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I still don't understand how you can raise $14M for a social media app and not have an Android version. "Yes, Mr. VC, it's true that we aren't doing well on th

I still don't understand how you can raise $14M for a social media app and not have an Android version. "Yes, Mr. VC, it's true that we aren't doing well on the iOS charts, and we purposely excluded 85% of the market from using it despite the proliferation of easy-to-use cross-platform dev tools. But we do have a lot of press and a cool logo....it's a Meerkat! Did Tom give you our wire instructions?".

treelovinhippie 12y ago
Yeah Android user here. Always frustrating when it's iOS only when as you said, Android has 85% global market share. The usual rebuttal seems to be "iOS users are more sophisticated or wealthy, we'll release Android later".
- downandout 12y ago
  >The usual rebuttal seems to be "iOS users are more sophisticated or wealthy That actually can be a valid argument IF your revenue model is heavily skewed toward IAP or you are charging up front for the app. But for a free social media app whose sole purpose in life is to get as many active users as humanly possible, it's absurd not to have an Android version when it represents most of the market.
  - calbear81 12y ago
    Social apps inherently need to be trendy and seem "hip" to catch on with the right crowd. Having limited resources, they chose to go with one platform at launch. I would bet that amongst their target taste-maker crowd (celebrities, YouTube personalities, etc.), iOS has higher market share when compared to the larger general smartphone market.
chaz 12y ago
Because iOS is a huge market all by itself.
sgarman 12y ago
It seems that it's not obvious they had a real plan for success. If you are still figuring things out spreading that across platforms will just make you slower. I have done Android apps for companies who did not have product market fit and it just ends up in having two apps that don't have product market fit.
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treelovinhippie 12y ago

Yeah Android user here. Always frustrating when it's iOS only when as you said, Android has 85% global market share. The usual rebuttal seems to be "iOS users are more sophisticated or wealthy, we'll release Android later".

downandout 12y ago
>The usual rebuttal seems to be "iOS users are more sophisticated or wealthy That actually can be a valid argument IF your revenue model is heavily skewed toward IAP or you are charging up front for the app. But for a free social media app whose sole purpose in life is to get as many active users as humanly possible, it's absurd not to have an Android version when it represents most of the market.
- calbear81 12y ago
  Social apps inherently need to be trendy and seem "hip" to catch on with the right crowd. Having limited resources, they chose to go with one platform at launch. I would bet that amongst their target taste-maker crowd (celebrities, YouTube personalities, etc.), iOS has higher market share when compared to the larger general smartphone market.

chaz 12y ago

Because iOS is a huge market all by itself.

sgarman 12y ago

It seems that it's not obvious they had a real plan for success. If you are still figuring things out spreading that across platforms will just make you slower. I have done Android apps for companies who did not have product market fit and it just ends up in having two apps that don't have product market fit.

deleted 12y ago

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