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MenuBest way to fund my app for a startup? The programming phase is a lot of money.
Should I get an investor, cofounder, or raise money on kickstarter? I've teamed up with Zapporoo for my app.
Answers
Hi, check outmy response to another question similar to yours. I hope it helps. Overall what you need to do is grow your community of users, or depending on the app generate enough sales or interest typically before any investors considering joining you. Not impossible to get investors early on, but your best bet is through kickstarted if anything.
My responses tend to get UpVoted by other experts.
Check it out
https://clarity.fm/a/8032
SaaS and app devs tend to rush out and start blowing money on their idea before doing a critical thing:
Identifying target customers and getting buy-in BEFORE beginning development!
I have sold apps before programming was begun. I had a group of customers who had paid us to do the work before we started. And this is the right way to do it.
The idea that you're going to develop some software because YOU like the idea, and then go out and find a market for it once it's ready, is nothing other than gambling. You don't have to gamble. Find the customers first. And if you can't find the customers first, move on to the next idea.
Apps typically fall into one of two categories in my experience - an app to support an existing business, or an app that IS the business - but the path to success for both are similar. In both cases you are creating an app to fill a perceived need, and the steps you should be going through are the same as you would with any new business. Too often I see entrepreneurs rush headlong into building the product - a step thats a ways down the road from the idea stage. Be sure you've properly defined your business model - what problem are you solving, who will use it, who are your competitors, how will you sell / distribute it etc - that's a long discussion in itself, but be sure you've passed through that stage before you begin thinking about how to actually build the product.
These days, there is a lot we can do with design before we have to actually write any code. Products like Invision allow us to create screen based design prototypes that we can show customers, get feedback on, iterate on, etc. You don't have to be an engineer to use these design tools, and if you do need to hire a designer for some help, they are a lot less expensive than experienced mobile coders.
My advice is to be sure you've covered you business basics first, mocked up your product without any coding, received some great feedback from real users, and only then set out to code your product.
If you are ready to code, your best bet in my experience is to find a technical co-founder that shares your vision and will partner with you in the enterprise to create the first working version of the app. Hiring a fee for service person or firm is of course an option - the challenge with that is they will build exactly what you tell them to build, without the creative and business input that a technical co-founder will bring to the table. It's not always easy to find that person, and it does come with risks of course. Raising money on KS for an app is tough - what can you offer the funder? It depends of course on the nature of the app you are building, but KS is a stretch to fund apps in my opinion. I'm not familiar with Zapporoo so I can not comment on their services.
I hope that helps and would be glad to have a short call with you to answer your questions.
Best success,
Ward
Related Questions
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If I am planning to launch a mobile app, do I need to register as a company before the launch?
I developed and published mobile apps as an individual for several years, and only formed a corporation later as things grew and it made sense. As far as Apple's App Store and Google Play are concerned, you can register as an individual developer without having a corporation. I'd be happy to help further over a call if you have any additional questions. Best of luck with your mobile app!AM
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What is the best technology for developing a new mobile app from scratch?
There are two sides to that question. One is the mobile app itself and the other is the backend. If I misunderstood in any way and you didn't mean "native" app I apologize in advance. On the backend, there is no clear cut answer to which is the "best". It depends solely on the developers you are able to get. We for example use Node.js , mongoDB, redis, elasticsearch and a couple of proprietary tools in the backend. But you have your pick of the litter now both on the backend api and the datastore with the myriad of options available and touted as the "best" currently on the market. Now on the app side again it solely depends on what you need your mobile app to do. Experiencing first-hand "develop once, run anywhere" I can say it's more like "develop once, debug everywhere" to quote a Java saying. We have tried Phonegap and Titanium Appcelerator and we have switched to native (ObjC and Java) after a couple of months of trying to go the hybrid route. The reasons behind the choice are as follows: - anything that breaks the pattern of how those frameworks NEED to operate is just a huge technical debt that keeps accruing a huge interest. - anything that uses css3 accelerated animations on Android is buggy at best and slow as hell at worst on any lower (< 4.1 I think) versions of Android I hope this gives you some insight. If you need/want to ask me anything feel free to contact me. MihaiMP
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What would be the cost to program an an app like Whatsapp? iOS only.
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!AJ
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What tools to use for mobile Prototyping ?
My 2 favourite are: - www.uxpin.com - www.flinto.com Flinto is by far my favorite for mobile. I also us www.balsamiq.com for anything wireframe. Sometimes I jump into Sketch http://www.bohemiancoding.com/sketch/ for more high fidelity mockups using their Mirror feature http://www.bohemiancoding.com/sketch/mirror/ Hope that helps. P.S. There's a tonne of Mobile UX experts on Clarity, many $1/min - call them, you'll learn so much. my2cents.DM
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Pre-seed / seed funding for a community app... valuation and how much to take from investors?
To answer your questions: 1) Mobile companies at your stage usually raise angel funding at a valuation equivalent of $5,000,000 for US based companies and $4,000,000 to $4,500,000 for Canadian companies. 2) The valuation is a function of how much you raise against that valuation. For instance, selling $50,000 at $5,000,000 means you are selling debt that will convert into shares equal to roughly 1% of your company. 3) I would encourage you to check out my other answers that I've recently written that talk in detail about what to raise and when to raise. Given that you've now launched and your launch is "quiet", most seed investors are going to want to see substantial traction before investing. It's best for you to raise this money on a convertible note instead of actually selling equity, especially if you are intending on raising $50,000 - $100,000. Happy to schedule a call with you to provide more specifics and encourage you to read through the answers I've provided re fundraising advice to early-stage companies as well.TW
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