How To Turn Your App Into a Business

In which I talk about how to take an app and build a business out of it. Customer development is talked about at length.

Transcript

1. From App To Business @danshipper Saturday, January 19, 13
2. I’ve built a ton of apps Saturday, January 19, 13
3. Typical plan for app development Saturday, January 19, 13
4. Typical plan for app development 1. Build product Saturday, January 19, 13
5. Typical plan for app development 1. Build product 2. Release it Saturday, January 19, 13
6. Typical plan for app development 1. Build product 2. Release it 3. ?????? Saturday, January 19, 13
7. Typical plan for app development 1. Build product 2. Release it 3. ?????? 4. Go viral!!! Saturday, January 19, 13
8. Typical app lifecycle Saturday, January 19, 13
9. Typical app lifecycle 1. Build product Saturday, January 19, 13
10. Typical app lifecycle 1. Build product 2. Release it Saturday, January 19, 13
11. Typical app lifecycle 1. Build product 2. Release it 3. Watch it languish Saturday, January 19, 13
12. Typical app lifecycle 1. Build product 2. Release it 3. Watch it languish 4. Decide it wasn’t that good anyway Saturday, January 19, 13
13. Typical app lifecycle 1. Build product 2. Release it 3. Watch it languish 4. Decide it wasn’t that good anyway 5. Drop it Saturday, January 19, 13
14. Typical app lifecycle 1. Build product 2. Release it 3. Watch it languish 4. Decide it wasn’t that good anyway 5. Drop it 6. Repeat Saturday, January 19, 13
15. Firefly Saturday, January 19, 13
16. Firefly was originally built at PennApps last January Saturday, January 19, 13
17. Typical app lifecycle Saturday, January 19, 13
18. Typical app lifecycle 1. Build product 2. Release it 3. Watch it languish 4. Decide it wasn’t that good anyway 5. Drop it 6. Repeat Saturday, January 19, 13
19. App vs. Business Saturday, January 19, 13
20. In order to build a business you need to build understanding Saturday, January 19, 13
21. Learn an industry Saturday, January 19, 13
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26. Saturday, January 19, 13
27. IVR PBX Handle Time Response Time First call resolution rate Escalation Saturday, January 19, 13
28. First get your feet wet Saturday, January 19, 13
29. Google for software serving your market Saturday, January 19, 13
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33. Saturday, January 19, 13
34. Saturday, January 19, 13
35. Now dig deeper (and make money doing it) Saturday, January 19, 13
36. Saturday, January 19, 13
37. Cold Emails and Cold Calls Saturday, January 19, 13
38. Saturday, January 19, 13
39. Hi there, Saturday, January 19, 13
40. Hi there, I’m a student and I’m working on a project. Saturday, January 19, 13
41. Hi there, I’m a student and I’m working on a project. I know you work in Industry X and I’d love to get some advice. Saturday, January 19, 13
42. Hi there, I’m a student and I’m working on a project. I know you work in Industry X and I’d love to get some advice. By the way we went to the same school. Saturday, January 19, 13
43. Hi there, I’m a student and I’m working on a project. I know you work in Industry X and I’d love to get some advice. By the way we went to the same school. I’d love to get 15 minutes of your time. Saturday, January 19, 13
44. Be genuine. Saturday, January 19, 13
45. • What do they do every day? • What software they use? • What problems they have? • THEN talk about what you’re working on Saturday, January 19, 13
46. This allows you to understand why your product is useful (or why it isn’t) Saturday, January 19, 13
47. Features Saturday, January 19, 13
48. How It’s Sold Saturday, January 19, 13
49. Want a copy of the newspaper? Want a copy of the newspaper? Want a copy of the newspaper? Want a copy of the newspaper? Want a copy of the newspaper? Want a copy of the newspaper? Want a copy of the newspaper? Want a copy of the newspaper? Want a copy of the newspaper? Want a copy of the newspaper? Want a copy of the newspaper? Want a copy of the newspaper? Saturday, January 19, 13
50. “Coders around the country gather for PennApps hackathon. Read all about it!” Saturday, January 19, 13
51. Businesses come from better understanding Saturday, January 19, 13
52. Understand. Refine. Repeat. Saturday, January 19, 13
53. Email: dan@danshipper.com Twitter: @danshipper Blog: danshipper.com Saturday, January 19, 13
54. Want to learn to build a business? jobs@usefirefly.com Saturday, January 19, 13