IT Myths Debunked – The Million Dollar App Idea

Every now and then, we receive walk-ins at our offices, from wannabe entrepreneurs. They are young people, passionate about making the world better. It feels good to see them wanting to do something innovative. However, it is rather saddening, when some of them ask this question. “Sir, tell me, which app should I get made from you, that will make me a millionaire?“

One of the biggest misconceptions related to startups is that the idea has to be a killer one. That the app succeeded as the idea was insanely great. And the idea is all it’ll take for success.

These days, we see and hear about startup successes all around. Be it print media, TV, social networking sites, discussions among friends, etc. Those who haven’t been in the game, have this false perception that an idea is enough to be successful.

This is what most of us assume to be the right approach:

• Think of a killer idea
• Get the app made
• Put on play store
• Millions of downloads will come
• The creator will become rich

The blunt truth is that there is no app out there that can guarantee a million dollars in revenue. If it was so easy, then every app developer would have been a millionaire. Isn’t it?

It’s like saying “Hollywood made Avengers, so let me make a superhero movie, it’ll be a superhit”. To make a movie at the scale of Avengers, you need money, that’s a major aspect. A superhero of the caliber of Marvel movies needs special effects and actors who fit the bill. Not only that, a good storyline is required, which connects with the people. Above all, a competent director is required, to pull off the vision and translate well on screen. Thousands of people work behind the scenes to turn an idea into box office success. Putting more money alone doesn’t assure monetary returns. There have been quite a few big-budget movies that failed at the box office.

The same thing happens to software as well. There are many good ideas which unfortunately didn’t translate into mega successes. Most movies don’t do well. The same goes for software applications. For every 1 successful SaaS application, there are 9 failures no one talks about.

There is no killer app idea that can make you a millionaire. You can just try your best.

Following is a recommended approach, which you can follow, whenever you want to get an app developed.

• Think of an idea, that appeals to your heart.
• Do market research on existing competitors.
• Devise your USP, which will make your product stand out.
• Study the domain, see if it’s viable for you to carry it out.
• Plan how much budget you can spend max on it.
• Write down all the requirements. Make a detailed document.
• If you don’t have experience making apps then outsource it out.
• Find the best company which can execute this project.
• To choose one among many, visit their office or do a video call.
• Sign a contract. Define payment milestones. Keep constant track of progress.
• Do user testing yourself before uploading it on the app store.
• Engage in marketing such as blogs, social media, paid adwords, etc.
• Gauge the user feedback and be ready to make changes for the better.

For this to happen, it’s important that you hire well. You must invest on a tech vendor who will not simply follow the requirements given, rather they’ll go beyond that. Someone who can suggest ways to improve upon your draft (of course, the final decision to implement will be yours). Someone who has an experienced graphics and UI team, as people understand them better than other technicalities. Someone who knows content marketing, that can add value to readers. Someone who takes up the quality process seriously. Someone who coordinates with you on the final UAT of the product before shipping.

Remember, cheap is not always the best. If you want to attract a competent and skilled team, then make sure to invest in the best.