Starting an App Business with e-Residency?
Creating a successful mobile app. A dream of many online entrepreneurs.
It’s not a bad dream either. Consider these rainmakers in the App Store “fasting” category.
Starting an app business with e-residency?
Or this one:
Starting an app business with e-Residency?
Or this one:
Starting an app business with e-Residency?
These are just a few examples. There are tons of apps in each category which are doing six-figures in sales on a monthly basis. And even more are doing 5-figures, which can still be an excellent business.
Of course, there are even more examples of apps that don’t make any money. There are winners and there are losers in the app world. It’s the law of nature.
How To Start An App Business?
App business is like any business – start with a problem. Unless you’re developing games (super competitive, but can also be an extraordinary success).
And if you don’t have a concrete idea in mind, there’s an approach you can use. You can head over to Sensor Tower (app intelligence and analytics) and do research on different categories that interest you. You can then find out how much money top 500 apps make in different categories.
You can find categories where many apps are making decent amount of money. This means people are willing to pay for these kinds of apps. Like the fasting example I gave above. It’s crazy that people are willing to pay for fasting apps, given that they’re basically just timers. But these apps are making millions in revenue.
Once you find a category you’re interested in and where people are spending money, it’s time to start thinking about the product. You can download and test apps that have free versions. Perhaps you already know the market and what people want.
Either way, it’s smart to bounce your ideas around with people that are your potential users. Reddit forums are a good start. Facebook groups. It’s vital to get as much feedback as possible before you start developing anything, and make your customer analysis.
Developing the app
It’s possible to develop an app without a huge cost these days. There are many no-code platforms, like Bubble or Bildr. There is also drag-and-drop software. I know that drag-and-drop software sounds awful, but they’re a lot better now. I tried different drag-and-drop platforms when they were just surfacing, and they literally sucked. But times have changed.
Or, you can always find an agency to do the app for you. That’s fine as well, but you should have some money to spend. And do consider the fact that the overwhelming majority of successful apps aren’t the first apps the creators made. It usually takes many iterations to get it right.
And always go for MVP. Don’t try to build out all the features. Focus on one problem you’re solving, and what are the key features that you’ll need. Clients won’t use your app because you have XYX additional features. First and foremost, they want their problem solved.
Listing to the App Store & Google Play and Marketing
I won’t write much about marketing your app. I am not an expert, as I am just learning on the go as we’re developing a proposal app for our clients. However, there are some great resources you can check out. You’ll find how you can actually add your app to pre-order on App Store, how to do research, how to get reviews, and a lot more. Check out Appmasters Youtube channel by clicking here.
Here are step by step guides on how to list your app to both App Store and Google Play.
Apple App Store
Conclusion of the required steps: https://clearbridgemobile.com/how-to-submit-an-app-to-the-app-store/
Video of the steps required to submit your app to the App Store : Youtube
Google Play
For Google Play, you can check out this video. It’s a good guide on how to list your app to the Google Play.
Conclusion
This was the general information about starting your app business with your e-Residency company. We barely touched the surface, but these links and steps will give you a high-level roadmap to launching your app. And please do your own research, as there are so many different channels and ways to advertise and build your product. The planning stage is important. Look at my excel file with all the sheets (you can’t see all sheets but it gives you a hint) to understand the different channels and information I am mapping out to launch the app.
App launch research
Research is just the first stage. There’s no guarantee that the app will work. Moreover, there’s no guarantee that the developers working on the app are capable of bringing the vision to life. That’s crucial, and you may only have one shot at developing the first version with a limited budget.
Be diligent, plan ahead, but stay bold.