Are you building a mobile application for your startup? A good choice if you have built one, but if you are still in the consideration stage, we suggest you look at the below numbers.

1. Industries in the marketplace expect mobile apps to generate $189 billion in revenue by 2020.
2. The Apple App Store has 2.2 million apps available for download.
3. There are 2.8 million apps available for download on the Google Play Store.
4. 21% of Millennials open an app 50+ times per day.
5. 49% of people open an app 11+ times each day.
6. 57% of all digital media usage comes from mobile apps.
7. The average smartphone owner uses 30 apps each month.
8. Promotional email messages receive about a 4% read rate. PUSH notifications 97%.

So, as for the numbers, they don’t lie. We hear your inner voice saying, “There are apps in hundreds of thousands in the google play and apple store how do I make a profit in such a huge market?” We have already discussed how to take your mobile application to the hall of fame with an easy 8 step approach. Related : 8 steps to consider while you build mobile application. In this article, we will focus on the startups who aspires to build a mobile application with promising potential. We will give a detailed breakdown of building mobile applications for startups from scratch. If you are skimming the article, you can download our guide book on “How to draft a business plan for startups mobile applications?” However, we recommend you to read the whole article, because we may have some easter eggs hidden for you

1. Ideas, Stories, Concepts – Generating and Executing

History taught us that only good ideas will stand everlasting. From the time when Jesus Christ born and even before that, community, government or any public body is formed, framed and functioned with great ideas as their backbone. So generating ideas is very important. At Stutzen we conduct “Idea Workshop” in every project we take in. We never skip this step because we believe ideas can amount to 80% of the project frameworks and wireframes. Here are some of our tips to practice while generating app ideas for your startup. Your idea needs to be unique, reliable and certainty. Above all of this, we encourage the startups to have ideas for their target audience. Focus on your niche. Your target audience is your ground where you have to pitch in with strength.

Validating your app concept

Ideas without implementation will amount to nothing good. When you go to the way about the execution part, planning them ahead can affect your success rate remarkably. So once your ideation is completed, building a prototype is good. When you have your idea drafted, it is time to validate your idea. Validating your idea will help you to check if your app resonates with your target audience. There is some simple, easy and quick way to validate your app concepts.

1. Google keyword tool planner will show the number of people looking for your application. You can also search with specific locations and other demographic details.
2. Creating a landing page and promoting them on social media to see the analytics response
3. Build an MVP with minimal core functionalities and gauge interest to your users

Wireframing your app

Once you have validated your idea, it is time to wireframe your app. It is the phase where you have to map your idea into the technical flow. You can start the process with an aesthetic approach by drawing a flowchart of the app navigation. When you have a rough idea of the wireframes, you can use tools like JustInMind or Proto. io. for developing your mobile application prototype. Whether you put it in paper or on an online tool, remember to put them descriptive, so that later when developers look at it, syncs completely with your concept.

Remove Non- Core Functionalities

Once you have the wireframes ready, look closely for the non-functional core features. This step will reduce the unnecessary expenses. Start-ups have to remember that only “must-have” features should be targeted in the first version of their app.

Avoid having the features that are nice to have for cosmetic purposes. To eliminate non-core functionalities, you can check if they serve directly to the core purpose of your application. Removing the non-core functionalities will help you speed up in building MVP.

2. Market Research and Value Proposition

Market research is collecting useful information about your competitors, industry, technology advancement in the industry and audience interests. This might sound similar to doing an analysis of competitive apps existing in the play store. Market research analysis involves identifying your competitors with a deep sageness. Ask yourself questions like,

• Who is my competitor?
• What is their strategy?
• What are their strengths and weaknesses?
• What are their customer’s reviews on social media and on other platforms?
• What is their unique selling point?

The answers to these questions put you in a zone where you can now comfortably draft your value proposition with confidence. When you know who and what you are dealing with in terms of competition, the plan will be clear as crystal. Value proposition or the unique selling point is truly what will make your app stand out from every single competitor in the market. 80% of the apps that hit the app store with a high rate of installs and active users always planned for an excellent USP. Remember that USP is crucial for every product but it is the triumph card for the startups. Since startups need to have active users under minimal budget allocations until they can generate revenue from their app. Related : Guidesheet for doing market research

3. Funding & Monetization

Drafting idea is always the best part of any project and an interesting one too. The real work is when you know how to crunch your numbers without pinching your pockets. As for a startup, it is an inevitable skill you must possess. While looking for investments and funding, approaching the right investors at the right time is essential. Choosing the right investors can affect your business success level marginally.

