Posted on

How to turn your app idea into reality?

how to turn your app idea into reality

Cheers! You have a great app idea but how to turn your app idea into reality?

With the app economy booming, this is the best time to transition your vision for an app into a full-fledged reality. The user base is growing so is the spending on mobile apps.

Source: Sensor tower

This provides a great opportunity for entrepreneurs and enterprises to nudge into the greatest mobile trend of all times!

But it isn’t as easy as it looks. Once you’re at it, you might find yourself mystified in the process. What should you do? How to get from A to B or B to C? Where to start from?

You’re not the only one asking these questions. Often it’s hard to know where to start from, especially if this is your first time making an app. At Spark Eighteen, we master in providing you solutions to these problems. Here is a step-by-step guide that can help you on how to turn your app idea into reality:

Don’t stop researching!

There is already a surfeit of poorly planned apps that fail within weeks because they do not research well. You would not want to imagine your app among these!

Once you have your basic idea at hand, the very next step is to check if the idea in itself is viable. Below are some of the questions you need answers to:

  • What are the problems that you’re solving through your app?

If there isn’t any problem for which your app is the solution, your product will basically remain non-existent.

  • Is there a market for your app?

Research online industry journals run a search on Google Trends, conduct keyword research, talk to industry experts – gather as much information you can about your potential market and your ability to scale an idea here.

  • Who is your competition?

There can be similar apps in your space that are targeting the same problem and users as you are. Search who they are, check what they’re doing, read online reviews, and run through their social media handles. Collect all this data and analyze the expectations for an app like this and what you can improve upon as you build your own app.

  • Who are your users?

Identify your target audience and define your user persona. Uncover how do they tackle the identified problem today, how satisfied or dissatisfied are they with the existing solution, and how is your app going to improve this for them?

Create a basic outline for your idea

Once you are done with the nitty-gritty, it’s time to sketch your app together with a wireframe which is one of the most important elements when answering the question of how to turn your app idea into reality. Your wireframe is the draft of your app’s main architecture. Don’t get carried away making all the design choices just yet, rather stick to the main fundamentals or features of your application. Create a detailed and specific outline of how things are going to work and what pages and functions are needed. Before jumping on to design, keep going back and forth to find if there is any snag in the navigation or screen layout. Move ahead only when you’re satisfied with your wireframes.

Get your app designed

The sketch is ready, now it’s time to color it! This is a super important step as this will decide if your users will stick to using your app or will just delete it after one use. So it’s wise that you don’t rush or skimp through this process. Start by sketching the user interface (UI) for your application. There are various options for how you can go about it as you can either use a paper or a software tool that lets you create mockups for your app. Decide what colors, fonts, and design elements you’re going to use for your app design. Since this is such a crucial step, even a small misstep can create a big problem. We’d recommend you to hand this to a team of designers or programmers with enough technical knowledge or experience to get your product designed faster.

Time to launch and market your app!

Source: Statista

Now that you have your fully-functioning app, it’s time to put it to the test. Make sure every aspect of your app is functioning properly and is visually appealing. Before revealing your masterpiece to the world, run beta testing of your product. This means launching a beta version of your app and making it available for early-adopters. This way you’ll know how your app performs in the live environment and how the audience reacts to it. Collect valuable feedback and use it to improve your app.

After planning, designing, and testing finally it’s time to hit the shelves! But publishing your app to either the App Store or Google Play Store doesn’t end your job.  The more complex part is to put the word out there. Without proper marketing, your app will hit the pile of apps that nobody pays attention to. Use the power of social media ads, influencers, or email marketing to spark a conversation about your product.

Lastly, don’t forget to listen to user feedback. Keep improving and updating your app regularly to give users the best experience.

We hope this blog helped in simplifying a very complex process. But again, app development is an ongoing affair that will continue even after the initial launch of the product. This is why you need the best team by your side. Spark Eighteen is a professional team of designers that provide mobile app development services to companies across different industries. Feel free to contact us here.

