Liquidation Preferences and Why They Matter for App Developers
Founders tend to be a passionate group focussed strongly on the nuts and bolts of their product or service. When it comes time to raise venture capital, it’s easy to just say “yes” to anything and everything that presents itself. The problem is that shares of a company aren’t all created equal, and startups often […]
What Is the Role of a Non-Technical Startup Founder?
Non-technical startup founders often get a bad rap in the tech world. This is partly because there’s simply a scarcity of quality technical talent — and partly because many non-technical founders try to jump to the top of the ladder without proving their value. Take a look at Hacker News, Quora, Reddit, Medium, or anywhere […]
Why Co-Founders Should Learn Basic Coding Skills
If you ever take a look at Hacker News comment threads or the Reddit startup community, you’ll notice a consistent trend: non-technical founders desperately seeking technical co-founders. This trend holds true in real-life mobile app development circles around Silicon Valley (and Silicon Beach for that matter). The difficulty with finding a technical co-founder isn’t entirely […]
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 Guess Startup Success Without Knowing What They Do
Yahoo’s $4.8 billion sale to Verizon in recent months has drawn the eyes of the tech community. Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer is bearing the brunt of that attention, but you’d never know it from a recent Bloomberg Businessweek interview. In conversation, Mayer seemed confident and relaxed about the huge changes to the company, and the […]
Dogtown Media Open-Sources Industry Experience in New Blog
Startups face an uphill battle in today’s crowded app store, where only 10% of startups reach their financial goals. For many founders, the biggest roadblock to success is finding the information they need to lay a solid groundwork. Dogtown Media aims to solve that problem with their latest blog, The Startup Zone, by providing free […]
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 […]
Pokemon Go Underscores Public Desire for Augmented Reality
When Matthew Blake, a 14-year old suffering from autism, finally began reaching out to his peers and socializing, his mother never expected that the source of his “cure” would be so simple. The cure, needless to say, is Pokemon Go — the latest craze sweeping the tech industry and sending iPhone app developers scrambling for […]
iOS vs Android: How to Choose a Platform
Choosing a platform isn’t easy, but it’s one of the most important decisions faced by early-stage startups. Depending on the services your app offers, choosing the right platform can mean the difference between success and failure — no matter how talented your mobile app development team. We’ve guided hundreds of startups through the planning, development, […]
Top 10 Reasons Your App Might Be Rejected from the App Store
Making apps is hard. Waiting for apps to be approved by the apple app store? Nerve-wracking. For developers, the biggest frustration with the App Store review process is that apps are often returned as soon as an issue is found, rather than receiving a top-to-bottom check the first time around. For example, an app returned […]