Slack Vs Hipchat: Communication Isn’t Just about Tools
“It’s a poor carpenter that blames their tools.” It may be a cliche, but that doesn’t make it any less true, for carpenters and iPad app developers alike. Most app development companies (and many non-tech companies) made the switch to Slack, Hipchat, and other chat-based workplace communication tools over the past year. As users move […]
4 Lessons Startups Can Learn from Small Businesses
According to CB Insights, only 1.28% of startups become unicorns. Does that make the other 98.72% failures? Hardly. In startup culture — and even more so in venture capital culture — there’s a tendency to overlook the value of thinking small. While it’s true that a business model that can’t scale to a billion dollar business […]
Conversion, Statistics, Data: It’s All about Happy Users
Communication between PMs, developers, and designers can at times resemble a peace summit between three tribes, with each speaking a different language and holding different ideals. In a recent post to Medium, Facebook product designer Julie Zhuo proposed a few ideas to help project managers and iPhone app developers mesh with designers. Among those […]
Idea vs Execution: Why Ideas Are Valuable but Action Is Gold
Have a great iPhone app idea? Good — that’s the starting point of every successful startup in every mobile app development company, including big names like Snapchat and Instagram. Unfortunately, iPhone app ideas are only worth as much as the founder is willing to commit to make them a reality. Even if you’ve successfully developed […]
Bootstrapping vs Crowdfunding vs Venture Capital Firms
Virtually all businesses require some form of investment to get off the ground. It’s certainly true for iPhone app developers — although depending on the type of startup, the financial figure required can be anywhere from a few thousand to a few million. In this post we’ll walk through the three most common types of […]
What If Someone Steals My Great App Idea?
Startup founders are protective of their ideas, and for good reason. While it’s true that “execution is everything” in the mobile app development industry, execution can’t happen without a good idea to base it on. With that in mind, pitching and team building can become an exercise in paranoia for founders with particularly innovative ideas. […]
How Much Equity Should Early Startup Team Members Get?
In a particularly emotional segment of the popular podcast Startup by Alex Blumberg, two co-founders discuss how much equity each party “deserves” based on their skills and contribution to the company — and the huge disparity in what each considers fair almost tears the team apart. The scene is particularly powerful because, rather than discussing […]
Apple Watch Apps Blaze the Trail for Wearable Developers
The Apple Watch has been on the market long enough now that it’s begun to lose the new gadget glow. This is good for iOS and Apple Watch developers. Soon it will have completed the transition from “toy” to “tool,” offering developers much more long-term value in building relationships with users. Early apps for the […]
Discovering Startup Talent at the Knapp Venture Competition
A mobile app that brings employee engagement to the cloud. Revolutionary medical devices for spinal cord injuries. Year after year, UCLA Anderson students participating in the annual Knapp Venture Competition create positive-impact startups that have a huge effect on the community. We’re honored to be on the panel judging this year’s startup pitches, and Dogtown […]
Why You Need a Co-founder and Where to Find One
Partnering with a capable co-founder may not be a requirement, but it’s strongly suggested by leading venture capitalists. Investor Paul Graham famously listed single-founder team structures as one of the leading causes of startup failure. Any iPhone app developer can tell you that the road to startup success is challenging emotionally as well as logistically, […]