthermore, stay in tune with customer feedback and seek to quickly identify any bugs, crashes or weaknesses on your app. Users can be unforgiving towards an inconsistent app that is heavy with bugs. Software isn’t always perfect, but quickly identifying and fixing any bugs will be critical to establishing an exceptional user experience.

Phase V: App Success For The Long-Term

Assuming you’ve accomplished each of the previous steps, you will now have a strong foundation for a successful mobile app. The final step is to grow your user base and scale frequently; converting users into paying customers and earning a substantial profit. But how do you get there? Here’s a couple tips:

1. Analytics Tell The Real Story – Your app metrics will always give you the real story on how well your app is performing. Just having downloads isn’t enough – over time, it’s also important that you know how well you are converting these users into customers, how much each customer is worth, what your Net Promoter Score is, cost per acquisition and more. The more that you understand your app metrics, the better you will understand your users; and the more you understand your users, the better you will be able to deliver them the most effective solution.
2. Keep Your Users Happy – Always pay attention to what users are saying about your app in your reviews, on social media, and online. Sometimes you will have an unhappy customer (or ‘detractor’) that may say negative things about your solution. Every app has a few dissatisfied customers, but if you see a pattern of many users complaining about the same thing then it may be a sign that you need to quickly make changes to better serve them.
3. Never Stop Promoting – Always continue to improve and optimize your marketing campaigns. Continue building strong relationships with influencers and media; continue to interact with consumers on social media; and continue to optimize each technique for better performance. As you scale, your marketing strategy will become even more important.

The day of your app launch will either be a major success or a major failure, but if you follow these tips effectively, you can almost ensure that you will receive at least some positive traction on your first day of app launch.

The first step to launching an app is actually building one, and we’d love to help! Our team of startup experts and app developers know exactly what it takes to bring your idea to life. Contact us to setup a free consultation today!

The post 11 Ways To Ensure A Successful App Launch appeared first on Startup Squared.

While not making it to launch sounds like the worst thing that can happen when developing your startup, there’s actually something worse that can happen. You can spend tens of thousands (or more) on app development, only to launch your tech and find out that nobody wants it. A tech startup can be a major success, but if launched without covering the right bases, it can also be a major waste of time, money and effort.

Fortunately, there is a process for building a great tech company, and it follows the principles of Lean Startup. Ready to launch your software business? Here’s what you need to know about how to create a tech company using lean startup.

What Is Lean Startup?

Lean startup allows a tech company to constantly advance the development of their software, while rapidly learning more and more about their customers, their challenges and their desires.

If you thought the only steps to creating a successful software solution was to build it and launch it, your strategy is hugely flawed. There are many really cool and interesting apps in every app store that no one ever downloads and no one ever uses. Those who know how to start a tech company know that a company isn’t successful because they have a cool product; they are successful because they have the right product for the right audience, and are backed by the right people.

When you launch a full-scale software solution, you inherently make several assumptions. Even with secondary industry and customer research, you are still only making an educated guess as to:

• Who your consumers really are.
• What problems your consumers are actually facing.
• What type of solution your consumers are searching for.
• How much your consumer is willing to pay to solve their problem.
• Whether enough people experience the problem to make a successful business.

The true intentions of a startup is to answer these questions using real consumer data, and to validate each and every assumption as you build your product. Instead of figuring out that you built the wrong thing after you built it, the right strategy will help you identify weaknesses and errors in your startup plan before making serious investments into the wrong areas.

This is the value of adopting a lean startup process, and why those who know how to start a tech company often adopt this strategy. Lean startup incorporates a build-measure-learn feedback loop – launching software in small iterations, testing it with real consumers, analyzing the data and proving the concept at every turn. What’s the major advantage? If at some point during the measuring process you learn that consumers aren’t responding as you assumed they would – you can pivot immediately instead of continuing to develop something that they don’t want.

As much as we’d like to think that our idea is the perfect idea, this is often not the case. Facebook in 2018 is incredibly different than it was in 2006. If they built the perfect product, why would they continue to change; adding new features, changing features, and deleting others? Because people change, the market changes, the competition changes, needs change – and when they do, your startup better change with it if you plan to stay in business. When you know how to start a tech company using lean startup, you can adapt and remain flexible with the market – using data to lead you. Lean startup allows a tech company to constantly advance the development of their software, while rapidly learning more and more about their customers, their challenges and their desires. As you learn exactly what your customers want, you can more accurately serve them and always ensure that you are delivering the software product that they are most likely to adopt.

How To Start A Tech Company In 6 Steps

Launching your first-version software doesn’t have to be a long and difficult process. Sure, developing technology can be challenging and there are many variables; but with an agile development and lean startup process, you can minimize the time and risk associated with launching a startup. Here are six steps to launching your tech company the right way.

1. Minimize It To The Core Features

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and the whole city didn’t have to be built for a few families to make it their home. Likewise, your software doesn’t have to include every feature under the sun before you launch it. In fact, launching a feature-filled software solution is the most risky approach to software development. Instead, minimize your concept to just one or two core features – the features that you believe will help users solve their specific problem most effectively. Typically, users aren’t going to adopt every feature a software offers – the ones that they don’t use will ultimately become a waste of the effort it took to build it. The better approach is to test the market with only a few features, prove the concept, and then build the next set of features after validating exactly what the market is demanding.

However, when you have your mind set on what you want your software to look like, it can be challenging to decide which features are actually “core”, and which ones are additional frills that aren’t necessarily critical to the functionality of the software. Follow these three steps when seeking to minimize your technology to its core features:

1. Define your target market: Your technology might serve multiple customer types, but initially, it’s best to focus on just a single target market. Selecting a narrow audience will allow you to intensify your focus on a specific consumer sector and penetrate that particular niche – instead of going head on against more established solutions. Draw out your ideal user – How old are they? What do they do for a living? What do they read and watch on television? Where do they live? What is their income? Most importantly, what problem are they facing?
2. Create a storyboard: Plot out how individuals will use your technology; each step that they will take as they journey through your solution. Think of how they will use each feature, and how each feature will help them solve their problem. Consider the primary goal of your technology, then write out the user flow – this will help you determine all the features of your tech concept. Prioritize these features – which are truly necessary to meet the primary goal and which could be eliminated without really affecting the user’s end goal?
3. Remove non core features: Once you’ve determined which features are low priority, remove them. Your solution should now only include a few features that make up the entire user flow; but if it still has too many, create a new storyboard and prioritize again to see if there are additional steps that can be eliminated to create a true minimal and viable product.

2. Get To Market With An MVP

Now that you have a first-version software concept that is minimized to only it’s core features, it’s time to prove your concept. Getting to market quickly is key, and it’s not always necessary to even build the technology fully before launching it. There are several different types of Minimal Viable Products that you can consider, but the one you choose should be based upon the goal of your test. Here are the most popular minimal viable product types:  

• Smoke Test: Build a landing page, send traffic via ads, and measure how many people sign up.
  • Goal: To test user interest.

• Pre-sell: Launch a crowdfunding campaign and measure how many people donate.
  • Goal: To gauge user interest and raise funds.

• Concierge: Perform services manually; giving clients a hands on service before automating it with technology.
  • Goal: To create new ideas, generate feedback and collect data about consumers.

• Wizard of Oz MVP: Make it look as if the features are automated, when really they are manually performed behind the scenes.
  • Goal: To test assumptions about product and customer behavior.

• Piecemeal MVP: Take a pre-built technology and customize it to perform the necessary functions.
  • Goal: Prove concept before making a larger investment into product development.

