Funding your own mobile app might seem difficult. There are a lot of benefits, though, to having your own app. For example, one of the most important aspects of a business is being accessible to its customers. Without accessibility, your customers will find it hard to reach you, interact with you, and take a look at your services.
A mobile app is one of the most effective ways to reach out to your customers. Most companies nowadays, especially those that need to interact with their customers, have a mobile, or at least a concept for an app.
However, the development of an app is not easy. You need skilled technicians, developers, and, most of all, money. But while developing an app isn’t cheap, it’s a worthy investment. How exactly do you finance the development of an app?
Here are some ways for you to do just that.
Table of Contents
Bootstrapping
There’s no better way for funding your own mobile app than bootstrapping. If your business has the money for it, it’s the best way as you don’t need to depend on an investor or even loans, for that matter.
This means that you don’t have to owe anyone anything for the development of your app. Or, if you have co-founders who have the same idea as you, you can pool your money together to try and finance the development of an app.
Not only that, but if your co-founder has experience in IT, he can help you oversee the design and functionality of an app. If they have in-depth knowledge about app development, they can make the app from scratch without hiring developers.
Just take a look at Instagram. Behind the classroom project of Reggie Brown and Evan Spiegel was Bobby Murphy, who developed the app in its first stages.
Angel Investors
If an angel investor initially funded your business or you’re looking for someone to invest in your app, then angel investors are the way to go. Angel investors are the third most common way of funding app development. But what is an angel investor? An angel investor is a high-net-worth person looking to invest in a startup or a business opportunity or idea with their own money.
Usually, angel investors are individuals, but it can also refer to a group with the same goal. Angel investors can give you funding through equity or even loans. However, what people don’t usually know is that angel investors don’t only give you money for funding your own mobile app.
They can also give you other resources like offices, technical and managerial know-how, and even connections; one of these connections might be developers. Angel investors are well-connected, and if you want help with app development, they might just have someone for you to reach out to.
Loans
Banks also provide small business loans for business projects like app development to cover the costs of using mobile app developers for hire. However, getting one is more complicated than you think. First, you’d have to provide them with a business plan backed with market research, revenue projections, etc. The due diligence that banks do is more than what crowdfunding would do. So make sure you’re prepared for any queries the bank or lender might have for your project.
Luckily for us, business loans are quite common in the market. As a result, many banks are willing to listen to your pitch. But if a business loan is out of the question, you can apply with CreditNinja or any other alternative lender that offers personal loans for any needs.
Crowdfunding
If you’ve amassed a following for your company already, crowdfunding should be an attractive option for your business to finance its app. Crowdfunding is essential; you pitch a great app to your followers and hope they like it enough to help you fund it. It doesn’t require any resources as all you have to do is to make a convincing pitch.
However, you should also advertise some perks and special features for your donors to make your pitch sound more attractive. There are many platforms you can do this on, and most of them are free, except for a service fee from your proceeds.
Sites like Kickstarter have been known to have helped a lot of entrepreneurs and businesses in the past. Moreover, it’s still the top platform for crowdfunding these days.
Another popular option would be GoFundMe, which has more flexible terms than Kickstarter. Same as Kickstarter, you would have to make a pitch by setting your story and creating a goal. Of course, you should also add some perks and promotions for your donors.
Why is this important? For your crowdfunding to be successful, you need a lot of people to see it, and there’s a lot of traffic on these sites. Not to mention that many investors also look at these sites and are trying to scout crowdfunding projects they might be interested in.
Final Words
App development is not easy, and it’s very costly. Luckily for you, there are several ways for funding your own mobile app. From bootstrapping to crowdfunding, picking one from the options above should be in your best interest as all of them are effective options.
