4 ms·

First, congratulations; that's a pretty impressive feat on the app store. Have you thought about taking some of the income and using it to hire other developer

by icey 17y ago

First, congratulations; that's a pretty impressive feat on the app store. Have you thought about taking some of the income and using it to hire other developers to increase the number of apps that you've got being developed at once? It seems like you know what works and doesn't work on the app store, so it would probably make sense to start trying to make your efforts scale up.

ph0rque 17y ago
To add to icey's comment, why not use the money to develop a framework (or build on an existing framework) to be able to port your apps to other mobile platforms?
noodle 17y ago
i echo the congrats and everything else icey says, basically. things that i would add: - consider just sitting on (some/most of) the money for a while. you don't need to make a big hasty plan and execute just because you have some cash to spend right now. thats not to say do nothing. just don't throw all your resources at something immediately just because you have the resources to burn. - diversify. as you said, the app store won't be forever. try looking into other things that are either just becoming viable for development, or things that are going to be longer-lasting. - pad your account. no matter what you do, there will be dry times and hard times. make sure you're good to go for that. stash some money away while you have it.
- dkersten 17y ago
  Perhaps port to other smart phones, like the Nokia n900 or Android phones. I Don't know if this is worthwhile, but perhaps worth keeping an eye on.
jerf 17y ago
The poster expressed the sentiment that the app store ecosystem is fragile and the income will end. If you believe that, investing in hiring more programmers for apps would be a move counter to your own beliefs. Since I tend to agree with that assessment, I couldn't recommend doubling down on building apps. There may be other good reasons to consider that, such as moving in another direction (consultancy, which raises the interesting question: is there a such thing as iPhone app consultancy?), but not for that reason alone. Edit: Google says that there is such a thing. It strikes me as likely that would be more stable long term, and, potentially, even more lucrative.
- icey 17y ago
  Noodle had an excellent point about diversifying, so I won't go into that too much. However, there is still a metric shit-ton of money to be made on the app store. I don't see people leaving it in droves immediately. He knows how to make money in this environment right now, so in my opinion he should spend at least some of the money he wants to invest on something he already knows how to do well. I just don't see the wisdom in avoiding a marketplace you already know how to make money on; even if it has a chance of going away. Max has already proven that he is able to identify a market and take advantage of it once, who is to say he couldn't take advantage of the "next big thing"?
  - rabble 17y ago
    Yeah, i'd take at least %50 of your income, and put it in various things, some CD's, some foreign currency investments, govt bonds (tax free), etc... Then save the next %25, for rainy day's in an account, interest rates are terrible right now, so you might try one of those savings accounts which earns miles. Then with the last %25, use that to invest in more appstore / development projects.
- easp 17y ago
  I agree that the app store ecosystem is fragile, but the poster seems to know how to make money there now. It also sounds like his current business model is small investments that generate quick returns. If he keeps to the same model, but with a little outsourced dev help, he could make more hay while the sun is shining.
- zmark 17y ago
  jerf, Can you explain further how Google is endorsing some kind of iPhone app consultancy? I haven't seen anything to make me think they're pursuing this.
jayliew 17y ago
You have a revenue generator model that's proven and works. Why not do more of it? Scale up?
- sandGorgon 17y ago
  i concur - as of now, scaling up could (but not necessarily ) mean having a captive outsourced team and capitalizing on your brand.
- webwright 17y ago
  Actually, that's a good point. Could you invest some of that money in another developer to speed up dev and iteration? How about a cheap marketeer to spread the word online about your apps?
Tichy 17y ago
Yeah, why invest in some company you don't know anything about (stock market), if you can invest in yourself?
- Readmore 17y ago
  You shouldn't ever invest in a company you know nothing about. If you're investing in the stock market you should do you research into the company before buying in.
  - Tichy 17y ago
    But how do you find out anything about another company? Safe for visiting them and getting a tour of the office, I don't see how?

by icey 17y ago

ph0rque 17y ago

To add to icey's comment, why not use the money to develop a framework (or build on an existing framework) to be able to port your apps to other mobile platforms?

noodle 17y ago

i echo the congrats and everything else icey says, basically. things that i would add: - consider just sitting on (some/most of) the money for a while. you don't need to make a big hasty plan and execute just because you have some cash to spend right now. thats not to say do nothing. just don't throw all your resources at something immediately just because you have the resources to burn. - diversify. as you said, the app store won't be forever. try looking into other things that are either just becoming viable for development, or things that are going to be longer-lasting. - pad your account. no matter what you do, there will be dry times and hard times. make sure you're good to go for that. stash some money away while you have it.

dkersten 17y ago
Perhaps port to other smart phones, like the Nokia n900 or Android phones. I Don't know if this is worthwhile, but perhaps worth keeping an eye on.

jerf 17y ago

The poster expressed the sentiment that the app store ecosystem is fragile and the income will end. If you believe that, investing in hiring more programmers for apps would be a move counter to your own beliefs. Since I tend to agree with that assessment, I couldn't recommend doubling down on building apps. There may be other good reasons to consider that, such as moving in another direction (consultancy, which raises the interesting question: is there a such thing as iPhone app consultancy?), but not for that reason alone. Edit: Google says that there is such a thing. It strikes me as likely that would be more stable long term, and, potentially, even more lucrative.

icey 17y ago
Noodle had an excellent point about diversifying, so I won't go into that too much. However, there is still a metric shit-ton of money to be made on the app store. I don't see people leaving it in droves immediately. He knows how to make money in this environment right now, so in my opinion he should spend at least some of the money he wants to invest on something he already knows how to do well. I just don't see the wisdom in avoiding a marketplace you already know how to make money on; even if it has a chance of going away. Max has already proven that he is able to identify a market and take advantage of it once, who is to say he couldn't take advantage of the "next big thing"?
- rabble 17y ago
  Yeah, i'd take at least %50 of your income, and put it in various things, some CD's, some foreign currency investments, govt bonds (tax free), etc... Then save the next %25, for rainy day's in an account, interest rates are terrible right now, so you might try one of those savings accounts which earns miles. Then with the last %25, use that to invest in more appstore / development projects.
easp 17y ago
I agree that the app store ecosystem is fragile, but the poster seems to know how to make money there now. It also sounds like his current business model is small investments that generate quick returns. If he keeps to the same model, but with a little outsourced dev help, he could make more hay while the sun is shining.
zmark 17y ago
jerf, Can you explain further how Google is endorsing some kind of iPhone app consultancy? I haven't seen anything to make me think they're pursuing this.

jayliew 17y ago

You have a revenue generator model that's proven and works. Why not do more of it? Scale up?

sandGorgon 17y ago
i concur - as of now, scaling up could (but not necessarily ) mean having a captive outsourced team and capitalizing on your brand.
webwright 17y ago
Actually, that's a good point. Could you invest some of that money in another developer to speed up dev and iteration? How about a cheap marketeer to spread the word online about your apps?

Tichy 17y ago

Yeah, why invest in some company you don't know anything about (stock market), if you can invest in yourself?

Readmore 17y ago
You shouldn't ever invest in a company you know nothing about. If you're investing in the stock market you should do you research into the company before buying in.
- Tichy 17y ago
  But how do you find out anything about another company? Safe for visiting them and getting a tour of the office, I don't see how?