I am trying to figure out a way/service that allows me to call out from our business phone number, from my iPhone. Can anyone help?

Well, the biggest cost here wouldn't be in the app, but in the server infrastructure. As usual with connected apps, people often forget they have to be connected to servers. The app itself is just a view to what the servers provide, so it's not the major cost. 20K $ to 100K $ should be enough. On server stuff, I expect it to be a lot more, particularly if you aim for a wide audience (several million $). On a Whatsapp clone, I'd consider: - solutions for performing calls through servers, not that easy. Look at what Twilio provides. WebRTC is an upcoming protocol that will ease that (web & mobile). - solutions for API, IM and user accounts management. Look at StackMob or Parse which are MBaaS (Mobile Backend as a Service). Hope it helps!

Optimizely is a popular testing service that lets you do this. See: https://www.optimizely.com/mobile/ and http://developers.optimizely.com/ios/

Ultimately, it depends on the value the app has for the buyer (not how much money you put into developing it). Unfortunately there are many reasons for a buyer to purchase an app and so there are many ways to value an app (a multiple of yearly revenues,number of active users, etc.) . A good solution to this problem is to post your app on an auction site such as http://www.apptopia.com/ and let the marketplace give you an answer. Good luck with your sale.

If I had to pick a single efficient and affordable way of getting in front of a targeted audience I would have to recommend Facebook in-stream ads. You control the budget, the target group and the message and they are, right now, offering the highest conversion rates for mobile apps. Keep in mind that your app needs to be amazing - that's the most effective strategy of all...

My experience with online communities is mixed. Those work best if you have a value proposition that appeals to a large mass for a short period of time - i.e. a game. For something like healthcare I'd imagine you are looking to have people engage regularly and for an extended period of time. That is going to take more time to convince people to use your platform. You should be looking for your core user. If you developed personas and user stories, you can use those to identify groups to start with and expand from there. A beta test with a few hundred core users is better than 1000s of users that don't fit your model. If you didn't develop personas or user stories, I'd recommend taking time to go back and think through those. Either way, I'd be happy to help you get started. Best, Brian