• Single-Feature MVP: Develop solution with one or a few core features and launch it to the market.
  • Goal: Gain traction and validate feature assumptions

3. Attract Early Adopters

Once your minimal viable product has been launched, it’s time to start attracting users. You don’t have to go all out and spend tens of thousands of dollars on advertising your app – but instead, send a limited number of users to the application in testable numbers. A couple hundred users can give you incredible insight into whether you are on the right path, or whether you are building something that the market doesn’t want. Even a small amount of users can give you humongous amounts of information. There is no point in sending tens of thousands of people to your solution if you haven’t even proven that you have built the solution that they want.

• Self Promotion: You’d be surprised how many startups gained the first handful of users because the founder simply just put in the necessary hands-on work to acquire them. Tinder’s founders for example, posted flyers around campuses and told people about the app at local campus bars. If you can identify individuals that would benefit from your technology, contact them – tell them about your solution and explain to them how your solution would solve their specific problems. One hundred handshakes could be the first domino in locking in your first one thousand, one hundred thousand or even one million users.
• Communities: Becoming active within online communities can provide great access to early adopters and industry influencers. Platforms like Reddit offer categorized sub-channels where you can communicate with other individuals that are interested in a specific subject. The key to succeeding in any online community or forum is to not go in with an attitude of selling something. Instead, be helpful and showcase your expertise about the subject to assist others with their questions. Become an active part of the community. That way, when you do post about your software, people will know who you are and you won’t seem like a greedy self-serving startup that is spamming the network.
• Influencers: You don’t always have to convince a million people to try your software. Sometimes, you can convince one person who has a large audience, and let them do the persuading for you. Part of knowing who your consumers are is knowing who they follow – authors, blog writers, YouTubers, industry experts and etc. Try to build relationships with these individuals. Allow them to test your software for free, and ask them to review it. Keep in mind however, your competitors are probably also contacting them asking them for the same thing. Just like when dealing with communities, figure out how you can offer something that benefits the influencer – before asking them to do something that solely benefits you.

4. Evaluate Data

There is nothing that will tell more about your solution, strategy and user than cold hard data. Everyone pays attention to the number of downloads and the amount of revenue the software is generating, but these aren’t the only app metrics that matter. There are many other metrics that should be analyzed frequently, including but not limited to:

• Active Users: It doesn’t really matter if you have 1,000 users if zero are actively using it. Both Daily Active Users (DAU) and Monthly Active Users (MAU) are important to analyze. DAU tracks how many users actually open up and use the software in a single day while MAU tracks how many use the software over the period of a month. Unlike total sessions, each user is only considered a single time, as opposed to counting the same users over and over if they sign in multiple times throughout the day or month.
• Average Visit & User Behavior: These metrics allow you to analyze how long users are staying on your software and what they are doing while they are there. Average Visit gives an average of how long a user session lasts, while user behavior tracks what pages they visit and how long they stay on each of those pages. To learn more about user behavior, it is a great idea to use heatmaps and screen recordings. These tools allow you to see exactly what users are looking at, focusing on and clicking on while using your software.
• Retention Rate: Just because you’re able to get people to your app, doesn’t mean that they’ll continue to use it. Retention rate lets you know how many users you’re able to retain over a set period of time and how many you lose or ‘churn’. Retention rate helps you identify the relationship between your marketing initiatives (how well you are attracting people to your software) and your engagement strategy (how effectively you are getting people to engage with your software).
• Ratings & Reviews: Solutions that are able to sustain over the long-term are those can maintain great ratings and reviews. Software and app solutions operate in a very competitive space, and no matter what great things a company says about their products; it will never have the same effect as what other users say about it. Ratings and reviews are subjective metrics that can have a major influence on how successful a software solution becomes. You may be getting a great deal of traction today, but if you aren’t receiving a bad rating average – you may find it extremely difficult to get even a single new user in the future.
• Cost Per Acquisition: Attracting customers to your app may not be worth it if it’s costs an insane amount to acquire them. If your per customer acquisition cost is more than your customer spend; you’ll operate at a loss and may find it extremely difficult to continue to sustain your business.

The numbers tell the true story of your business. If you don’t know the statistics, then you definitely don’t know how your business is actually performing. One could assume that they are on track because they see new downloads coming in each day, but they may miss other numbers that tell the real story – like a high customer acquisition cost or an extremely low retention rate. Most of all, the numbers behind your business tell you whether you’re on the right path, or whether you’ve made a mistake in your assessment.

5. Pivot Or Persevere 

In the optimal and ideal situation, you will look at the data and everything will be going as expected – acquisition costs will be low, everybody that downloads the app will use it for months and months, you’ll get fantastic reviews, and your tech startup will become the best solution in your industry within a month’s time.

Does this sound too good to be true? It is.

What will most likely happen is that some of your assumptions will be validated by the data, and it will be proven that some of your assumptions are flawed. Discovering that some of your initial assumptions are incorrect is to be expected, and it’s not a bad thing. Each time you are unable to validate your assumption, you are given an opportunity to make a shift and find exactly what your consumers are looking for. Each time you prove or disprove an assumption, you have the opportunity to do one of two things – pivot or persevere.

When the data shows that your assumption was correct, the only move that makes sense is to persevere or stay on course with what you are doing. To know whether your data proves your assumption, you should have goals set in place – what conversion rate you expect your marketing campaigns to convert at, which features you believe users will use the most, how long you believe users will use your app during each session, how many weeks or months you believe they will continue to use your software before they churn, and etc.

On the other hand, when the data shows that users aren’t responding to your software the way you assumed they would, a pivot is likely in order. A pivot simply means to adjust to a new path, and hopefully, a more successful path. Let’s say for example, you find that you many users download or trial your software, but that they only stay on the software for a minute or two before exiting. In a case like this, there is likely a reason for this behavior. Some possible causes of this could include:

• Users were interested in the marketing message, but the solution did not meet their expectations.
  • What can you do to fix it? Change the marketing message to better reflect the actual solution, or change the solution to match the marketing message (which may reflect what users really want).
• Users found it too difficult to use or navigate the software and left in frustration.
  • What can you do to fix it? Work on a better user experience or provide better education on how to use your software.
• Users ran into a bug and weren’t able to perform the intended actions.
  • What can you do to fix it? Identify the bug and fix it.

The whole idea of a startup is to find out what solution your consumer is really looking for. By running tests and choosing to pivot or persevere based on real data – you can ensure that you are building software that really has the potential to succeed.

6. Scale Everything

After testing and testing, using data to make the right pivot/persevere decisions, and building a solution that is a hit among early adopters; it’s now time to scale it to the masses. Since your marketing plan has already been tested and validated, you should be able to amp up your campaign and draw in more and more users.

In many cases, it’s at this stage where startups will begin seeking initial seed funding. With user data in hand, startups with a validated solution have a much stronger investing position than startups that are only coming to the table with ‘cool tech’. These startups not only prove that they know how to create innovative technology, but also that they know how to start a tech company with a strategic and well-planned approach.

The Most Important Step in Launching Your Startup

In essence, these six steps will help you build the perfect product with an agile and lean approach. Putting them all in action however, can be much more difficult in practice. Actually, building a lean tech startup is much tougher than simply just writing a list of features and having a developer build out. Launching a lean tech startup means slowing down the development process, releasing in small iterations, testing each iteration along the way, and bringing on customers in small increments. The upside is, at each iteration, you strengthen the potential for success of your concept and decrease the risk of failure.

The most important step – is taking a step. You can research how to start a tech company, and come up with an awesome software concept; but if you never commit yourself to taking the first step, you’ll never see it through to fruition.

We’d love to help you bring your tech company to life. Our startup consultants have worked with hundreds of app startups around the world. Ready to take the first step in bringing your app idea to life? Contact us today to schedule a consultation with one of our tech startup experts!

The post How To Start A Tech Company Using Lean Startup appeared first on Startup Squared.

