The web ecosystem is far more evolved than the mobile app ecosystem. Mobile apps have been in existence just under a decade. Even with that, the competition is quite intense given the number of people who are starting their own businesses recently.
If you’re an entrepreneur who wants to build a mobile app business, but you don’t have technical knowledge, you join the ranks of a majority of appreneurs who have never written a single line of code, yet run a successful mobile app business. You’re not alone.
The real challenge isn’t learning to code. Appreneurs don’t necessarily need to learn to code because they can simply hire a team (in-house or external) or use one of the app building platforms to create the first version. But, some of the biggest concerns are how to turn your app idea into profit, what to do next once you have an idea, how to raise money, how to ensure that an app developer doesn’t scam you and how to market your mobile app.
I’ve been mentoring first-time app entrepreneurs for six years. These are some of the pertinent questions I’ve come across, that first-time aspiring app entrepreneurs or appreneurs have.
1. Find a profitable app idea.
While there’s no way to know if a startup’s going to work or not — believe me, if there was a formula, there would be more venture capitalists than entrepreneurs — there are a few methods to ensure you build something that has market potential or demand.
There are many factors that make for a profitable business, but a good idea is a starting point. The way to evaluate what works and what doesn’t is to validate your app idea before you build the actual app. If your research tells you there’s a demand for your app, you’re at the first step of building a profitable mobile app business. This way, you won’t spend thousands of dollars building something people don’t want.
2. The right way to validate your app idea.
There’s a myth that you must build a product to validate your idea. The truth is, it really depends on the type of product you’re building and the competitive landscape around it. If your app is in a competitive landscape — like if you’re building the next on-demand taxi app — the competition has already validated the need for the app because of existing successful apps in this space.
But if your app is in a completely new space, with little — meaning no one’s a big enough player — to no competition, you must validate the concept before building a product. You can…