1. Bootstrapping is the funding you should secure at the initial stage while building your MVP. You can approach a close and trustworthy friend or family member.
2. Angel Investors are a group of investors who are interested in funding the startup companies for the exchange of the equity stake at company ownership. These kinds of funding can be a push to you after your first version of the product is launched.
3. Venture Capitalists: This kind of investment ranges in millions of dollars. Venture capitalists show interest in startups that show high potential at an early stage of the product. If you can get a high traction amount of users, then you can seek for this kind of funding.

As far when you seek to investors, have your market research data and idea maps in your hand. Presenting them your app with a prepared chart on the core functionalities and market analysis sends them you are serious in making your product a useful and successful one in the industry.

Now, you know how to find the money for your resource. The tougher part is how your app will generate the revenue you need. James Cook Media, CEO quotes that “Until a money transaction takes place there is no promise on the ROI of customer retention”

So when planning the monetization option for your product, understand your app core purpose and then create the revenue model.

Freemium apps	These apps are free to download, but certain features and contents are locked, and they can only be accessed through a purchase.
Paid (premium) apps	The user needs to purchase the app from the app store in order to use it. Because of the cost barrier of this model, a mobile marketing strategy is critical to demonstrate the unique, superior value compared to the free apps.
In-app purchases	This model works by using the app to sell digital or physical products as a mobile commerce sales channel.
Subscriptions	This model is similar to freemium apps, but brings a benefit of a recurring stream of revenue
In-app ads	This is possibly the simplest model of all because there is no cost barrier for the user. As with any advertising space, it’s important to never sacrifice user experience in order to gain more ad space.
Sponsorships	This model usually becomes possible when you achieve a solid user base, as it allows you to partner with specific brands and advertisers. It is a win-win situation because brands pay for user actions, and your app generates further engagement for the user.

4. Techie and the IT part of the project

If you are not technically sound, consult first with any of your friends who is a tech-savvy before approaching a software company or a freelancer. Get a clear picture of some important must-have tech things in the mobile application development. If you are a downside in finding a tech-savvy friend, no worries we got your back. Here are the technical things to consider while developing the app,

Choosing the right platform for your app

An app platform is crucial for its success rate. To find the right platform type you have to learn about the pros and cons in each of the platforms. Related: Choosing between native vs web vs hybrid

UX/UI design

Since it will be a digital platform where you can only interact with your consumers with your product, the UX/UI design will speak about the interaction. A good design can create high customer satisfaction and increase the number of users of your application

Create an Apple ID or Google Play Store ID

To register your app in the mobile app stores and sell them across to your users, create an Apple ID and Google play store ID respectively for iOS and Android platforms. Apple charges $99 and Google charges $25 annually.

Hiring a freelancer or an agency

While coming down to developers, it is best if you outsource your mobile app rather than setting up an in-house team. A startup business should use time in important activities that are targeted in creating profits, revenues, establishing audience base, networking, and other future capital goals.
Related: Best Practices in IT outsourcing

5. Branding, Promotions, and Marketing

Amidst your hustle in developing the mobile app, it is natural to forget about promoting your product. From the hands-on working experience with our startup clients, we found that with a pre-planned marketing strategy, the number of active users increases in two months after the product launch. Spend your efforts, time and resources for the development phase and marketing simultaneously. Curating content, creating a brand identity are insignificant steps in your mobile app strategy. For startup mobile business, the product should show high reliable results at early stages. You can achieve these kinds of results only through a planned marketing strategy Related: How to build a marketing strategy for your mobile app?

Thoughts on closure

At Stutzen, we always say, “The road to success is created by not stopping the efforts even for a single day”. Venturing out with startup business is always challenging and gives an excellent feel when the mission is accomplished. From our expertise in working with startup companies, we believe that the ones that rolled out with a methodical approach every obstacle faced have leveraged the maximum benefit in their business. If you would like to know more about building robust applications for your startup, sign up with your great idea. Got an idea? We have a team who loves to build ideas into apps that really works