Quantic Fox Writes

So You’ve Got An Idea For An App… (Part 3)

You understand the enormous opportunity.

Your app idea is possible, competitive, and marketable.

Now you need to build it.

However, unless you know or are willing to learn all the required coding languages, you’re going to need help with this final step. So the real question becomes, who can build your app for you? Welcome to the Wild West.

There are a lot of app companies out there.

A lot.

Luckily for you, most of these companies have made it standard to give a free quote on how long your app will take to make and how much it will cost.

It’s essential to understand that there are plenty of companies that will take advantage of you if they get the chance. Be wary whenever the first question an app developer asks you is how much money you can spend on the project. Budget questions should take a backseat at the beginning. The professionals know how to measure how much time an app will take them (when they have all the details) and once they have that time measured, it’s their responsibility to tell you the price, not yours.

Most companies have their portfolios visible online, but remember, just because a developer made an app for GE or CNN doesn’t mean they’re fair or reasonable. There are plenty of billion dollar companies that knew they needed a presence on the app store and were willing to pay whatever they were priced because they could. Two of our founders had the privilege to meet with a fortune 500 firm’s lead marketing team and discuss this very topic. There is a lack of consistency in the market. Be careful.

Be certain to sign a non-disclosure agreement, most companies will send one over for free. That pen in your hand right before you sign something is as dangerous as a stick of dynamite. Read the agreement. Make sure at the end of working with your company that they hand complete ownership of the code over to you. There’s no reason for them to have rights to your intellectual property.

A project that cost our team roughly $5,000 to complete in-house was priced by some companies as high as $250,000. Research your options. It’ll be cheaper to hire groups from India and the Ukraine, but it’s also an increased risk of quality and communication. Domestic developers will cost a lot more but will offer less risk. 

We hope what we’ve offered here acts as a catalyst for your idea to be launched into the mobile marketplace. We’ll continue to share our early experiences and knowledge in a collaborative effort to aid you as you pursue your passions.

Like what you’ve read? Hate it?

Contribute right back with your thoughts by emailing us at hello@quanticfox.com

Remember above all to have fun.

-QFOX

PS: All this and much more said even better at http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1822814/building_photokast.pdf

Editor’s note: Quantic Fox does not typically develop apps for clients. There are several reasons why we primarily only work on in-house projects. Mostly we’re excited about what’s coming soon from our team and we want to push all of our manpower into launching a couple new apps in the coming weeks. That being said, we’ve learned some useful lessons about the app market from creating our own products and partnering with other software development companies. A blog is a wonderful vehicle to relay what we’ve learned to you. Let us know your thoughts!

Part One

Part Two 

So You’ve Got An Idea For An App… (Part 2)

We’ve provided you with a rough picture of how much opportunity there is available in the current mobile app market. In this follow-up to our first piece on making your app a reality, we’re furthering the discussion of how to get rolling with your project.

Next week, we’ll cap this series by guiding you through the pivotal decision of who to work with and how to negotiate pricing and the time turnaround on production. But before you start sending emails to development companies, here are a few helpful and essential tips from our team on what to do right now. These are the questions to ask yourself when that great app idea first hits your head.

1. Is it out there?

Check the App Store. Search the market for anything that resembles your idea. More than half of the people that have come to us with their ideas haven’t spent 10 min on Google or the mobile marketplaces to see if someone else had already created their app. It can be a bummer when you see your idea is already for sale by another company, but that doesn’t mean defeat. Apple wasn’t the first company to the mp3 market, but they defined it. If you are passionate about your app and its potential then that might be enough to make yours better than the competitor. Find the market leader in said field and don’t be afraid to pick a fight.

2. Is it possible?

The new smart phones that are coming out are capable of some incredible stuff. So much so that it’s easy to think they can do almost anything. Unfortunately, they have their limits. We’ve, on more than one occasion, had to tell people that their idea might need the power of NASA technology to operate. But don’t toss those ideas when you find out they’re not possible. Tablets and phones just keep getting more impressive with every release. Try thinking if there’s a lighter version of the app that could work, and then when the tech is available you’ll be ready to unveil the whole project.

3. Is there a market?

This might be the hardest question to ask/answer. The majority of apps that people download are used no more than five times. Ask yourself if you would want to use your software. If you have to do mental gymnastics to convince yourself that you’d find continual value in your app, then it might not be the right direction. There have been plenty of moments of inspiration where members of our team have thought of the greatest app idea ever. 24 hours later, the endorphins wear off and we realize we’d be lucky to get 10 downloads for said idea. A great way to get a feel for what sells is to keep tabs on this site.