Posted on

Design for the users: 8 Key elements of a great mobile app UX design

8 key elements of a great mobile app ux design

What makes a great mobile app UX design? Hopefully by the end of this blog you’ll be able to answer this question. 

Why do people download mobile apps?

A pretty straightforward question, right?

Users have needs and look for a fast and efficient way to achieve those needs. Apps are that “way”.

Simple question – simple answer. But again, scratching the surface, we can see that it is really not as easy as it seems and requires a bigger and deeper answer.

Table of Content:

  1. A Clean Layout
  2. Easy-to-Flow Navigation
  3. Minimum User Input
  4. Legible Text Content
  5. Big Enough Tap-Targets
  6. Hand Position Controls
  7. Provides Personalization
  8. Well-Tested

According to a study by TechJury, an average person has around 80 different apps installed on their phone, out of which only 9 of those apps are used daily. Further data by Statistics show that users abandon 25% of mobile apps on their phones just after one use.

The main reason why a user downloads an app is that they are looking for a unique experience that they won’t possibly get on a website. An experience that justifies the reason for why they should be downloading an app in the first place. After all, the more usable the app is, the higher user engagement it gets and the lower chance of uninstalls.

Implementing the best of mobile app UX design principles at every step of the design process can help you attain this. Following are the 8 best mobile app UX design practices that you need to consider for your app today!

8 Mobile App UX design principles

1. A Clean Layout

Users aren’t necessarily looking for a meaning behind your design. It’s a mobile app, not a Vincent Van Gogh painting for god sake!

They won’t take much time to drop out of an app that ruffles their feathers. That is why a simple and clean design that makes it easy for users to navigate, explore, and consume content is what we consider the golden recipe of a successful app design. Just have a look at this example below:

clean layout mobile app ux design

Absolutely no clutter! The mobile app layout seems fresh and feels relaxing to the eyes, doesn’t it? A minimalist and simple design is your best defense against the paradox of choice and will help you create the most holistic and satisfying mobile experience for your users.

2. Easy-to-Flow Navigation

Good navigation is a vehicle that directs users where they want to go. You know navigation is bad if you have to stop and wonder “How to reach a specific function?”.

To avoid this bummer, make your UX navigation intuitive so that users can immediately figure out how to get around your application. Use familiar icons (such as a “home” icon for the home page or “speech balloon” for messages), fewer options on the menu bar, and give users a visible indicator of which screen they are at the moment.

navigation

This is one of the most important elements of UX for apps. If a user finds it difficult to navigate through your app, they’re more likely to disengage and close or even uninstall the app before even using it.

3. Minimum User Input

The biggest challenge with smaller devices isn’t the screen size, but the typing experience. Typing on mobile screens isn’t always the most comfortable experience as in most cases the keyboard takes up more than half of the screen. With this situation at hand, you would not want to overwhelm users with a form that contains endless amounts of fields. Try and reduce the number of fields in a form by asking only the most relevant details.

Minimizing the number of fields isn’t enough – also focus on the areas where extra user effort is being put. For example, filling out an address is often the most difficult part of any form. Make it easy by using smart features like autocomplete which uses both geolocation and address prefilling to provide correct suggestions based on the user’s exact location. Similarly, customize the keyboard for the type of query like displaying a numeric keyboard when asking for a phone number or including the ‘@’ sign when asking for an email address. Ensure that these features are applied consistently throughout the app instead of just certain forms.

4. Legible Text Content

Text is one of the most critical elements of mobile UX design. If users are unable to read your content, then how will they use your app? As screen sizes are getting smaller, the strain on our eyes is increasing to read texts. This is why legibility is everything. This means that your texts should be easily distinguishable that the users do not find it troubling to read or analyze them. In fact, they shouldn’t feel the need to re-read it. Adjust the spacing, length, font, and style to find the most legible tuning for your mobile app.

