What tracking methods or process are you using to get source of traffic and can also track down an email?

You should try posting this on HARO http://www.helpareporter.com

You don't create a business plan in the traditional sense of a business plan. It's a totally inefficient and outdated way to think about how to start, run and grow an app-based business. The best way to pitch investors is with the app itself. That is to say, unless you and your team have relevant prior success such that you could be fundable without a product, the likelihood you will raise prior to your app being launched is very low. The most important questions are *always* around engagement and growth. The questions and metrics vary depending on what kind of app you're building but people want to know that your target audience is hooked on your product and there's some evidence they will continue to be so and that you have either proven a scaleable way to cheaply acquire customers or better, that there is evidence of strong word-of-mouth (only a few apps achieve this) or a quantified viral effect (a viral coefficient of at least .3). Happy to talk to you in a call. I'd encourage you to read my reviews that other Clarity members have left. The intersection of fundraising and product advice is an area I have a lot of experience with.

You mention, that you can code and maintain yourself, and at the same time it sounds like your data can be dispersed across multiple sources. And you want to minimise license cost. In my business we use R a lot for both analysis and reporting. It is free (open source), but you will have to build programs. But it will read any format, and also create output to any destination you want. So you could start off with a mix of R, Excel and pdf, just to get things going. However, it could make sense for you to build a database already so you familiarise yourself with data warehouse thinking, since you want to expand with marketing automation. At that point you will need a database for monitoring response, sales etc. So it is important to build the right foundation as ealy as possible. If you don't want to code, but want point-and-click, there is boatloads of software for that, but probably more license cost (unless you can find open source for that). So If I were you, I would start off with something smaller. After all, you want to focus on the value you create for the business and your colleagues, and the time you save, rather than a smooth IT-infrastructure for this. I have lots of experience building reporting and analysis in the areas you mention, so if you want to discuss further, feel free to set up a call. Good look with your development. Best regards Kenneth Wolstrup

There are three types of metrics that you want to collect. 1) Aggregate metrics 2) Cohort metrics 3) Funnel metrics A tool like Flurry is OK for aggregate metrics. Google Analytics for mobile is probably the better choice depending on your needs. For cohort and funnel metrics, I prefer using Mixpanel. And for tracking App installs I prefer Tapstream. For a deeper dive into the above analytics types above, I recommend reading Lean Analytics by Alistair Croll and Ben Yoskovitz.

I am not exactly sure how Quora does it but I would guess that they use something like Google Analytics. It looks at what percentage of your visitors come back each day, every other day, each week, etc. It's a good metric system that is crucial for building a meaningful web product, and it's almost always positive. If someone comes back to your site regularly each week, or even better each day, it means you're becoming a regular and important part of their life. The problem with any other single metric system is they can be the result of positive or negatives changes to your product. You need to have a near-wholistic picture and Google Analytics can help with that. Tools like Klout and Hubspot are good with the measurement of engagement on a brands different channels (website, facebook, twitter, gplus...) too. Let's chat some more and get down to the heart of this problem. Hopefully I can help you resolve any internal discomfort around the matter.