Why You Should Launch In Detroit

For us at ThinkLions, there is nothing that makes us prouder than serving Detroit startups. While our business plan writers and app developers have served clients around the world, there’s always something special about working with awesome entrepreneurs right in our city. Amazing things are taking place in Detroit, startups everywhere are taking notice – and we love being a part of that.

Why are so many startups now migrating to the Motor City? The simple answer is – because Detroit startups are smart and they see the many advantages to launching and operating here. With a seemingly endless number of benefits, there is major value in being a part of the Detroit startup scene. Some of the major advantages to launching your tech startup in Detroit include:

• Office Space is Cheaper: In most metro areas, office space can be ridiculously expensive; and for a startup, rent can be one of their largest fixed expenses. Detroit startups however, are able to access cheaper office space than most metro areas around the nation. Although rent prices are on the incline in recent years, there is still plenty of vacant office space all throughout Detroit where rent is super affordable for a new startup. Not ready to take on a full office space of your own? Maybe you’d be interested in joining one of the many many co-op and shared workspaces like Bamboo, WeWork, Regus or SpaceLab. There are also several startup and app incubators that you can join to help move your startup forward like SPARK (nearby Ann Arbor) and Techstars Mobility.
• It’s Where The Investors Are: Ever since Cleveland Cavaliers’ owner Dan Gilbert began investing millions and millions into the downtown Detroit area several years ago, investors have been flocking to get in on the action. From real estate to startups, investors are now buying into any and everything Detroit-based that can provide a great return. According to a new report by Michigan Venture Capital Association, there are 35 active venture-backed Detroit startups representing 25% of the startup companies currently growing in Michigan. While 2009 brought in a whopping $131 million in total venture capital investment – this was minimal in comparison to the $222 million that was invested into Michigan startups in 2016.
• The Talent Is Immense: There was never a question of whether talent lives in Detroit; just flip through the Billboards Top 100 anywhere from the 60s through the mid-70s and you’ll see that the city isn’t referred to as the Motown for nothing – real talent lives here. From amazing artists and musicians to incredible marketing firms and app developers; there are thousands of top-notch talent providers that can help you progress your startup.
• You’ll Love The Scene: One of the best things about being a Detroit startup is working in Detroit. Downtown is buzzing with awesome new restaurants, museums and exhibits, fairs and festivals, and things to do. Any Detroit startup owner in the downtown area will tell you – there is always something awesome to check out, whether it’s the food trucks on Campus Martius or the city’s beautiful architecture.

Why Detroit? Detroit startups get the rare chance to be a part of something new. Sure, you can run to Silicon Valley and be a small fish in a huge pond of sharks; or you can be a part of Detroit startup success and build your business here while the opportunity is super advantageous and the resources are thick for any new startup.

Who’s Leading The Detroit Tech Startup Scene?

There are hundreds of startups now operating in Detroit; many of which are growing rapidly and helping Detroit progress it’s startup tech scene. We’d love to go through and give a spotlight to all of them, but here are 3 of our favorite standout Detroit startups!

Greenlancer

Greenlancer is an awesome Detroit startup that “facilitate[s] the design and fulfillment of permit-ready plan sets for the solar industry.” The startup uses proprietary technology and their network of engineers to help clients design and sell clean energy systems. Providing services like feasibility studies, concept designs and permit packages, Greenlancer uses standardized templates and workflows to create solar design documents. With a network of qualified freelance green energy designers and engineers (or “Greenlancers”), the platform manages all information as it passes from each each expert until the documents are completed.

Greenlancer has raised over $5.5 million in investor funding to date from 5 investors over 2 funding rounds.

BoostUp

BoostUp’s mission is to “remove the anxiety associated with life’s biggest purchases”. Using automatic deposits and purchase roundups, BoostUp allows users to quickly save up for big purchases like cars or homes. Furthermore, this Detroit startup has several partnerships with major brands like Hyundai and Quicken Loans who dollar match for discounts up to a certain amount.

BoostUp has raised around $1.7 million during 3 investment rounds.

Ambassador

This startup helps businesses transform employees and customers into brand ambassadors. Located in Royal Oak, a suburb of Detroit (and the Ambassador Bridge), Ambassador allows businesses to incentivize those who refer their friends and associates from social networks. Ambassador has served several high profile customers like PayPal, Spotify and Progresso, among others.

Since inception, Ambassador has raised $5.2 million over four rounds of funding.

Is Detroit Right For Your Startup?

Yes… but maybe I’m biased – I grew up here, I live here and I run a business here. The true answer is, it depends on what you’re looking for. If you’re looking to be in a super established cut-throat market where thousands upon thousands of startups are pitching a handful of investors, check out Silicon Valley or New York – Detroit doesn’t have that vibe. Detroit is a place where startups are working together towards the goal, all fighting to get Detroit on the map; and to succeed as innovators while doing it. Low rent, a buzzing startup scene… these are only a few of the many benefits of being a Detroit startup, but being a part of the camaraderie of a rapidly growing startup economy, that’s the quality you won’t find anywhere else.

When you get here and start setting up shop – make sure to contact me, I’d love to have a coffee and learn more about your company! And of course, if you’re launching an app startup, give us a call – we’ve helped dozens of app startups raise millions of dollars and launch their innovative app tech through our business consultancy and app development services. If you have an app idea, and especially if you’re a Detroit startup (but even if you aren’t) — we’d love to help you bring it to life. Contact us today and let’s discuss your project.

The post Detroit Startups: Launching Your Tech Startup in the Motor City appeared first on Startup Squared.

Today, online and mobile dating is a natural part of our culture. According to The Knot, online dating is now the most common way of meeting for engaged couples. But let’s face it, there are almost as many dating apps on the market as there are daters; and out of all of them, only a handful are able to secure more than a couple of thousand users.

If you’re looking to launch a startup in the mobile dating sector, I’ll be honest… you’re facing a tough challenge. There’s a very thin line between great dating apps and cheesy dating apps, and a disappointing ratio of dating apps that succeed to those that don’t. The good news is if you know how to create a dating app startup the right way – you can drastically minimize your risk of failure. There will be a next greatest dating app, will you be the one to create it?

In this article, we’ll explain what you need to know about creating and developing a dating app, and specifically, we’re going to explore exactly how to create a dating app that doesn’t suck.

Why Dating Apps Suck

First, let’s clear something up – not ALL dating apps suck, just most of them. Also, not all of them suck for the same reason. There are some apps out there that have millions and millions of users, like Tinder and Bumble. Some others serve super niche markets and may have a smaller but still significant user base; like Bristlr, the dating app for beard lovers, which has around 150,000 users. If there are millions of mobile daters out there, why do so many dating app startups fail? Simple… because they suck, and here’s three reasons why:

1. User Goals: Most dating app entrepreneurs don’t actually know what their intended user really wants – and if you don’t know what they want, you’ll never know how to build a dating app that meets their need. What does it mean to date? Does this mean someone is looking to date a bunch of different people and enjoy their single life – or that they are dating to hopefully find a special someone? Dating apps are easily accessible and often used by a wide variety of daters with conflicting goals. Some users may be looking for a whole life companion, while others may be looking for a one time hookup. Popular online sites like Match were able to attract individuals with similar goals by charging higher fees and making the matching process extremely thorough. For someone searching for long-term potential, swiping on Tinder may lead to many many low quality dates before a real match is ever found. According to Psychology Today, only 8.9% of Tinder’s users actually use the app due to a desire for a relationship – while the majority of people have signed up solely off the hype.
2. Copycat Innovation: While there are probably hundreds of dating apps on the market, many of them seem almost identical in technology and functionality. Or, they use the same technology but serve a niche market instead. Tinder introduced the “swipe dating” model for instance, and since then, a hundred other swipe dating apps have hit the market. Maybe one is a swipe dating app for farmers, or a swipe dating app for people who love country music – but innovation in the mobile dating industry has been relatively flat over the last several years. Many brands have figured out how to create a dating app, they just haven’t figured how to create one that actually moves the industry forward.
3. No Growth Plan: Some dating apps seem promising at launch, gaining some hype in the early days only to quickly fall completely off the map. Successful dating apps require a deep level of traction and a strong momentum.  Even the best dating app concept won’t succeed if they are unable to drive enough people to the app to make it worthwhile. Dating app consumers aren’t extremely loyal – if there isn’t a large pool of potential daters available in their specific areas, they’ll quickly move on to the next dating app. Likewise, if they sign in every day and there are never any new potential matches, they will move on to an app with a deeper local penetration. Knowing how to build a dating app means more than just creating a great idea, you also need to implement an effective growth strategy that builds the necessary momentum.