5. Big Enough Tap-Targets

Ever played darts? Hitting the bulls-eye is way harder to do than hitting any other part of the dartboard. This is because bulls-eye is the smallest target on the board.

The same principle can be applied to mobile UX design. Smaller touch targets are hard for users to hit than the larger ones. So when you’re designing your mobile app, it is best to make your targets big so that they’re easy for users to tap If a user clicks on a tiny portion of the screen and if that doesn’t create the expected action, the user might get annoyed and exit the app. The solution is to make the tap-size at least 7-10mm so that they are able to locate the button and easily tap on it.

6. Hand Position Controls

Are you reading this blog on your phone? Even if you’re not, pick it up and see where you naturally place your fingers and thumb. Where can you tap? Which areas do you have to stretch your thumb to tap?

Hand positions and grip influence a large part of mobile UX design. In a research on mobile devices usage, it was found that 49% of people rely on one thumb to get things done on their phones. Even when you look at the image below, the colors indicate the areas where a user can reach their thumb to interact with the screen.

Green shows the area where they can easily use their thumb, yellow are the areas where they have to stretch a bit to reach, and red requires users to change the way they are holding their device. This means:

  • You need to place common actions in the easy to reach the green zone;
  • Place negative buttons (such as delete or cancel) in the hard to reach red zone so users do not accidentally tap on it.

7. Provides Personalization

We’ve been hearing the word ‘personalization’ a lot nowadays. It has become an integral part of designing in the digital system due to the ability to build a connection with the end-user. It gives users the content they’re searching for in the first place and eliminates any distraction in-between.  The best part is, even the user is looking for it!

Personalize the user’s journey by allowing them to change settings, control push notifications from the app, and cancel actions. Apps can suggest or provide warnings but the end decision should be of the user to make.  Let them ask questions or queries by integrating various types of feedback into your interface. Give users a sense of freedom and transparency.

8. Well-Tested

A thoroughly tested app prevents any future user problems.

The earlier you test your app, the earlier you fix any problems and win the trust of your users. Review different features, layouts, and variations of your mobile app design to see what is working best. Build a user-centered approach by testing your app with real-users, With each round, you’ll uncover different ways of improving your app design to meet the user’s needs.

Conclusion

Congratulations! Now that you’ve made it to the end of it, we can assume you’re equipped with the knowledge of creating an extraordinary design for your app. We hope now you understand the importance of UX for mobile applications. Following these mobile app ux design principles, you will be able to give users a better overall experience.

Get one step further to your dream app by joining hands with a great team like Spark Eighteen. Take a look at our work here!

Posted on

Watch Out: 5 Biggest UI Design Trends Of 2021!

ui design trends 2021

The fast-paced digital environment of UI design is evolving at a rapid rate. You may work on one design for some time, and it will get replaced with a more advanced version within a couple of months. But wait! The idea isn’t to scare you out of your wits but to help you stay up-to-date with all these changes. We’re here to help you get inspired to produce the best online experience through your website or mobile app. We browsed through hundreds of blogs available online and talked to our best designers to serve you these UI design trends for 2021! We’ve done the dirty work, all you need to do is sit back and read. Are you ready? Let’s go!

Table of Content:

  1. 3D elements
  2. Dark mode
  3. Storytelling
  4. Soft-gradients
  5. Neumorphism

Why is a good UI important?

Think about it.

When you first enter a website where do your eyes go? What is the first thing that grabs your attention? It’s pretty easy to imagine that every letter you write or content you put out on your website sparks excitement among visitors. The truth is, it really doesn’t.

As soon as a visitor enters a website, before taking any action they scan through it and only stop when something catches their eyes. What adds up to the challenge is the dwindling human attention span that won’t sit at one place for more than mere 8 seconds! This makes catching your audience’s attention a tough cookie. But, does that mean it’s impossible?

Enter, User Interface!

A good user interface is crucial. It makes it easier for users and visitors to browse through your products and clearly see what services you offer without obscurity. To put it simply, a good UI turns potential visitors into buyers by drawing their attention and simplifying their interaction with your website or mobile application.

