4 ms·

Offer HN: 100 downloads of your free iPhone app. Help solve chicken/egg problem.

5 points by msencenb 16y ago

Currently in the middle of relaunching and refocusing on my startup (www.adsreloaded.com) this winter quarter while taking a little less of a workload in school.<p>The site is much like Y-Combinator backed tapzilla. I provide downloads for iPhone app developers and pay users to try apps. Currently I have 550 people "signed up" but only about 30 who are active. In the next 3 weeks I would like to push that number up to around 100 active people downloading apps. So far since relaunch I have had 1 paying developer and have 2 more out soon but I really am having some difficulty solving the "chicken and the egg" problem here. Developers want more downloads and users want more apps before they sign up.<p>So here is the offer: I'll start a $10 campaign for your free iPhone app (That's 100 downloads) for absolutely free. If you have a paid app we can work out a special offer as well. You get a small number of downloads while helping out a young startup get its footing again.<p>Please contact me on adsreloaded.com or my e-mail address found on my HN profile. Thanks HN :)

shawndumas 16y ago
Ok; that'll solve the chicken problem -- do you need people for the egg side of the equation? I, for one, would be interested in providing free feed back on iPhone apps. (150 - 200 words per app.)
- msencenb 16y ago
  The idea is to solve for one side of the equation "the chicken" before focusing on the egg problem, but yes I will need more "eggs" as well. Currently you don't have to provide feedback in order to get apps for free on the service but I am currently exploring a service that provides usability/feedback for a fee from app developers. We will see how it works out and if there is a market for this soon.
whathappenedto 16y ago
Does this apply to Android apps as well, or is this iPhone-specific?
- msencenb 16y ago
  Currently only iPhone specific sadly. I hope to expand horizontally eventually but want to move the needle in one market before I do that.
Retailslave 16y ago
I'd do it, how much is the pay?
- msencenb 16y ago
  For the users or app developers? For users you get a minimum of 10 cents for an app and for paid apps the minimum payout is the price of the app itself.

5 points by msencenb 16y ago

shawndumas 16y ago

Ok; that'll solve the chicken problem -- do you need people for the egg side of the equation? I, for one, would be interested in providing free feed back on iPhone apps. (150 - 200 words per app.)

msencenb 16y ago
The idea is to solve for one side of the equation "the chicken" before focusing on the egg problem, but yes I will need more "eggs" as well. Currently you don't have to provide feedback in order to get apps for free on the service but I am currently exploring a service that provides usability/feedback for a fee from app developers. We will see how it works out and if there is a market for this soon.

whathappenedto 16y ago

Does this apply to Android apps as well, or is this iPhone-specific?

msencenb 16y ago
Currently only iPhone specific sadly. I hope to expand horizontally eventually but want to move the needle in one market before I do that.

Retailslave 16y ago

I'd do it, how much is the pay?

msencenb 16y ago
For the users or app developers? For users you get a minimum of 10 cents for an app and for paid apps the minimum payout is the price of the app itself.