Coming Up With A Dating App Concept

The point of any dating app should be to make dating easier, more convenient, more effective, or at least, more fun. Nobody needs just another dating app, people need the right dating app that will actually serve their needs. When developing or evaluating your dating app concept, consider the following questions:

• Who Are You Helping? Knowing your customer is everything. Not every dater is the same. A 20-year-old millennial dater may be looking for something totally different than 50-year-old recently divorced dater. If you want to know how to create a dating app that wins – first decide who you will serve and identify the pain points that they have with dating. Also, find out why consumers in that segment have trouble meeting their dating goals with current solutions. The more you know about your user, the better you will be able to serve them.
• How Are You Helping Them? Once you know your consumer’s goals, it will become easier to figure out how to help them. Identify what your customer truly seeks and design a solution that helps them meet that particular goal. No one wants another app that “helps singles find dates” — but millions might want to use “an app that helps millennials find long term relationships with people of similar interests” or “an app that helps divorcees meet one another to form new relationships” or “an app that helps single parents have fun with other adults”. It’s not necessarily always about being niche, but it is always about providing a real solution to a real problem.
• How Are You Different? Consumers aren’t typically loyal to just one dating app, in the same way that most people have profiles on multiple social media platforms. If your concept isn’t different enough, why would users stay on your app instead of using the three other dating apps they have installed on their smartphone? Knowing how to start a dating app requires out-of-the box thinking – be creative, be innovative; do something new. When everyone else is releasing swipe-based dating apps, figure out how to create a strong video-based dating app concept. When everyone else is focused on interest-based matching, consider perfecting the “mystery match” angle. I can’t say exactly what will work for you, but I can tell you what definitely will not work for you – reusing the same technology and concepts that dating consumers have seen a million times already.

Proving The Demand

It is a fact that people want to date, and that people are open to using technology to help them. It is an only assumption, however, that your concept is the right one to help them meet their dating goals. Prior to your dating app development (before even touching the first line of code, it is important to prove that singles would even be interested in using the dating app concept that you have developed.

Instead of jumping the gun and immediately hiring your local dating app developers; start by blueprinting your idea to visualize how it will look, then have the app designed. Develop a low-function (or no-function) demo or prototype, or in some cases, even a well-put-together app video will do.

Create a focus group of individuals within your specific demographic. If your dating app specifically targets 20-35-year-old musicians who are looking to date other musicians – get ten single musicians together to form your focus group. Show them the demo, ask them questions about their thoughts and encourage them to give feedback; open up the floor and allow them to ask you questions about your concept. By going through this focus group process, you will realize one of three things about your dating app concept:

1. It’s awesome just like you thought it would be. Everyone loves it, says they would use it and tells you that it’s exactly what they were looking for. You’re ready to move to development.
2. It’s sort’ve cool – most people like it, but many people also had suggestions about what could make it better. With a few tweaks and a slight pivot, the app concept can be strengthened and made more effective.
3. Everyone hates it. The majority of people remark that it wouldn’t really help them, or that it wouldn’t help them better than other solutions. Either way, the cost of making a dating app is extremely high – and you just saved tens of thousands on wasted development. Back to the dating app drawing board you go!

If you want to know how to create a dating app that doesn’t suck, the first tip is – make sure it doesn’t suck before you develop it. Focus groups give you the opportunity to test the awesomeness or suckiness of your concept before undertaking the expense and effort of developing it into a functional application.

Creating A Buzz

Dating apps often fail because they can’t generate enough traffic to sustain the demand of their users. Imagine these scenarios:

1. You are a startup in Chicago and you just launched your dating app. A single man in Detroit downloads the application and finds that there are no matches in his area – and actually, only a few total users in his area. He deletes the app.
2. You are a startup in Miami. A single woman in Miami downloads the application and views the limited pool of potential daters. She logs out. She signs in two weeks later and the pool still only includes the same people that were there weeks before. She deletes the app.

Downloads mean very little if there is no retention; and if there is no momentumous traction to your dating app, users likely won’t stick around for long. The success of your dating app will lean heavily on how you launch it and how you market it.

Launch Regionally

There’s really no point in immediately launching your dating app to a huge market. Consider the first scenario – if there are very few users in a region, there is very little value for a consumer within that region. For dating apps to work, there must be a dense pool of daters within the region that a consumer will want to date.

Start by launching in one city. Penetrate that city as deeply as possible so that daters in that city can access a large pool of potential matches. Once successful, scale into another city (or several cities), and then throughout a whole region. As you create more buzz, the user adoption process will become much easier each time you scale.

Develop A Strong Marketing Strategy

Knowing how to make a dating app means very little if you aren’t able to get it in front of your audience. Dating app startups have less options when it comes to marketing online. Some platforms, like Facebook, don’t allow dating apps to purchase ads, which limits the opportunity for these apps to reach social media audiences. Marketing is critical to building traction for your dating app. Consider scenario 2 – if new daters aren’t constantly being added to the network, users find no reason to revisit the application.

Be creative in your strategy. Some dating apps start at universities, advertising their apps on site (Tinder partnered with sororities). By launching regionally, you can even take advantage of traditional regional marketing channels such as radio and television. For more ideas, check out our article on how to make an app go viral.

Finding The Right Developers

Lastly, it’s important to have the right dating app developers on your team. Your developers shouldn’t only understand apps – but they should specifically understand the functions of dating apps and be highly experienced in building technology with a lean process.

At ThinkLions, we know exactly how to start a dating app that doesn’t suck. We have worked with several dating app startups – helping them raise hundreds of thousands in investor seed funding to bring their app ideas to life. Ready to create the next major dating app innovation? Contact us today and see how we can help you reach your app startup goals.

The post How To Create A Dating App That Doesn’t Suck appeared first on Startup Squared.

There are new startup incubators popping up all over the country (and the world), even in some places that have extremely limited startup scenes. For many app startups, they could be a game-changer – but will it give you the advantage you need to bring your app idea to a mass scale? In this post, we want to examine incubators and give you the information needed to decide whether a particular app incubator is right for your startup.

Is Your App Right For The Incubator?

Before you can decide whether a specific incubator is right for your app, you need to consider if your app is truly in a position where an incubator can help. Due to the resources that they provide to startups, incubators are extremely competitive, and the vast majority of applicants are rejected. Larger incubators may receive thousands of applications each semester and if your startup isn’t a head-turner, your application may not even be read.

Incubators are for startups, not for people who just have a ‘good idea’. If your idea isn’t far enough along in the startup process, incubators likely won’t be interested. Shaun Savage, the founder of GoShare, experienced this firsthand. He told us, “When we first applied to the EvoNexus program all we had was an idea and we were flat out rejected. The idea was too broad and the rejection was harsh but it was a much-needed lesson. We decided to refocus our business plan and team up with a former colleague of mine to develop a Minimal Viable Product. After about 6 months of product development, we applied to EvoNexus with our MVP, and GoShare was accepted into the program.”

