Startup Blockai Tackles a Big Problem: Copyright Control
If you’re a photographer, artist, or writer, there’s only one way to stop people from ripping off your copyrighted material online: don’t share it with anyone… ever. This is a big problem for startup founders and iPhone app developers, because content is one of the most expensive — and hard to replicate — parts of […]
Social Networking App Developers: Go Niche, or Go Home
Instagram for photos. Snapchat for goofing off. Facebook for letting Mom know you’re still alive. Social network startups have changed a lot since the days of MySpace, and the trend for app developers is clear: niche services win out over all-purpose networks. The “social network-ization” of popular music video sharing apps like Thriller and Music.ly […]
How to Monetize Mobile Gaming Apps Without Churning Users
Remember Angry Birds? Then you probably also remember the annoying, repetitive ads for the ill-fated Windows Phone. Angry Birds was easily one of the biggest mobile app development stories ever, but the story might be different if they’d launched today instead. Today’s users are much more averse to blatant advertising — particularly among gamers, some […]
Bots on Kik Pass the 20,000 Mark: How Will This Affect Apps?
While there are just over 100 bots actually featured in the much-publicized Kik Bot Shop, developer on the platform have created well over 20,000 to-date. The catch: most of these bots are invite-only, accessible only through direct invite from creators. That said, major brands like CNN and Funny or Die have embraced the platform. Kik’s explosive […]
Video Could Be the next Disruptive Force in Mobile Ecommerce
MikMak, a video shopping service for mobile, just closed a $3.2 million seed round — and it’s got the attention of mobile app developers looking for the “next big thing” in ecommerce trends. Since launching last year, the disruptive app has gained an impressive following among younger demographics through a blend of custom content and […]
Outsourcing App Development: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
“Go ahead and outsource.” People are always surprised when we tell them this. We get dozens of questions about offshoring every week, and the people asking always expect us to steer them away from it. After all, we’re an LA-based app development company — why would we encourage someone not to work with us? The […]
Strong Tech Q2 and Successful IPOs Prove Mobile Can Grow
Alphabet just released their Q2 earnings report, lifting shares 5%. GrubHub stock jumped an even more impressive 26% based on a record-breaking $120 million revenue claim. Amazon posted over $30 billion. Clearly, the environment for tech is good and getting better — contrary to worry among tech media in the past year that declining ad […]
Will the Erosion of Online Advertising Hurt Apple & Google?
Apple and Google couldn’t be more different. On the one side, premium hardware with an emphasis on encryption, security, and brand quality. On the other, cloud services, budget hardware, and a suite of free services that rely on data marketing. Most of us, and certainly most iPhone and Android app developers, use a combination of […]
Should Startup Founders Split Equity Equally?
Equity feels imaginary for some early stage startups. Far from splitting up potential shares, the prospect of turning a profit is daunting enough. Many founders opt to avoid conflict and simply split equity evenly, allowing them to commit 100% of their talent to the project without feeling cheated or left out. The question for iPhone […]
How to Build a Startup Team From Scratch
“The most important thing for you as an entrepreneur trying to build something is, you need to build a really good team. And that’s what I spend all my time on… I spend probably 25 percent of my time recruiting, finding good people… to put them in more impactful roles. —Mark Zuckerburg 25 percent — […]