What most startup owners fail to get about mobile development
“What’s it like being a startup owner?”
Anyone who’s ever run a tech company would answer in a heartbeat that it’s equally exciting and challenging. Truth be told, most successful startup founders who’ve pioneered the tech world and are now on everyone’s lips have learned what they know the hard way. This comes with a silver lining for all of us though – by learning from their shortcomings, you won’t repeat their mistakes!
With the above in mind, we’ve put together a list of things startup founders often fail to understand about mobile app development. If you take the points below to heart, you’ll be much closer not only to reaching your project milestones but also becoming a tech leader your employees will look up to for years to come. Let’s take a look.
1. Being the captain of the ship
There’s no other way to achieve product milestones than by effective teamwork. Now, while no ship would make it to dock if not for the crew, neither would it without a captain who treads the path. Putting the naval analogy aside, a good startup owner isn’t ‘just’ someone who had a great app idea and managed to excite and gather people around it. He/she also has to be someone who oversees the big picture, is eager to take in new ideas, but also executes the higher-level visions.
Which is closely related to...
2. Finding the balance between trust and supervision
We’re going to be completely honest here – if you give your team the authority to make all decisions completely on their own, then you’re steeping on thin ice.
It’s one thing to take Steve Jobs’ advice about hiring people who are smarter than you; it’s a whole other trusting that they will complete tasks and safe-keep the vision of your product without your involvement and support. If there’s one thing we’ve seen over the years, is that – if left to themselves – some developers have the tendency of either over-engineering, refining software too early in the roadmap, or, conversely, simplifying the product and taking the easiest path.
So how do we make sure this doesn’t happen?
What we recommend is hiring either a highly-experienced software house or an in-house CTO and product owner who will report to you and oversee product development.
To sum up – stay in the loop, be inquisitive, and entrust quality assurance to your product and tech leaders who know the rules of the game deeply.
3. Making sure you’re not hopelessly stuck on the original idea – welcoming (and spotting) good change
Making sure you don’t derail from project goals should not be mistaken with stubbornly denying the need to re-think and optimize the initial plan. That’s how some of the world’s leading apps came to life!
Ever heard of the video-based dating service called YouTube? Nope? How about YouTube, the world’s leading video platform and the second biggest organic traffic channel in the world? How about the video game The Glitch, which was where the idea for Slack came from?
Point being, good startup owners are analytical and take in feedback. Moreover, they notice the tell-tale signs that scream “adjust it to the market!” and aren’t afraid of taking the leap and pivoting from one service to another. It doesn’t mean your app idea will need a 180–degree change. It’s just important that you stay aware that a tweak here and there or building upon a feature could do a world of a difference. In the end, such an iterative approach to product development is what helps startups turn into stable businesses that stay on top of the game.
Last, but least...
4. Understanding both business AND app performance metrics
Business and technical decisions are forever intertwined when it comes to mobile app development (something worth memorizing by heart).
The best startup founders understand this and know that each tech decision may have a huge business impact, and vice versa. Respectively, once they launch their MVP, they also make sure to pay attention not only to key business metrics but also app performance. Unfortunately, some startup founders will have a tendency to eagerly scrutinise app reviews, all the while unaware of the insights that can be found via app analytics.
Huge mistake!
App analytics’ tools will tell you miles about your app’s usability, popularity, and (as a result) monetizability. That’s potentially way more that the ratings and comments left on your AppStore profile. Some of the insights you can expect include learning how many users return to your app after their first use, how much time they spend per each session, and where and when they tend to drop out. Remember – once your app is up and running, you need to keep tracing all data to ensure your software remains profitable.
Summary
We hope that, by reading this post, you’ve just learned a thing or two on successful startup development! Incorporate these tips into your day-to-day work and remember – never stop learning. That’s what separates great founders from the good.
Want to learn more? We’d be more than thrilled to share our expertise and discuss how we can support your mobile app development – don’t hesitate to reach out!