The incubation period isn’t about building an idea into business; it’s about incubating a startup mobile app business to prepare it for proper market entry. Most incubators will require that you have a minimal viable product and some level of traction before being accepted. On a very rare occasion, smaller incubators (or those at universities) may accept startups at the idea level – but may still require them to have a business plan and pitch their business idea to see how much progress they have already made.

Does The Incubator Offer The Resources You Need?

One of the leading reasons that app businesses fail to establish and grow is a lack of resources. First-time app entrepreneurs mistakenly believe that capital is the only thing keeping them from their goals; but this couldn’t be further from the truth. There are many aspects that go into launching a business, especially an app business. From validation to launch, from marketing to retention – a founding team must be knowledgeable in several critical areas. The most beneficial aspect of attending an incubator is the exposure to mentorship from experienced entrepreneurs who are involved in the program.

Before you choose to apply to an incubator, consider what resources you currently lack that could really help your business. Some incubators offer app funding, some don’t. Some incubators offer a “Pitch Day” at the end where they bring in potential investors, while others only serve niche markets like medical technology or education technology. Don’t just jump into an incubator because it exists, but find an incubator that offers investment, mentorship, or industry exposure that your startup really needs. Seed capital is great, but mentorship from the right individual can be priceless. You can’t purchase experience, and when it comes to app startups, resources and connections are more valuable than gold.

Bo Lais, founder of Lula points out that mentorship was only one of the many resources that they were provided when they participated in the “Pitch Perfect Bootcamp”. When asked about these resources he said, “This particular startup accelerator didn’t invest(money) in our startup, but it was home to the Mid America Angels. We had the opportunity to pitch in front of many local and regional investors on three different occasions throughout the program. Additionally, the accelerator paid for some legal and graphic design services as we needed them. The accelerator assigned us each a mentor to help advise and guide us on difficult startup decisions. They provided legal and graphic design resources without any cost to us. We were able to take advantage of 12 months of free software and hosting from select companies that were only offered through the startup accelerator program.”

Aneela Idnani, cofounder of HabitAware was also provided with a host of resources when participating in HAX.co; one of the world’s leading hardware accelerator programs. Aneela told us, “The program is based in Shenzhen China, the hardware manufacturing capital of the world. Without their help, we would have made it to market much slower. Being right across the street from the electronics markets helped us rapidly move through the prototype stages. As part of the program, HAX not only provided funding, but also mentorship and expertise in marketing and manufacturing. Their team of graphic designers, electrical engineers, mechanical engineers, and industrial designers filled the gaps and were an extension of our team.”

Will The Incubator Help You Progress Your Business?

The value of an app incubator isn’t just being involved with one. The key is to choose an incubator that will help you meet the specific goals of your business. In many cases, incubators will make you sign over a percentage of equity (usually around 10%) in exchange for their investment in your startup. If you’re going to be giving away a part of your company, it’s best to know what you’re getting in return for that equity. Make sure that the incubator you’re applying for aligns with your goals.

The EvoNexus program allowed GoShare to push its business forward. Shaun Savage said, “Being part of EvoNexus’s program has been instrumental to the launch of our business. One of the aspects that I enjoyed was our bi-weekly founder meetings. These round table meetings allowed a leader from each company to track their progress, discuss their highs and lows, and seek advice that may help solve their problems. Collaborating with like-minded entrepreneurs at EvoNexus helped us learn how to improve our product, build our team, and build relationships with key members of the startup community.”Pitch Perfect Bootcamp gave the Lula app access to the investors they were looking for. Bo Lais said, “The accelerator helped us tremendously with introductions to many investors that eventually led to helping us fund and close our seed round. We also had the opportunity to meet and hear from successful local entrepreneurs that could give us great advice based on their first-hand experience. The program educated us about the fundraising process and the different types of term sheets we might see. In addition, we were introduced to many local publications that were interested in hearing and writing about our story.”

How Strong Is Your Startup Team?

Building a successful app is hard work, and it’s usually more work than a single founder can handle. It is important to establish a strong founding team that is strong but varied in skillsets. An engineer building an industry application, for example, may not be strong in marketing and may need to partner with an experienced marketer to strengthen the core of their team. Write out the strengths of your startup’s founders and find out if there are any gap areas where your team may lack experience. Incubators look for strong businesses with strong teams – individuals that collectively have enough experience and knowledge to progress the business rapidly.

A Final Word On App Incubators

The last question you need to ask yourself is whether you are truly committed to joining an app incubator program. These programs are meant to be fast-paced and the intensity can be overwhelming for some people. Some incubators will require that you spend a certain amount of time on-site and a certain amount of time dedicated to working on your business off-site. This means that maintaining a regular job can be complicated or downright impossible.

If you are really ready to move forward and believe that an app incubator can help you reach your goals, start searching around for incubators in your area and those within your industry. Sometimes, dedication may mean living in another city or state for a few months during the incubation period to be closer to the program that will help you most. Once you’ve decided on an incubator that suits your startup, find out the requirements for their application submission. Get your business plan and pitch deck in place, and start working on your pitching skills.

And of course, if you ever need assistance, contact us! We’ve worked with dozens of app businesses to secure positions in startup incubators, and we’d love to help you too.

The post What Can An App Incubator Really Do For Your Startup? appeared first on Startup Squared.

The light at the end of the tunnel is, as difficult as it may seem, it’s doable. In fact, it’s so doable that hundreds of thousands of regular people (just like you) have launched their app ideas to the public. If they can do it, so can you. To give you some inspiration as you take the first step into building your app, we asked 10 app entrepreneurs how they brought their app ideas to reality. Here’s what they had to say.

Chris KaneFounder of, MunchMoney

Finding The App Idea

I’ve always been an entrepreneurial person in many ways. Growing up that was always clear to me. After I graduated from college, I began my career in the hedge fund industry without any clear direction of where I wanted to go long-term. Over time, I increasingly became unhappy and began looking for alternatives. It was at this point that my entrepreneurial spirit took hold.

I came up with several business ideas. One day, as I was getting money out of my wallet to go to Chipotle for lunch, I thought, “Man, I really miss my college meal plan.” With some inspiration from the Virginia Tech meal plan system, the initial idea for MunchMoney was born.

Funding a Minimal Viable Product

MunchMoney is currently bootstrapped by its founders; mainly using savings from full-time jobs while the idea was still in development.

Advice for Bringing an App Idea to Reality

Simply, you don’t know what you don’t know. There are so many intricacies around startups/apps that it can be overwhelming. Start by becoming familiar with launching apps by reading books such as How to Build a Billion Dollar App by George Berkowski), taking online courses, and attending industry/networking events. Furthermore:

1. Just Ask. People are always willing to help if you are a kind and genuine person who is sincerely willing to ask for help.
2. Self-awareness. Know what you are good at and what you are not, and then, surround yourself with people who can fill in the gaps.

Estee GoldschmidtCo-founder of, ShopDrop App

Finding the App Idea

ShopDrop is an app that aggregates information about every sample sale in one single location. The concept was simple: there are over 50 weekly events where designers put up their excess inventory for 60%-90% off, and yet finding out about those events is laborious and requires knowing people in the industry; following 20 different blogs and specific brands. The idea of the app was to simplify the process and democratize access to these fashion events.

Building the Team and Product

I had a marketing background, and Bill – my co-founder had a tech background. He had built 26 apps. Together, we joined forces to get the app idea off the ground. We only recently started generating revenue, but haven’t paid ourselves yet. We ran events and pilots to self-fund the project. We also won an entrepreneurial grant to keep us going.

