The Startup Therapy Couch: Reason 6 of 7 your startup is failing – “Too much money too soon”

https://youtu.be/M9bX0WV4t3k

Reason #6: You raised too much money too soon
Wait, too MUCH money? Is that really a thing?

YES, it is possible to raise too much capital too soon in your startup journey. If you don't have focus, don't understand your problem or your target users well, or don't have a clear plan for how you're using the money and how that money is going to gain you new customers or revenue or both, then it's TOO SOON for you to raise it.

Investors want to see a return on their money in a reasonable amount of time, usually 3-5 years. So if you've been "thinking about" your idea for 3 months and someone hands you a cool half-mil to go make it happen, you probably have not done the work you need to to know what to do with that money that will generate the return your investor is looking for... Think of it like giving a toddler a $500k college fund and expecting them to get value from it within 5 years. Ridiculous right? Well, money into your startup too early can have the same effect!

We've seen companies raise money too soon, waste all of it trying to get their feet under them, and then have a much more difficult time getting additional capital when they actually have a viable business model. Also - if you're raising too soon, you're giving away more of your company in exchange for that money than you would if you had more proof of what you're doing!

Take the time to do customer validation to understand the problem you're solving and how the people you're solving it for perceive it. Then take time to build a prototype and validate that with your end users too. At the end of that process, you'll have a much better understanding of your market, your product, what your MVP should be, and how much money you really need and exactly how you'll spend it to reach your goals.

Go forth and validate your ideas, friends!

Go back to “Reason 1 your startup is failing – Hocus Pocus, Lack of Focus”.

Go back to “Reason 2 your startup is failing – Your pride gets in the way“.

Go back to “Reason 3 your startup is failing – You don’t act like a boss”.

Go back to “Reason 4 your startup is failing – We question your commitment”.

Go back to "Reason 5 your startup is failing - You took some bad advice".

Originally Posted here: The Startup Therapy Couch: Reason 6 of 7 your startup is failing – “Too much money too soon”

Video Podcast: The State of Healthcare (Technology)

https://youtu.be/MS5yB9_oTJk

Raika Technologies and GotAnAppIdea are proud to present this episode of Incubate This!, in podcast partnership with The Raika Show.

Today we are discussing the state of healthcare, and positing whether the push for technological advancement in healthcare record-keeping has been beneficial or has wrecked provider-patient relationships.

First Seen over here: Video Podcast: The State of Healthcare (Technology)

Tips For Brainstorming About Your App’s Goals

With or without technological skills, you have no reason not to enter the application market and earn some money from it.

The first step in your attempt to create a successful application is producing a great idea. Start by thinking about what kind of application you would like to do. There are chances that many people are interested exactly in this type of application. For example, you might consider the area where you live. If you live in a city that attracts tourists, the possibilities are endless.

You can also consider your personal interests. Maybe you are a coffee lover and have discovered some great places around the world. If that's the case, why not turn your knowledge into a guide application to help other coffee aficionados?

Gaming applications tend to make more money than other types, as people tend to pay more for them. Games that become popular in certain social circles will become viral most easily. Many applications gain popularity through word of mouth.

Don't give up if you find in the app store something similar with your idea. This is the point where you have to think outside the box. What has your application to offer unlike the others? Maybe you collect personal feedback from the coffee shop owners or provide information about what is special at a particular coffee shop.  Then find the best mobile app companies to start your journey to implement your idea.

 

GotAnAppIdea is an app design and app development company, primarily working with new ideas in the earliest stages of incubation. As one of the top app development companies in the Denver, CO, area, we help new start-ups get from idea to execution planning quickly, efficiently and with as little time and money invested up front as possible. Our philosophy is that failing quick and often leads our clients to better outcomes, bigger businesses, and healthier work-life balance. Need Android app development, iOS app development or app design help? Call us today!

Article Source on: Tips For Brainstorming About Your App’s Goals

The Startup Therapy Couch: Reason 5 of 7 your startup is failing – “You took some bad advice”

https://youtu.be/nj3loKSnDSc

Reason #5: You are getting (and taking) bad advice
You must surround yourself with smart, capable, qualified people when you're building and running a business. You most likely will never be (and should NOT be) the smartest person in the room.

HOWEVER... Keep your eyes and ears open about the advice you're getting. Consider the source of the advice, how much the person is familiar with your situation, and whether your gut is sending you signals to beware. Unsure if you're getting bad advice? Ask other people, too!

The consequences of bad advice can be wasted time, wasted money, and even an ultimate failure in your business. You need to get really good at judging the advice coming your way, taking the good, and leaving the bad... Even if the bad comes from someone you trust and value highly!

Go back to “Reason 1 your startup is failing – Hocus Pocus, Lack of Focus”.

Go back to “Reason 2 your startup is failing – Your pride gets in the way“.

Go back to “Reason 3 your startup is failing – You don’t act like a boss”.

Go back to "Reason 4 your startup is failing - We question your commitment".

Article Source here: The Startup Therapy Couch: Reason 5 of 7 your startup is failing – “You took some bad advice”

Video Podcast: It’s All in the Family (Business)

https://youtu.be/oQIarn5Zmsc

Raika Technologies and GotAnAppIdea are proud to present this episode of Incubate This!, in podcast partnership with The Raika Show, where we talk about our own experience building our startup.

