Starting An App-based Business in NYC

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NYC is the hotspot for growth opportunities in the IT sector. This region is home to million-dollar startups as well as venture capitalists who want to invest in world-changing ideas. Considering the tech sector evolving in NYC, app development is one of the most lucrative business domains.

App Development Ideas and Revenue Models

The success of any great venture lies in two factors: a great idea and its good execution. For the first part of success, here are top 5 app development ideas that are currently trending in NYC:

• Blockchain apps

• These are decentralized apps that include dashboards and backends for database storage, crypto exchanges, NFT marketplaces, play to earn and NFT games, decentralized finance apps, digital blockchain wallets and blockchain learning applications.

  
  
• Virtual reality

• AR and VR are trending everywhere in the world. To integrate these, you can launch a VR-based ecommerce application, or a VR game

  
  
• Artificial intelligence

• AI and ML have their best applications in telemedicine, waste management, traffic optimization and image recognition apps. AI and ML decide how chatbots work, so yeah these are business cases for customer engagement and business bots as well.

  
  
• Smart home apps

• You can launch a single purpose smart home app with a feature for lighting or temperature that controls the thermostats or bulbs. Or, you can introduce a multipurpose smart home automation app that control alarms, door locks, lighting, temperature and plant care.

  
  
• Wearables

• To cater to wearable technology, you can create a healthcare or fitness application that connects with smart watches. These apps have biosensors and they monitor the physical movement and health conditions.

  Apps can be monetized in a variety of ways. You can choose to launch a free app that earns through sponsored ads, features, app affiliates and in app digital purchases. Or, you can launch a paid application that earns membership plans and subscription charges. The third option is to launch an app that earns from a combination: freemium model. The basic version of such apps is free and earns through ads. The paid version is ad-free, has more features and offers more functionality. Once you have an app development idea and its monetization model, it’s time to begin with the practical work. Here are the steps you need to take for launching an app-based business:

  Hiring an app development team

  We recommend beginners in development industry to hire development teams from their local areas. Also, we recommend you hire full-cycle development teams instead of freelancers. To hire an app developer in NYC, you’ll have to consider the portfolio, social proof, cost of app development, quality of design and development and scope of services. Also, make sure your developer gives you full legal ownership of digital assets and signs a 2-way NDA before signing contract.

  
  

  Monitoring development milestones

  Monthly and weekly reporting

  The time of your launch directly depends on the app development milestones. We suggest appreneurs keep a close eye on the progress of these milestones and take weekly to monthly reporting. Maintain a productivity sheet and a Gantt chart and make sure to tag associated developers, designers, project managers and testers.

  
  

  Testing the app

  While app developers in NYC already have expert testers and QA members on their panels, you still need to ensure that your app is tested in four dimensions:

  • Functional testing: for performance, navigation, user experience, loading time and speed, bugs, viruses and app crashes, sign up and sign in features
  • Instrument testing: on smartphones and emulators
  • Scope of testing: unit, medium or large-scale testing
  • Audience testing: professional testers and target audience
  

  Once your app is battle-tested, you need to follow up with the project management team for fixes or improvements of errors.

  Launching the app

  Launching the app includes store approvals and deployment. Both of these processes require appreneurs and developers to add the right app description while submitting. Make sure to provide correct information about the app, its revenue model the type of data it will collect and its price and packages (for paid apps).

  Marketing the app

  You’ll have to market the app as your full-time business for at least the first 2 years of launch. You need to forward your narrative and establish a brand identity. Popular marketing platforms include social media, Quora, Reddit, LinkedIn and Medium. You can also create a custom website or a WordPress blog and direct search engine traffic to the store listing.