Advice for Bringing an App Idea to Reality

My advice to someone starting out is three-pronged:

1. Figure out whether your idea has potential. Ask people if they would use the product. Mock up images of what it would look like and show to friends and strangers.
2. Assess the competition. Check to see if a similar product already exists or existed in the market. Did it fail? If yes, what does that mean to you?
3. Build an MVP. Figure out the quickest way to get a basic product onto the market (whether it means using tools, outsourcing or partnering with a tech-genius). Work on it, get feedback, implement and repeat!

The secret to success is not giving up. As long as there is interest, your business has potential. Keep on pushing until you can’t anymore.

Steven BensonFounder of, Badger Maps

Finding the App Idea

I didn’t start out with the goal of building an app. My career has been spent in field sales with companies like IBM and Google, and so I understood the challenges faced by field salespeople first hand. When I was working on the Google Maps team, I got to know how powerful mobile mapping could be, and had experience with the types of solutions and apps that mobile was capable of enabling. I knew I could improve my performance at my job as a field sales rep if I could combine my customer data with a mobile mapping system, and I could envision a solution that could schedule and plan my time selling in the field more efficiently.

Looking back at it, it was a combination of my role in sales and the industry background with software and mapping that made me well positioned to launch a company to solve the problems of field sales. I was in the right place at the right time, with the right background, and was able to completely bootstrap the business.

Monetizing the App

When coming up with the idea for an app, it’s crucial to have a clear monetization strategy and make sure you build something that people are willing to pay for. There are a lot of businesses that don’t make it, although they were great ideas that seemed to have major potential. What they often lack is a clear way to make money.

One key thing is to find the balance between how much your customers are willing to pay for your app and how much you need to scale your company. However you plan to monetize, make sure it’s enough to keep the lights on as you grow. If your expenses require that each user pays $10 for your app, but they’re only willing to pay $1, you’ll need to focus on getting 10x more users. Pricing is a hard thing to get right the first time, so don’t be afraid to experiment and talk to your customers to find the sweet spot.

Key to Success

I think the key to my success is focus. The major players in tech today do so many things at once and solve so many problems at the same time – as a startup, you win by having a laser focus on a solution to a single problem that people would pay for.

Really though, the true secret to a successful startup is creating an environment where your team can thrive, grow and be happy. Managing and motivating people is so much harder when you don’t have anything than when you are a large and well-funded company.

Kyle Morrisof, Sifdata

Launch and Iteration

I came up with our app idea while running business ops at a tech company in Silicon Valley. I came home one day wanting to learn to code and played around for a couple of months. On a trip to New Zealand, I got the inspiration for what would become SifData. I immediately got to work on the project as soon as I got home. In passing, I mentioned to a friend what I was working on. A few days later, a well-known tech company’s CEO reached out, mentioning that he was looking for this very product. He got me in touch with their head of operations and they decided to buy.

From there I kept iterating on the product and came out of beta in April. We’ve had some great wins along the way and, as you can imagine, a lot of challenges being a self-taught, solo entrepreneur.

Thomas-Ryan LawrenceCOO of, Gayborhood

Finding the App Idea

For nearly 18 years, my business partner had been producing The Gay Community Yellow Pages across the country.  GCYP was a niche market yellow pages focusing on businesses that promised to treat the LGBTQ community with the same dignity and respect as everyone else. The year was 2009 and the print industry, along with the rest of the economy, was struggling. At the same time, Apple had recently launched the iPhone, thereby kicking off the smartphone revolution and creating an entirely new industry.  

Our idea: take the concept of The Gay Community Yellow Pages and make it available on smartphones. Bring the safety and comfort of The Gay Community Yellow Pages, which has served our community for nearly twenty years, to the fingertips of every smartphone user. Thus, Gayborhood was born! Today, Gayborhood serves LGBTQ communities in over twenty cities across the country and continues to grow.

Funding the App Idea

Did I mention this was 2009 and the print industry was struggling?  Okay, I did.  So, funding was interesting.  We had no money!  We went to friends and borrowed $30,000 at a higher than usual interest rate (flat rate of 50% regardless of how long it took us to pay them back.  Side note, it took 3 years.) to get Gayborhood off the ground.

We were lucky to find a developer that built an “out of the box” solution and allowed us to customize it with our own look and feel. This saved us tons in the beginning, but also led to some functionality and reliability issues down the road. Regardless of the issues we faced with our legacy developer, it was enough to get us up and running and launched on both iOS and Android.

Advice for Bringing an App Idea to Reality

Simply, just do it!  Once you’ve completed some modest level of market research to ensure consumers want your product, find a developer, get a bid, and make it happen. You can’t be successful with a product that doesn’t exist. It may not be “the perfect version” on the first launch…Lord knows Gayborhood wasn’t!  But you’ve gotta start somewhere and then work on improvements.  

If you’re strapped for cash, this may mean going after some non-traditional financing – but if you really believe in your product and you stand behind it, then you just have to do it!  You may pay a little more in the beginning, but once you are successful, it will all be worth it.

Marketing the App

It’s not enough to simply develop an app and plop it on the app store hoping people will download it. Believe me, that will not happen! You have to know how to market it. Gayborhood employed a mixed marketing strategy in the beginning and continues to do so today.

We started with a combination of CPI (cost per install), PR (get your name out there any way you can), event-based and guerilla marketing efforts and continue to incorporate each of those and more into our strategies today. We’ve done bar posters, cocktail napkins, promotional flyers, palm cards, koozies, chapstick…you name it and Gayborhood has probably done it!  Our goal is to have omnipresence; wherever our target market is, we want to be in their faces!

Kevin MurrayFounder of, SpyWarn 2.0

Finding the App Idea

I created an app for detecting spyware on Android smartphones. The idea for it evolved from my clients, and the general public, asking me, “Is my cell phone bugged?” My original protocol for determining the answer became the basis for my book, “Is My Cell Phone Bugged?” The directions in the book transformed into the basis for my app, SpyWarn 2.0. It was an enjoyable project, and the app is still available today on Google Play.

Advice for Bringing an App Idea to Reality

1. Be persistent. The concept for the app was very unique. It took a lot of time and explaining to get the concept and technical details across to to the people who worked on it.
2. Shop around for an app design company. Explain your idea. Pick the company based on their enthusiasm, experience and ease of communications. Their quote will likely not be the cheapest. Pay attention to their human interface design recommendations.
3. Even after the first version of the app was launched, I kept trying to make it better. Also, I learned early on that very detailed instructions were necessary. Early feedback and ratings revealed many users were either using the app incorrectly, or didn’t understand that SpyWarn worked very differently from other security apps.

Brendan CorriganFounder of, Commit

Finding the App Idea

Commit is an iOS app that helps motivate people to achieve their goals through social and financial accountability. The idea for Commit came about over a year ago, when I was struggling (once again) to follow through on some goals I had set for myself.

One goal in particular that I was particularly feeling bad about was volunteering at my local soup kitchen. I had been going on a weekly basis for years, but that had recently become monthly, and more recently even less than that. I had never been in a position to give much in terms of money, so it was always important to give what I could of my time, and I wasn’t doing either! This is when the idea for Commit came about, and what I think was the key to progressing my idea – time and testing.

I thought if I could use money as a motivator, maybe it would be easier to get myself into the soup kitchen, or to feel less guilty when I couldn’t. I decided every time I didn’t go I would donate $10, an amount that would certainly motivate me on my laziest of Saturday mornings, but not dramatically affect my financial situation if I didn’t make it. At first it worked, except when I didn’t make it and realized no one was really holding me accountable to donating the money! I realized accountability was the important factor to this, and tested it by giving money up front to a family member who also volunteered there with me.

He had no hesitation in giving the money to the soup kitchen if I couldn’t make it, and we decided he would eventually give me the balance back after 2 months, to see if it really worked. The result: it did! I made it 7 out of 8 weekends, and on that one missed weekend nothing would have made me get out of bed!

