iOSNeXT.ro - Lessons learnt as Indie Developer in Romania - Alexandru Iliescu

Editor's Notes

• #3: That’s what we did to build Mondly, THE language learning app
• #4: The solution? Put the basis of a start-up or Join one I would advise you to do this when you feel you’re not making an impact in your current position. This quote is from Neil Blumenthal, cofounder and co-CEO of Warby Parker 
• #5: Why is now the time? The difference between now and 30 years ago when Ms and Apple ruled the world is: back then you needed millions toproduce, distribute and sell software Now you can do all this from you couch. 
• #8: - Appstores - Appstore on the iphone - (featured page) Are a HUGE opportunity - app market size from $0 to $25 billion in 7 years - entry is very low (Free, $29 or 99$) 
• #9: Let’s cut to the chase, shall we: Who wants to make a million euros? Well, if you save 1000 euros every month, how long do you think it takes to make 1 million euro? 83 years - are you gonna wait that long ? These are just two of the questions that I asked myself 2 years ago when I was still working for a multinational company making a good salary (we started making and selling apps)
• #10: Multi billion dollar companies - 5 - 50 people small teams (Whatsapp, Instagram (5 people), Snapchat, King, Rovio etc) These are the questions I asked myself 2 years ago before I started building apps 
• #11: Why a Mobile Startup? Startups producing millionaires - Apple, Ms, Fb, Google created thousands of employees millionaires when IPO
• #12: What we learned: Start small - think big - Romania good for testing the mechanics of the stores - but go worlwide if you mean serious business Develop once - sell forever Find a good, compatible, complementary cofounder - you’ll need him/her to go big
• #13: Consolidate the team - secure access to all 8 services (one person can cover more positions): - programmer (s), - graphic designer, - project manager, - marketing manager, - data analyst, - technical assistant, - accountant and lawyer
• #16: Use services and freelancers when needed (dev, localization, copywriting, design) or ask friends for help :) Examples fiverr, odesk, (fre)elance Tip - Odesk: start with an idea - post project to odesk.com - get free advice from applicants develop idea - repeat until ready to start dev How to hire - referals rock -  ask friends or colleagues, they know smart people who might just be looking for something new   (Almost) Free Services: Cloud: Parse, Azure, Amazon Team&project management: Slack, Trello, Producteev Google apis (maps, translate, analytics etc) Example how Parse Free was 1mil calls/month - and now it’s 30 calls/ sec => 10-20mil calls/month Analytics and reporting: Appfigures, Appannie - app sales reports Flurry, Crittercism, - user analytics, crash reporting Chartboost - ads api
• #19: Startup programs: Bizspark, FBstart etc examples of benefits: free credits 500$ Facebook ads, up to 750$/month free  Azure hosting 
• #22: Right mindset - Walk into customer’s shoes BUY APPS - PAY YOUR TRIBUTE TO THE APPS GODS 
• #23: Story: Today I will buy an app. I open the Appstore, browse apps or play with the free apps and I buy the one I like best - it gives you a perspective into what you have to do to SELL to customers 
• #24: Build it and they will come (NOT)   
• #25: You need: brand awareness, marketing, customer relations Facebook page, website, blog, google+, twitter - link them all together Tip: if you need to test a certain message or banner ad, use Fb ads, create multiple ads and see what gets the most clicks 
• #26: Join app communities (Fb examples), attend events - be assertive Met Bob - got me on this stage Story: How I met Paul Ardeleanu ->got me on iOSNext stage Ted Nash (London kid millionaire) etc 
• #27: We think this is as good as it gets right now in language learning, the app successfully combining: Educational fun  thru gamification and being social & results oriented Conversation enabler – which definitely sets us apart from our competition Humanized technology (real-life voices + hand-made lessons)  real-life applicability - it’s mobile, but with us technology is humanized and close to the user
• #28: 4 SS-uri Type R Dialog Fb Achievements
• #31: And we wanted to make this available to the whole world.
• #32: we offer this service in over 300 combinations.
• #34: If you have any questions…shoot