Top 10 Common Pitfalls with Mobile App Startups 2019
As CEO of Tendigi, a mobile development firm based in NYC, I’ve had the opportunity to consult with hundreds of tech startup companies over the past 9 years and gained valuable insight into what leads to their premature failure. Ranging from 1-person bootstrapped apps to venture backed startups and everything in between, we’ve seen the spectrum of issues that trouble companies looking to build consumer mobile based products. Here is a list of the most critical mistakes, pitfalls, and issues that have challenged these early stage tech startups launching mobile businesses:
1. Premature Iteration
A common issue we’ve seen in product development is extensive iteration before an initial version of the product has even made it into the hands of test users. While you often read about the ways established companies have adopted iteration in their product development process, most startups seem to completely ignore or misinterpret this advice. One of Google’s “8 Pillars of innovation”, states “strive for continual innovation, not instant perfection” and goes on to describe “Our iterative process often teaches us invaluable lessons. Watching users ‘in the wild’ as they use our products is the best way to find out what works, then we can act on that feedback. It’s much better to learn these things early and be able to respond than to go too far down the wrong path.”Attempting to heavily iterate during your startup’s MVP development phase is an absolute death sentence for your product. This is particularly true if your startup is bootstrapped and does not have the resources or money to seemingly endlessly iterate on a product. Not only will you waste precious development cycle, you will miss an opportunity to gather feedback from the earliest group of testers.
The safest way to iterate on the product at the beginning stages is through lo-fi prototyping options such as performing user research, paper prototyping, and design mockups. Work through your user flow and refine your wireframes. Once a clear and well defined spec has been outlined, then you can reach out to your network or test groups for feedback and insight. When everyone on the project feels good about the direction, then, and only then may you proceed with development. Keep in mind, you will want to keep your tech team in the loop throughout the process so that they maybe provide a technical perspective to possible approaches. Development costs are typically one of the highest expenses for a startup and by invoking a non-technical iterative process, it will help keep your company’s cash burn lower.
2. Inexperienced or unprepared entrepreneurs
A few years ago, I spoke with a VC from a major NYC investment firm who mentioned to me “one of the most important things I look for is whether or not the founders are even capable of running the business”. This has stuck with me for a long time and it’s something that I even think to myself today when interviewing new clients. Whenever we work on an app, I immediately think about the underlying business model and the people that are at the helm. What are the founders bringing to the table? Experience? Financing? Strategy? Technical Expertise? What does the leadership team look like and what is the likelihood this product will see the light of day. The app itself should only be part of your business plan and not the entirety of it. Many inexperienced first-time app entrepreneurs can find themselves simply confused and frustrated in the process of launching their business and mobile app.
If you’re lacking the technical or business experience to get a mobile app and business off the ground, we’d suggest applying to a startup incubators or accelerators. Many of these programs provide hands-on mentoring, as well as possible funding opportunities. Techstars, Ycombinator, and Founders Space, provide excellent opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs.
3. Assuming every feature is critical
As we previously discussed, premature iteration can be a problem and can often cause a terrible side effect of making every scope change “critical” to the product’s development. More often than not, the real reason every feature becomes “critical” is because of the time crunch caused by the additional time taken to support iteration changes. The goal post is not moved when the development team needs to work overtime in order to accommodate product changes and the pressure to deliver increases exponentially. These circumstances may cause friction in the development process and is often the root of many of the issues plaguing young startup teams. Corners are cut, your team is overworked to meet deadlines, and the work environment can quickly deteriorate.
Startup founders often believe that everything they think of is critical. It must be done in order for the product to succeed. This line of thinking is an absolute trap. When running a startup, assume you are on a boat. At the bottom of this boat there are a few large holes through which water is pouring in. Would you focus on adjusting your sails and direction when your ship is going to sink regardless? Critical features are those that need to be implemented in order for your boat (startup) to not sink. Manage those priorities!
4. Inability to acknowledge outside market forces
While the #1 thing I hear from startup founders is the need to “move fast” because the competition is heating up or there is a “small window of opportunity”, I often see the mistake of not taking into account the forces outside of your company that can negatively impact your product. Startups are often quick to point out how their product is superior to a competing company and refuse to acknowledge the things their competitors do well. It’s important to identify how your app or product fits in the market and how you will communicate your company’s value proposition to potential users and investors.