Launching the App

Once the concept was finalized, I did a lot of market research and testing to see if others thought it would work for them, and then I decided to pursue it. I was in a fortunate position to self-fund the venture and considered it my best option at this stage, to build a minimum viable product.

Advice for Bringing an App Idea to Reality

My advice to someone else interested in pursuing their own ideas would be research, research and more research! It has helped me make the right decisions plenty of times and has gotten me this far – and a lack of research in certain cases has hurt me just as much!

I have succeeded in many ways, such as successfully launching after 10 months of actual work, and being able to see the promise in the initial response, but I have a ways to go to achieve what I want. I’d say the secret that got me this far and will push me to my vision of success is persistence and never doubting my vision.

Ron SpreeuwenbergCEO of, HiMama Child Care App

Finding the App Idea

Our advice to forming an app idea is to confirm you are solving a real problem. Establishing product-market fit means speaking directly to many potential customers. Sometimes, entrepreneurs assume that an interest in a product is equal to a commitment to pay for a product. It’s not. Ron met directly with hundreds of child care professionals with nothing more than a PowerPoint presentation before he formally launched HiMama.

Funding the App Idea

HiMama has grown with no traditional VC funding. Funding and launching an app means you need to get out from behind your computer. Sometimes app marketers believe there are quick wins through digital marketing and social media.

Real “growth hacking” requires hustle and grit. Phone calls, site visits, and quiet soft launches are tried-and-true pathways to building a committed user base with sustainable growth. Important advice – monetize from the first sale.

Advice to Bringing an App Idea to Reality

Don’t overspend in your early days. Conserving cash through discovery and validation is key. Startups can waste a ton of money too quickly – do not spend a million dollars on advertising a product no one wants. Mr. Spreeuwenberg used two approaches for scaling HiMama – don’t overspend on marketing and avoid venture capital investment in the early days.

By operating on a shoestring budget, HiMama has been able to scale effectively and maintain consistent staff growth (doubling staff in the last year). Often startups feel they have to fail fast to scale, but consistent slow growth with affordable testing pays off substantially long-term.

Lori CheekFounder of, Cheekd

Finding the App Idea

In February of 2008, I was out to dinner with an architectural colleague. He’d spotted an attractive woman at a nearby table and scribbled, “Want to have dinner?” on the back of his business card and slipped it to her as we were leaving the restaurant. He left with a date. I left with an idea. After over two years of brainstorming how to remove the “business” out of the business card, I launched Cheekd– a deck of ice-breaking dating cards with a unique code that lead the recipient to the privacy protected online dating profile of the mysterious stranger who slipped them the card where the two could start communicating online. It was like online dating but backward.

We’ve since pivoted Cheekd into a hyper-speed mobile dating app that gives users the ability to never miss a real-life potential “love connection” thanks to a cross-platform low energy Bluetooth technology, which sends users an immediate notification when someone (within their criteria) comes within a 30-foot radius of them. It’s real-time and works on a subway or a plane without any cellular connection.

Funding the Idea

After finishing off my savings from my 15-year career in architecture, I had to get extremely creative to continue funding my business and this is where the financial sacrifices began. I made nearly $75,000 by selling my designer clothes at consignment shops and on eBay, doing focus groups, secret shopping, app testing, dog walking, house sitting, watering plants, and by selling my electronics and other odds and ends around my apartment on Craigslist that all went straight back into my business.

The biggest chunk of cash came from renting out my West Village Studio in NYC on AirBnB, while I couch surfed for 14 months, nearly got evicted, and ultimately lost my lease of 5 years in my gorgeous apartment.

And finally, after four tumultuous years of building my startup with the wrong partners, lots of bad decisions, and some major rookie mistakes, I was determined to find a way to take my business to the next level … and what better way than to apply to ABC’s Shark Tank.

In September of 2013, I found myself walking down that scary shark-infested hallway into a stare-off with 5 of the harshest millionaire investors in the world. I’d never been more nervous in my entire life. When I proclaimed I was going to change the population with my reverse-engineered online dating business, serial entrepreneur and Dallas Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban, rolled his eyes, called me delusional, and immediately snapped, “I’m out.” Billionaire investor, Kevin O’Leary, demanded that I quit my “hobby” and shoot my business—my passion– like a rabid dog.

After getting shot down by all five Sharks, I looked them in the eye and said, “Trust that you’ll all see me again.” Although those final bold words of mine ended up on the cutting room floor (adding insult to injury), in the 48 hours after the broadcast, Cheekd.com received a record-breaking 100K unique visitors and our inbox filled up with thousands of emails insisting that the Sharks were “out of their minds” for not investing. A little under 50 of those emails were from interested investors.

Since the Shark Tank episode aired in February of 2014, I found the missing links from years before. We’ve raised 5 times the amount I’d sought on the show and I’ve gotten a CTO on board who’s helped facilitate and finance the new face and technology behind the new Cheekd. The newly launched dating app allows users to solve missed connections with a new technology that was not available when the patented Cheekd idea was launched in 2010. It was only a matter of time and I’m thankful I didn’t take the Sharks’ advice to quit and move on.

Advice to Bringing an App Idea to Reality

Entrepreneurship is being on a mission where nothing can stop you. It will take twice as long as you’d hoped, cost exceedingly more than you’d ever budgeted, and will be more challenging than anything you’ll ever try but if you give it your all and refuse to give up, you can trust it will be the ride of a lifetime. My strongest advice for others considering taking the leap is if you truly believe in your idea, give up excuses and doubt, surround yourself with a trusted and talented team, bulldoze forward and DON’T LOOK BACK.

Be focused. I’ve got a laser-focused vision to succeed and will do almost anything to keep this business flourishing.  I’m actually not surprised by my determination because as long as I can remember, I’ve been extremely stubborn. When most people would have quit, I only pushed harder. I think my personal approach, passion, and dedication mixed, with my relentless conviction that failure is not an option, has been the recipe that has led to my current success. I could be the poster child for the statement “what doesn’t kill you can only make you stronger.” No matter what… in the end, I’m going to have a magical and cheeky story to tell.

Darren Guccione and Craig LureyCo-founders of, Keeper Security

Finding the App Idea

On a 40 hour flight to China and back to the United States Craig showed Darren a password manager application he was working on for his personal use. He called it his “Keeper” because the digital, encrypted vault kept all of his passwords organized and generated high strength, military-grade passwords for each of his logins. This was back in 2008 when the iPhone was about to launch; and when Darren did some research on apps that were launching in iTunes, he realized that none of them addressed this security and productivity solution on smartphones. He knew that it would be a success. By the time the two returned to the states from their plane trip the app was created and ready to launch. Keeper was bootstrapped by Darren and became profitable within 5 months.

Advice for Bringing an App Idea to Reality

Don’t be afraid. Most businesses fail or never even get off the ground because of fear. Develop discipline and focus. These are two habits – but they are interconnected as one in my mind. It takes discipline to stay focused and the premise of being focused is absolutely the most critical thing. I see people fail because they lack focus or give up too quickly on something.

Darren says, “Trends are concerning to me because they trap companies into thinking that production is more important than innovation. The truth is that one cannot exist without the other. I never want to be in a business that is mostly dependent on making it faster and cheaper than the others in a market. Commoditized markets are for well-established companies with massive balance sheets and money to burn if they wind up being wrong. The things that excite me are problems or voids inside large markets.”

App Idea to Reality – Taking The First Step

If there is one piece of advice that is consistent across every app entrepreneur, it is that taking the first step is the most important. May app dreams die before they ever even start. Launching an app startup, or any business for that matter, is a learning experience. While you can learn many things by reading books and watching YouTube videos, the real information you need to grow your business comes from getting your product to your market as soon as possible – by any means necessary.

Need more information before you take that first step? Contact us or set up a consultation with one of our app startup experts, and get started on bringing your awesome app idea to reality!