We work with a lot of entrepreneurs, and a lot of them are brand new to starting and running a business. It's easy for them to forget that Raika's founders are entrepreneurs too! In this episode, we're talking about our journey (so far) in building a business that builds businesses... The ups, the downs, and how we navigate it all, is exactly why we are passionate about working with other budding startup-pers!

Article Source over here: Video Podcast: It’s All in the Family (Business)

What Qualities Make An App Successful

Some applications are downloaded millions of times, while others are condemned to being forget or are completely ignored. Do you know what makes the difference?

Now there is an application for pretty much everything, and if there is one thing left uncovered, do not worry: an app will be invented soon to cover it. We have everything from 3D games to applications that monitor the heartbeat or baby noises. And the platforms they appear on are as varied, from Android or iOS to Smart TVs.

The dream of any developer is to reach the Top 10 worldwide, but this happens in less than 1% of cases. For the 99% of programmers, a well-defined niche could be a step forward, sometimes even easier to monetize. Or you can consider local markets. Local news applications, weather, TV programs, video content or useful information can be a starting point.

Good applications do one thing, which they excel at. It is important for your application to be original and to use the best app prototyping tools available, to solve a problem, to entertain or to improve the way we interact with the respective gadget.

In no case is developing an application easy. The idea from which you start is only the first step and typically the easiest. Its implementation, execution, consistency and promotion are the stages that most often make the difference.

 

GotAnAppIdea is an app design and app development company, primarily working with new ideas in the earliest stages of incubation. As one of the top app development companies in the Denver, CO, area, we help new start-ups get from idea to execution planning quickly, efficiently and with as little time and money invested up front as possible. Our philosophy is that failing quick and often leads our clients to better outcomes, bigger businesses, and healthier work-life balance. Need Android app development, iOS app development or app design help? Call us today!

First Posted over here: What Qualities Make An App Successful

How Do Apps Make Money?

A fair portion of the available apps today are add-ons to an existing company’s business or services. Some apps are loss leaders for companies intending to drive stickiness in their brand by offering alternative methods of interaction by their existing customers. And still other apps are designed and published simply because the next generation of smartphone users is more accustomed to apps than to the mobile web.

 

But what if you want to build an app for the purpose of generating revenue? Is it possible to make money on an app strategy alone? And what are the pathways for making money from an app?

 

App purchase

The most obvious way to make money with an app is to charge for the initial purchase and download of the app. This is a pay-to-play type of fee and can be as high or as low as you want.

 

However… Keep in mind that most people are very hesitant to buy apps outright without experiencing them first and determining whether they do what is promised. So, while you CAN charge for your app to be downloaded, this is typically a very high-customer-acquisition-cost strategy and not a recommended one.

 

Free Trial

Apps that offer a free trial before purchase are much more appealing to a wider audience. This strategy allows users to download the app for free, use it for a period of time, and then opt-in to pay outright for the app (or opt-in to a subscription) once they’ve realized how much they love it and can’t live without it. You’ll get a much higher conversion rate of paying customers with this method than the outright purchase method.

 

Monthly or Yearly Subscription

This brings us to the SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) model, where you offer some kind of recurring value in exchange for recurring revenue. Typically, the user has the option of a monthly or yearly subscription, often with a discount given for the purchase of an annual license, and there is on-going value the user receives for their on-going payment. This strategy, in tandem with the free trial, is a very effective way to build a user base of paying customers that allows you to keep innovating and updating your app, which in turn provides that continuous value that has them coming back for more, month after month and year after year.

 

In-App Purchases

Another strategy for monetization is in-app purchases. Many games use this method for things like extra lives, bonus levels, and the like. This strategy entails timely, one-time payments at a point where the user really WANTS to keep going and will pay a nominal fee to do so. We’ve seen creative uses of this outside the gaming world, but that is where it is most prevalent.

 

Ads

Of course, no list of options to monetize an app would be complete without the mention of ads! While we find them rather annoying, they can be incredibly effective when implemented properly. Keep in mind that you need a fairly large user base, or a very targeted user base, in order to get the right number of or kind of impressions to make your ads pay off. Also, it is a LOT easier to start an app off from the get-go with ads already in it than it is to add this as a monetary strategy later on; so if you think you might want to do an ad strategy, start out with it from the beginning. Your users will be accustomed to it all along, and if you find it’s not valuable enough for you, you can always remove it. No one will ever complain about that.

 

Ultimately, how you monetize your app comes down to your target audience and the intended use of your app. Spend time getting to know your target users, hearing their thoughts and feedback, and letting them guide you to the right strategy or set of strategies that make you their hero. And you should always do this BEFORE you spend a lot of money hiring a top app development firm. In the end, you’ll spend less money on app development if you spend more time on target market research.  Contact Got An App Idea for more valuable information and implementation of your app ideas.

 

 

GotAnAppIdea is an app design and app development company, primarily working with new ideas in the earliest stages of incubation. As one of the top app development companies in the Denver, CO, area, we help new start-ups get from idea to execution planning quickly, efficiently and with as little time and money invested up front as possible. Our philosophy is that failing quick and often leads our clients to better outcomes, bigger businesses, and healthier work-life balance. Need Android app development, iOS app development or app design help? Call us today!

First Posted here: How Do Apps Make Money?