Keep an open mind and listen closely when someone brings you information they think you should know. Did your close competitor pivot to offer a different service offering? Did a new law come into effect that may impact how you handle customer data? Is there a new cutting edge tool that your company could leverage or may make your product obsolete? Occasionally step out of your bubble and see what’s going on in the market at large.
5. Lack of product specification
Changing product specs during software development can be very costly so it’s important to document your product functionality. Just like an architect needs blueprint to build a house, your product development needs specifications to follow. Imagine what would happen if you hired an architect to build you a house and you said “You know what, we’re gonna take an iterative approach to building this house. The blueprints aren’t fully developed yet, but we’ll figure it out as we go along. We might put up some windows and doors, but we may decide to change or move them later”. I can guarantee that you won’t be happy with how your home turns out and the process will be complete chaos. The exact same thing applies to software development. Going into it without a solid game plan simply does not work.
At Tendigi, we always plan out an initial discovery phase for our clients where we meticulously go through the product specs and iron out any details necessary before beginning development. Building out user stories, technical specifications, users flows and wireframes. This ultimately leads to a much smoother process in the end and helps build consensus among stakeholders.
6. It should work exactly like Facebook, Instagram, etc.!
Consumers have come to expect a very high level of quality from the products they use on a daily basis and it’s important that your product or app focuses on quality and usability. If it doesn’t feel high quality within the first 2–3 seconds of app opening, the likelihood of your app staying on a user’s phone is small. Unfortunately, your startup most likely doesn’t have an endless supply of resources or money, therefore, the likelihood of your product having the same depth of functionality, polish, and performance that products created by well established tech companies such as Facebook or Google, is comparatively limited.
In the process of making your first mobile app, you will need to be hyper focused. Ensure that the user’s first experience with your app or product is wonderful and then prioritize a smaller set of polished features that work well. Be judicious and build from there.
7. Hiring the wrong people
At the end of the day, what makes a startup idea a reality are the people that work there and their ability to execute. Even with the best interviewing processes in place, you may end up with a bad hire. Similarly, you may even unknowingly turn someone away who would be an excellent fit for your company because of a conscious or unconscious bias in your hiring process. Think thoroughly through your hiring process and identify who is making decisions for your company or product. Who is helping thing move forward and who is holding your company back? Who you bring in makes all the difference at the critical early stages of your business.
8. Not trusting your partners and network
While it’s quite common for founders to believe that their intuition is the golden path forward, another common pitfall I’ve seen is for these individuals to not seek out early advice from experienced individuals not directly involved in the product they are building.
Reach out to people you know and trust that are familiar with the industry. Get their feedback and build with that.
9. Selecting a development partner based on price
Nothing is more expensive than a cheap app. Entrepreneurs looking to build a business focused on a mobile app will typically shop around their idea to various development companies to receive quotes. While it may seem enticing to go with the lowest quote received, you will end up paying for that in the long run. Perhaps the low bidding company is underestimating the amount of work required or they are employing lesser skilled outsourced developers. The cheapest solution maybe be a non-starter, so think twice before racing to the bottom.
10. Having your product depend on third-party services
While leveraging third party platforms is common in the app business, building your product on top of an endless list of third-party services can ultimately be detrimental. A very popular case study in 2013 was the acquisition of Parse by Facebook. Many small startups and app entrepreneurs who lacked the ability to build out a APIs and backends for their apps were using Parse. The Parse platform had been powering tens of thousands of applications and eventually Facebook decided to shut down the service approximately a year after the acquisition. This left thousands of companies with no option but to migrate their application’s data and backend to another service.
Since time is usually against you in the startup world, leveraging third-party services to get out the door quickly can be a smart move. Just keep in mind, you may want to eventually replace some of these services with your own so that you can control your product end-to-end.
About Jeff
Want to know more? Feel free to email me: jeff@tendigi.com or follow me on twitter: Jeff Soto — You can also visit the Tendigi website if you’re interested in working with us.