You cannot be more wrong for thinking that UI only focuses on the aesthetic aspects of a website or mobile app. It is quite a detailed process as it involves anticipating the user needs and preferences then producing an interface that understands and satisfies those needs. After all, a visual design that is both interactive and informative is what makes a good user interface design which further increases conversion rates.

2020 stumbled upon some of the most creative and promising trends like animations and full-screen mobile layouts that are indeed going to stick for longer. The upcoming year is going to be even grand with trends that will take the design world by storm.  Here are the 5 hottest UI trends 2021 that we think are going to shape the near future:

5 Hottest UI Design Trends 2021

1. 3D Elements

3d elements

3D elements are engaging, emotive, and even better – in-trend! This immersive design is already being used in the UI arena for years and with the popularity of VR and AR technology, it is expected to reach its peak in the upcoming year. As a web and mobile app development agency, we think 3D modeling will be a great way of owning a more realistic and futuristic presence in the digital world than the old and repetitious two-dimensional one.

2. Dark Mode

According to a recent report by Built With, around 1,658 websites have used Dark Theme to attract customers, out of which 1,007 are live websites while 651 sites have been using dark modes ever since.

dark mode ui design trends 2021

Do you realize why this many websites (and even apps) today feel the need to provide an optional dark mode to their users? Due to our increased screen-time, the strain on our eyes increases too. Dark mode helps with it especially in low-light and nighttime situations. This means a user is able to spend more time on your website or app if it provides an optional dark-mode feature. When adding this feature, predominantly use blacks or grey with the right contrast between different elements and typography. It is not only timeless but also adds a certain elegance to your page and make it look classy!

3. Storytelling

We’re all for good stories, especially if it is able to hook us right. Often times digital storytelling is thought of in terms of UX. But no! UI has the power of deliberating and narrating the storyline of your product too. How? With the use of color, typography, animation, etc.

For example, take a look at Google’s Pixel Earbuds landing page. As you scroll down the page, you will find yourself guided through the various benefits of the product with animations, solid imagery, and stellar typography. This brings out the uniqueness of the page and creates a positive emotional response which can make the art of storytelling one of the biggest UI design trends 2021.

4. Soft-Gradients

soft gradients

Gradients were THE THING of the 90s. It was a popular way to add color and depth to any design and make it look lively. Guess what? Just like every 90s trend that is making a comeback, so are gradients! They are showing no signs of slowing down and are going to be a big UI design trend in 2021 too! Today we see them as backgrounds, buttons, cards, graphics – almost everywhere possible on the internet. The combination and the blend of two soft contrasting colors bring an element to life and give the design a very modern feel.

5. Neumorphism

Neumorphism ui design trends 2021

Neumorphism introduces hyperrealism in websites and mobile apps by bringing out the design elements to life. Combining flat design elements with skeuomorphism, neumorphism creates real-life imagery with new and improved 3D graphics. The UI design takes simple and flat icons and gives them a rich dimensional makeover to make it look like it is popping out from the screen. Neaumorhphism creates a stylish and clean design with very clever use of shadows, highlights, and gradients.

Conclusion

And that’s it!

Now that you know the UI design trends 2021 that are going to create a buzz in the future, it’s your time to make the best use of them. As we know, the UI design area is saturated with fast-changing tendencies, however, there are always long-term trends that may stick forever – and trust us, the five mentioned above can make the list.  To conclude, holding on to the trending UI designs can help you sustain valuable visitors to your website or mobile app that may turn into your future customers. So if you have made up your mind or are still confused about which technique should you go for, get in touch with us here and we can help you take a step forward.

Posted on

How to build a better product with user research

How to build a better product with User Research

User experience is important because users are important. The millions you invest in your product or the high-class technologies that you employ will go in vain if no one actually uses it. Understanding the user’s needs is difficult but it doesn’t have to be. The user research process contains numerous techniques, analysis, and other feedback methodologies to know what the user is really looking for. In this way, companies will be able to create the right product for their customers.