The post 10 of The Most Useful Secrets For Bringing An App Idea to Reality appeared first on Startup Squared.

Let’s face it, not everyone has what it takes. Bringing an app idea to reality, and then to success, is much different than working a normal job or being a non-tech business owner. It takes a special type of innovativeness and dedication that, frankly, most people don’t possess. The good news is, for those who do possess certain qualities, the potential for success as an app entrepreneur may be very high. So, what does it take? In the following post, we will explore 10 questions to ask yourself and identify whether or not you have what it takes to win at being an app entrepreneur!

1. Can You See Problems That Other People Don’t See?

The key to successful app entrepreneurship is simple innovation. Sometimes, an app like Uber will change an entire industry, while an app like Toggl simply streamlines time-logging. However, the one similar factor among every successful app entrepreneur is that they introduced innovation to their niche market, in some particular way.

Successful entrepreneurs are able to identify problems and develop solutions that eliminate these problems. The only difference with app entrepreneurs is that they figure out how to approach these challenges using smartphone, tablet, and computer devices that are accessible to everyone. There are a million apps on the market; an entrepreneur’s app will only survive if it is unique, different, and able to solve a problem better than existing competitors – and competitors who will launch in the future.

Solution:

If you’re not someone who can identify problems and solutions easily, it’s not the end of the world. Expand your mind by reading books by successful entrepreneurs to start developing a problem-solving mindset. The better that you are able to identify the problems that other successful app entrepreneurs are solving, the easier it will be to start identifying real problems on your own.

2. Are You Developing An App or An App Business?

While the opposite seems true, apps don’t just become successful on their own. Just because you know how to launch an app into the App Store doesn’t mean you know how to launch a successful app business. Successful apps have teams behind them that understand startups, know how to build interest in their product, and know how to manage the growth of their business as new users begin downloading their app.

Developing an app is only one small portion of building a successful app startup. Once it’s built and launched, now what? It’s a mistake to believe that people will use your app just because it exists – true app entrepreneurs know that once their app is launched, the battle only just begins.

Solution:

If you know nothing about building, running and growing a business, you will find it extremely difficult to succeed in app entrepreneurship. In this case, find mentorship – someone who has launched an app before; a group of other new entrepreneurs who can share new things they learn; or a startup accelerator that can introduce you to people that can help you progress your app dreams.

3. Do You Have An Actionable Plan?

Many people are excited about having a great app idea, but really, an app idea on its own means very little. Ideas come a dime a dozen. The element that separates successful apps from those that slowly fade away is great execution of an actionable plan. Successful app entrepreneurs have researched their markets well and understand exactly how they will launch their app, how they will get it out there, and ultimately, how they will profit from their idea.

When an app entrepreneur approaches an investor, they have a plan in place. The plan is so solid, that it is easy to understand how the investor’s money will immediately allow the business to meet its objectives – as detailed in the plan that they are presenting.

Solution:

There are a lot of angles to cover when planning out the execution of the launch, establishment and growth of your app idea. Consider working with a team of business plan developers to create a professionally written business plan for your mobile app concept. By hiring the right team, you can learn about your market, your industry and your competitors; and can uncover new opportunities that you may not have initially realized.

4. Do You Have Perseverance?

Overnight success is a thing of app entrepreneurs’ dreams, but in real life, reaching app success is a day-by-day fight — not one giant win, but a ton of small achievements that eventually compound to reach massive success. In this business, only the unstoppable have a chance. No matter your situation, you WILL run into obstacles while building, launching, and growing your app. How you handle and respond to those obstacles will be a major determining factor in your success as an app entrepreneur.

Solution:

There’s no solution for perseverance, dedication, and commitment. Either you have it, or you don’t. The key to perseverance is confidence, and one way to build confidence is to research your market thoroughly and ensure that your app is really what the market needs. It is a lot easier to stay the course when you know without a doubt that your solution is exactly what your market is looking for. If you know that your app idea has what it takes and that YOU have what it takes, make it up in your mind that nothing will stop you from moving forward – no matter what. App success isn’t one big jump, it’s many small steps, sometimes taking a step backward to take two steps forward.

5. Can You Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is?

There’s a widespread myth amongst new app startup entrepreneurs that all they need to bring to the table is a great idea. From there, an investor will take all the risk by giving them $1 million so that they can launch their app next week and be rich next month. None of it is true.

The only way you will get out of paying to launch at least a minimal viable product (MVP), is if you are a developer, or you have a committed developer on your team. If you watch just 3 episodes of Shark Tank, you’ll realize that no seasoned investor is going to risk their money on an unproven idea. Only after (at least) an MVP has been launched into the market, and tested with successful results, will investors begin to see the potential in the solution you are proposing.

That being said, the first few steps are most likely going to be financed by you, or by your team. If you aren’t willing to risk your money on your own dreams, why would you expect someone else to risk their money on your dream?

Solution:

Some people have funds saved that they can allocate towards launching their app, or have enough disposable income that it isn’t difficult to find the money needed to launch their idea. However, this isn’t the case for everyone, and some new app startup entrepreneurs may have to get a bit creative. Let’s be real, this is the type of industry where only the strong survive. How can you afford to launch a bare-bones app if you don’t have any funds? Sell stuff that you don’t need anymore, pick up extra shifts or get a second job, start a small service business on the side, rent your house out on Airbnb, drive Uber and Lyft — the point is, do WHATEVER it takes!

6. Do You Believe?

As mentioned, app entrepreneurs are visionaries – they see things that other people can’t see. In the real world, someone who sees something that no one else sees is considered a crazy person. In your journey for app startup success, people around you will doubt you. Your closest friends and family will tell you that your idea won’t work. Individuals that you look up to, who you are excited to tell about your ideas, will poke holes in everything you say. Even when no one sees what you see, in the app business, your belief in yourself must stand stronger than ever. Some people will only believe it when it’s tangible, and even then, some people will have doubts.

Solution:

As an entrepreneur, it is important to network with other entrepreneurs. Involve yourself in groups and events where you can meet other people who are launching businesses and apps. In other words, balance the doubt by having a strong network of like-minded individuals who are also visionaries; who can pour positivity into you and dilute the doubt that may arise from the comments of naysayers.

7. Will You Take The First Step?

There’s a huge difference between the number of people who have app ideas and the number of people who bring an app to the market. In my opinion, probably 99% of people who have app ideas never even take the first step to build their app or truly become an app entrepreneur. You would be surprised at how many times I’ve mentioned a hugely successful new app, just to hear someone say, “I thought about that same idea 2 years ago!” Thinking about an app idea, talking about an app idea, dreaming about an app idea… these mean nothing if you never take the first step to actually bring that idea to life.

Building an app is like working out. The first few workouts hurt, and most people can’t stand the pain and quit before they ever see a result. For the dedicated, however, they understand that the discomfort means growth, and as long as they are growing, they will likely be “uncomfortable”. Every day, they move closer to their goal – one step and one workout at a time.

Solution:

Take a step. Register your business name, draft a business plan, draw up a wireframe, or have a logo created. There are a million first steps you can take, but the important part is that you take one… and then another… and then another… until you have reached your goal!

Are You An App Entrepreneur?

As you can see, there are many obstacles that app entrepreneurs will face as they journey through the app startup and app development process. However, the biggest obstacle any entrepreneur will ever face? Themselves. The wall of doubt, the panic of fear, and the anxious uncertainty – these can be dream killers. Do you have what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur? Sure you do. As long as you can prevent yourself from getting in your own way!

Ready to take the first step towards bringing your app idea to reality, but don’t know where to start? Contact us to speak with one of our app startup experts for a FREE app startup consultation!

The post What Does It Take To Be a Successful App Entrepreneur? appeared first on Startup Squared.