Eat, Sleep, Code, Recharge: Downtime Matters for Developers
The iPhone app development community, more so than other industries, places an extremely high value on efficiency and commitment to the craft. The ideal coder spends virtually every waking moment working through difficult engineering challenges and building digital products. The ideal mobile app coder doesn’t waste time cooking — instead, they drink soylent. They don’t waste […]
Microsoft the Latest Tech Titan to Enter the VR Space
Virtual reality (VR) is a hot topic among mobile app developers these days. We’ve lead panels on the technology with investors worldwide and seen some of the latest and greatest new technology at SXSW. Now, even Microsoft is getting into the VR game through the aggressive expansion of HoloLens, their “mixed reality” headset. Microsoft’s device […]
The next Unicorn Sharing Economy App Will Sell By-Products
By-products are a huge problem in the global economy, on both the large and small scale. Six hot dogs in a package and eight buns in a bag? Chances are the leftovers get wasted. A plane crosses the Atlantic with ten empty seats? You can practically smell the money burning. Basecamp co-founder Jason Fried wrote […]
Don’t Start with the Sales Funnel: Start with the Value
“Value-added marketing” is a big buzzword in the mobile app development community these days. The concept of placing end-user value above all else is buzz-worthy for good reason: in the post-advertising mobile ecosystem, generating sales has less to do with exposure and more to do with gaining trust than ever before. …And the best way […]
How to Make Hires as a Non-Technical Founder
Whether you’re an iPad app developer looking to hire a designer or an entrepreneur looking to hire a coder, finding and vetting talent is no easy task. Especially when the specialty you’re hiring for is something hard to judge like backend coding, how can you be sure you’re hiring the right person for the job? […]
Entrepreneurs vs Appreneurs: What Makes Startups Different
If you keep up with the tech scene, chances are you’ve heard the term “appreneur.” While it’s often used interchangeably with “entrepreneur,” mobile businesses are actually radically different from other entrepreneurial endeavors. That isn’t to say it’s easy. In fact, mobile startups have never faced tougher odds. For those who have the right mix of […]
The Cult of Failure: Why Startup Culture Celebrates Mistakes
One failure is bad. Two is questionable. Three indicates persistence. Beyond that? Unstoppable. One of the most confusing things about startup culture, from an outsider’s perspective, is the tendency to celebrate failure. Just browse Medium, Twitter, or anywhere else where iPhone app developers and entrepreneurs air their opinions, and you’re sure to come across dozens […]
Even YouTube Wants in on the Messaging App Revolution
It’s no secret among Chicago iPhone app developers that messaging apps like Telegram and WeChat represent the future of the mobile experience. Even social networks have been becoming increasingly private (Snapchat’s rapid domination among young users stands as living proof), while chat apps like Line and WhatsApp are now used for the sake of their […]
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 […]