Table of Content:

  1. Define the problem
  2. Build an MVP that fits
  3. Analyze & improve

User research basically focuses on understanding their behavior, needs, and motivation to buy a product. The method for user research you can or should perform depends upon the kind of website, system, or app you are developing and how much time you have at hand.

user experience user research process

So whether you’re looking to improve your existing product, or want to develop a brand new one, user research is the first step. Further, we will talk about the need and importance of user insights and how you can conduct user research in order to succeed.

The need For User Research

An exceptional UX design is closely knitted with great user research – one that uses data-driven strategies while also balancing feasibility and viability.

UX research is where you will disinter and validate the end user’s needs that will form the basis of what you are designing. Without understanding the user’s behavior, motivations, and needs, the design process is only dependent on your own assumptions and experiences- which is not objective.

It is considered to be the first step in the designing process. Think of it as the foundation of the product design process without which the design may fall apart.

User insights are also important because they enhance the performance of your marketing campaigns. The insights backed up by strong data about the end-users can help your company better understand the behavior and motivations of your target audience which can further let you build campaigns that are more user-focused.

How to Conduct User Research

There are various ways you can conduct user research. Following is one of the best user research methods you can follow and define your route:

Step #1: Define the problem

When entering a market, there will be certain questions you would want answers to. At this stage, you only have an idea at hand which you need a bigger and broader understanding of. It’s great to first steer clear of the objective of your idea. Understand the problem you’re trying to solve with your product and what are the core features you have in mind.

user research process

Note down all the important points and form your problem hypothesis. This will help you draw a route and understand the purpose of your product better. You can also add up better questions on the table to formulate a research question you want to pursue.

Step #2: Build an MVP that fits

Now that you understand the problem you’re solving, it’s time to build a solution that might help you start off with your user research. This could be attained by building a Minimal Viable Product. An MVP is simply built on the basic idea of giving users perception and an understanding of the product before finally launching it. It is built before the research is done as it is a visual and tangible representation of a product.

It is basically a version of the product that helps teams collect the maximum amount of validated learning about the customers with the least investment.

Your MVP can consist of the minimum set of features that satisfies a given problem. Once you test your MVP with the initial users, you are able to identify the friction points, fix errors, and avoid unnecessary headaches as you move through the process.

Also Read: 3 Easy steps to build a successful Minimum Viable Product

Step #3: Analyze & Improve

Gather all your results and feedback, don’t take too long before analyzing them. What did you learn from the first round of the experiment? It’s impossible to get everything right in the first test. That is why it is wise to keep listening to the feedback, iterating your product, and go back to testing it to see if you’ve nailed it.

Try to not overlook the negative feedback. While positive and good comments are all we want to hear about our product, they won’t help you improve it.  Identify the common issue where most users find difficulty in and fix it. By tracking down the metrics or user behavior, you can learn which features to improve, add, or delete in your final product.

Conclusion

User research guides you to design smarter and effective products that are mainly-focused on the end-user. If done right, it helps you enhance your design with the support of the needs, experiences, and motivations of the user. This user research strategy will help you back up relevant data about the user that you can use to improve the product for your customers.

It takes great expertise and experience to get the process right. Fortunately, here at Spark Eighteen, we deliver on what counts. Learn more about our services by getting in touch with us here.

Posted on

How AI can help Banking and Financial startups

ai in banking and finance

Statistics by Accenture shows that AI will add $1.2 trillion in value to the financial industry by 2035. However, these predictions are beneath contempt if banking and financial businesses aren’t aware of the potential benefits presented by AI. Some of the top leaders are already reaping the benefits of AI in the banking and finance industry, yet there are still many who overlook this disruptive technology.

