How to Successfully Develop Your Mobile App Idea

Do you have a tech startup idea that’s been rattling around in your brain for a while?

Are you having problems explaining it to people? Or maybe when you discuss it with others, they just don’t understand what you’re talking about. Maybe you feel like you have an idea, but it’s not quite all there yet.

If you need help to validate your business idea, you’ve come to the right place.

I’ve been in the tech industry for more than two decades and have five successful startups under my belt. I’m sure you can imagine what the conversations are like whenever I’m at a dinner party.

Someone always tells me that they have a great idea they want to share with me. So for the next hour, I have to entertain that idea and tell them how great it is (even if it’s not that unique). We talk (they do most of the talking), have a couple of drinks, and say we’ll be 50/50 partners on the idea. For me, dinner parties like this can sometimes be a drag.

But it still begs the question—how do you develop and validate your business idea?

It’s an age-old question that has been addressed in many different schools of thought. Countless speakers have shared their opinions on the subject. Stanford has the NABC method (Need, Approach, Benefit, Competition).

In this guide, I’m going to give you six tips to validate your business idea in a way that’s specifically catered to tech companies and raising money for your startup.

These best practices are based on my first-hand experience in software development. It’s worked for me and it’s worked for my clients who have had success in this space.

Business Validation Tip #1: Explain the Problem and Opportunity

This is always the first thing that you need to do. You must be able to clearly articulate the problem that you’re trying to solve as well as the opportunity at hand.

The number one reason why startups fail is because the market doesn’t need what they’re offering.

You must be able to clearly identify the problem and opportunity in the market. If you can’t do that, it might be time to go back to the drawing board and create a new business plan for your software development venture.

Conduct market research. Get your market validation. What is the market looking for? Is there an existing need that you’re trying to fill? Or are you creating a new need?

If you’re addressing an existing need, this can be split up into two categories—needs that you have and needs that others have.

If you don’t feel the need yourself, the product might suffer a little bit. That’s because the information you’re getting is always one step removed.

The other side of this concept is creating a completely new demand. This is extremely difficult but highly profitable.

Smartphones are the perfect example to explain what I mean.

If you’re old enough to remember, think about the days when nobody had smartphones. We were all just fine. Life continued and operated with no problems.

But now I dare you to put your smartphone down and walk to the end of the block. See what happens. You’ll get anxious, and the addiction to your phone will start to kick in. You need to be with your phone at all times.

This type of need didn’t exist prior to the invention of the smartphone. But once it was created, the need was established.

So if a product can create a new need or functionality, you have the opportunity for limitless profits, but it’s extremely risky.

The next thing that you need to ask yourself is whether your business idea is a “must-have” or “nice to have” product. Is it a consumer luxury item? Or can people do without it?

The loyalty of your customers will differ based on whether or not this is a need or a want.

Business Validation Tip #2: Competitive Advantage Analysis

Once you’ve identified the market need, you must be able to properly articulate your competitive advantage.

If you’re entering an existing market that has competitors, why should the target audience pick you over the competition? There must be a differentiator in your product that improves the user experience.

What is your competitive advantage? If you’re just another “me too” business, then you’re not different.

Your idea must be different enough to stand out from the crowd. Give people a reason to choose you over the other players in the market.

You need to develop a strategy for how you’re going to beat your competitors. Play to win.

The strategy must explain how you’re going to gain ground on the competition. They’ve already been in business for months, years, or potentially decades before you. So you have lots of ground to cover just to catch up; then you can beat them from there.

Business Validation Tip #3: Is Your Idea Defendable?

If you don’t have any competitors, and you’re creating something new, then you need to ask yourself this—”is my idea defendable?”

Here’s what I mean by defendable. Does your product have intellectual property that you can patent to defend against other competitors?

In software, a patent is super easy to obtain and extremely difficult to defend.

This is a common question that I hear from all of my clients. It’s such a common occurrence that I’ll probably write a complete guide on the topic soon. With software, everyone asks, “Can I patent it?”

The answer is yes. But the real question should be, can you defend it? And the answer—you probably can’t. All someone else needs to do is change 20% of your patent, and it’s considered to be different software by law.

It’s much easier to defend a utility patent if you’re an electrical engineer or something like that. But when you’re dealing with software, intellectual property is extremely hard to defend.

So there could be other app developers or app development companies out there creating solutions for the app store with the same functionality as your software.

Think about the electric scooters that we see popping up in all major cities right now. It’s a really good idea, and it’s already out there. However, it’s so difficult to defend. Within months there are three or four other competitors coming to join the party.

Delivery apps available for iOS and Android apps are another example. A mobile app development company or freelancer could create a successful app without another app business in the delivery space getting in their way.

There are just two examples of great application ideas that are tough to defend.

Business Validation Tip #4: Go to Market Strategy

In terms of business validation for your tech startup idea, you must have a very specific go-to-market strategy. What do I mean by this?

When you develop a product or a business, and you’re ready to open up your doors, start selling, taking subscriptions, or whatever else you’re offering—how does the world know that you exist? How are you going to start gaining customers?

If you’re a brick and mortar company, you can do this through guerilla marketing. Make some posters and take out local ads. Maybe you’re in a high traffic area, and people will just randomly see you.

That’s fine for brick and mortar, but technology is a bit different.

You could have the best idea and the wold that nobody has heard about. So you need to have a marketing strategy. Always reserve some of your funds to make sure you have some sort of digital marketing presence.

You might start by creating an MVP (minimum viable product) for your mobile application and promote it via social media.

Consider offering some type of freemium model. Allow people to try your product before they actually purchase anything. Free trials for subscription businesses have a historically high conversion rate.

Lots of times, this strategy will be much cheaper than a full-blown marketing plan. You’ll still need to have some marketing to let people know that there’s a free tier, but it won’t be as involved.

When it comes to your go-to-market strategy, there are lots of different ways to approach this. There is an age-old question for a scenario that shows two different schools of thought.

Let’s say there is a town with two successful Italian restaurants. People love Italian foo

d in this town, and everyone goes to both. You decide to open up a brand new restaurant. Do you open an Italian one? Or something else?

One school of thought says that you already know how much people love Italian food here. If you can do a better job than the others, you’ll be successful.

The other school of thought says that this town is already saturated with Italian food. But obviously, people enjoy going out to eat. You can open up a restaurant offering a different type of cuisine to be successful.

Approach	Pros	Cons
Open Italian Restaurant	Proven demand for Italian food	High competition
Open Different Cuisine	Less competition, unique offering	Uncertain demand

Which method is correct? Drop a comment and let me know what you think.

Business Validation Tip #5: Financial Forecast and Security

You need a very clear financial statement and forecast of how your company is going to operate when it’s losing money in the beginning.

When you first start, you’ve spent lots of money and don’t have any customers.

You need to figure out when you’re going to go from red to black, which is your breakeven point. Then figure out when you’re going to

What is the best type of restaurant to open in a saturated market?

Consider offering a unique cuisine that isn’t currently available in the area to stand out.

How do I determine the breakeven point for my restaurant?

Calculate your fixed and variable costs and determine how many sales you need to cover these costs.

What are the risks of opening a restaurant?

High competition, uncertain demand, and significant initial investment are common risks.

How important is a financial forecast for a new business?

It’s crucial as it helps you plan for the future and manage your finances effectively.

Can a restaurant succeed without a unique selling proposition?

It’s challenging, as a unique selling proposition helps differentiate your restaurant from competitors.