If you’ve made it through these questions with ease, get excited. Next week we’ll take you through the final process of getting your idea designed, developed, and distributed.

-QFOX

Editor’s note: Quantic Fox does not typically develop apps for clients. There are several reasons why we primarily only work on in-house projects. Mostly we’re excited about what’s coming soon from our team and we want to push all of our manpower into launching a couple new apps in the coming weeks. That being said, we’ve learned some useful lessons about the app market from creating our own products and partnering with other software development companies. A blog is a wonderful vehicle to relay what we’ve learned to you. Let us know your thoughts!

Part One

WoW for iPhone(y)

We wanted to take the time to thank you all personally for being a part of this year’s April Fool’s Day with Quantic Fox. We had an incredible time interacting with the lot of you! In case you missed it, we all dreamed a mighty dream together. Check out http://wowforiphone.com/ (and our twitter at http://goo.gl/gHDEy) for this past Friday’s festivities.

Looking forward to next year.

So You’ve Got An Idea For An App… (Part 1)

Editor’s note: Quantic Fox does not typically develop apps for clients. There are several reasons why we primarily only work on in-house projects. Mostly we’re excited about what’s coming soon from our team and we want to push all of our manpower into launching a couple new apps in the coming months. That being said, we’ve learned some useful lessons about the app market from creating our own products and partnering with other software development companies. A blog is a wonderful vehicle to relay what we’ve learned to you. Thus, part one of a three-part guide to making your app a reality.

It’s been said a lot, and by now it might seem trite, but we’re saying it anyway. The current market for creating mobile software is like the Wild West.

The rules aren’t clear and neither are the expectations. Even if they were, there aren’t any Marshalls out there to enforce order and justice. So how do you begin to discover a fair and smart process for making your app a real, purchasable product on the mobile marketplace?  

We’ve decided to pull back the curtain and share with you what our experiences and education has taught us. We don’t claim to know everything about the market, but we can at least give you our perspective and hope it helps you throughout your own personal endeavors.

When Apple’s iPhone App Store launched, it created opportunity. It shifted the balance of power in places like the video game industry. Firms like EA had a strong hold on game development (they still do), and there was little hope for the lone developer or entrepreneur to create a product that could be published and distributed to a global audience.

Enter the story of three kids from Helsinki University who built a game where you catapult a bird into a pig. Over 40 million downloads later, and Rovio Mobile’s Angry Birds now has a worldwide audience hungry for more.

It’s true that it still costs money, and maybe even more appropriately to say, it costs time to develop software. Yet it costs relatively nothing to publish said software to the world. Pay your $125 to Apple Inc ($25 to Android Market) to register as a developer and then forfeit 30% (10% for android) of your revenue from your app to the boys in Cupertino. Those are the basic steps and realities of having your app in the store. Some people may think Apple takes too big of a cut. In our opinion, for the stage they let you stand on, it’s not too shabby of an agreement.

Another way to think about it is to compare the app store to a large bookstore chain. You’re the author of the app, you create the content. The cost is how long it takes for you to write the book (app). Once you’ve finished, you pay a small fee and now anyone in the world can buy your book. No need for an agent, no hoops or hurdles. The barriers are coming down; it’s an incredible time to start creating.

We’re living in a time where opportunity is abundant via the Internet. This new platform for publishing hasn’t been taken over by large established monopolies yet. Never before could you create something and watch its exposure blow up overnight at the global scale that is possible now. The next couple weeks we’ll continue to explain some of the realities of the app market. Your idea can be produced and distributed worldwide. Fight the resistance that could hold you back and chase your passions.

Rocketing out of the Grey Twilight,

-QFOX

Check out Part 2

Week in Review - March 18

Friday has arrived.

It’s been an incredible week at the Quantic Fox Studios. We’re more than stoked to announce updates are coming to GetShort-Android AND iPhone - Moreover, we’ve been hard at work developing an application for Android Tablets everywhere that will launch soon. Trust us when we say, it’s an exciting project. 

P.S. You’ll get the fastest updates by signing up for our newsletter here. 

As always promised, here’s a collection of cool stuff from around the web from the past week:

a. We love Math, We love Design - We love when they come together.

b. We spent some time studying up with work, developing a new concept.

c. Hmmm, To Iodize or Not to Iodize? 

d. We’ve been in the middle of the crunch on this one, lots of thoughts here on the benefits of SEO and a great argument here on the pitfalls of SEO as a startup. 

e. We would take his word for it. 

f. Can’t wait until this concept is adopted for a business or technology platform and pushed into widespread use. 

g. We recommend you read this long and hard.