Table of Content:

It is widely believed that the financial industry was one of the first to implement AI strategies and have been operating on the frontlines of AI ever since. Even bank customers have been engaging with digital assistants like chatbots and other AI-enabled technologies. In fact, almost 80% of banking institutions today have developed robust AI strategies and many of them even have their own AI departments.

business insider

The Growth of AI and Fintech

Fintech startups flourished when technology became the central focus in the financial industry. The initial wave of fintech startups was closely associated with the public distrust in the traditional banking system followed by the global spread of smartphones.

Smartphones became the primary means by which people access the internet and use different financial services. This new wave of mobile technology gave smartphone users fully operational financial services at hand. It also helped newly-established financial startups with a number of technologies including:

  • gathering relevant data like the user’s location;
  • digital signature;
  • digital assistants (such as chatbots) for customer support;
  • providing custom advice, offers, and service based on this user-insight;
  • automated transactions and bills, and much more!

Another quantum leap in the banking and financial industry was followed by the rise of cloud-based software. Cloud computing became a powerful tool in providing an unrivaled level of agility, security, and scalability to banks. For use cases such as data analytics, batch processing, and data storage, banks can access the cloud as and when required, which means they can utilize such resources more flexibly and efficiently.

The integration of AI in banking and finance has given a new wave of applications and services in the financial industry. Banks are now actively evaluating opportunities to use AI for automating claims handling, detecting fraud, and providing personalized recommendations to clients.

AI also helps in improving the quality of customer service. The use of conversational AI in banking has been big. For instance, intelligent solutions such as chatbots, virtual clones, and digital voice assistants continuously engage with clients in real-time through multiple channels.

Below are some of the use cases of AI in the banking and finance sector:

use cases of ai in banking and finace sector

Fintech for startups

The finance industry has arguably experienced more innovation than any other sector and history is the witness. This is the reason why this is one of the most targeted industries for startups. Some want to enter this industry to challenge the traditional banking system while others want to improve the current banking scenario with their innovative products. Most FinTech startups make use of Artificial Intelligence to improve their solution and decisions made with them. Here are the various ways AI benefits startups:

  • With a huge array of historical data, you can compare customer’s consumer behavior. Find the smallest details and prevent fraud in advance. AI tools are constantly being trained and updated as they accumulate data with which they work.
  • Consulting services – for example, chatbots – can recommend suitable financial products and objects for investment for clients, further reducing risks.
  • Blockchain is an excellent solution in terms of providing financial data transparency and traceability.
  • Technology also prevents the user’s private information. When needed, it provides relevant information anonymously, without extracting all the information in the banking system. This way, it becomes easier to extract data while also not disturbing the banking system as a whole.

Are you ready to transform your startup? Take the plunge by joining hands with us. Click here to connect.

Posted on

How to evaluate a business idea

how to evaluate a business idea

Big businesses come out of great ideas. However ideas, whether big or small, need to be thoroughly evaluated before they step out to become businesses. As many successful entrepreneurs would tell you, in order to succeed, your product should be unique, solve a real need, and offer the quality of functionality to your customers. Here we will talk about how to evaluate a business idea before planning further.

Table of content:

How will you know that your product serves all the above-mentioned things before launching it in the market? How to evaluate a business idea?

Pretty simple! Answer the following question before you go ahead to launch your product:

Does your idea solve an existing problem?

No matter how good a product’s features are, they are often secondary to the reason why a customer chooses to buy it. The reason is simple; the user purchases the product to solve a real-world problem for themselves.

When a customer buys your product, they expect it to do certain tasks for them in a meaningful and more valuable way. Take a smartphone, for example. A smartphone can be able to run a number of apps at once but its primary use is to communicate. If the phone is unable to make calls, send texts, etc., its features are of little to no use.

Similarly, if your product fails to solve a problem for an end-user, everything else falls apart – even the best of its features.

Therefore, the first step is to identify what problems are you solving with your product. If you choose to solve a problem that doesn’t exist, your product is going to be worthless in the market.

There are two ways most founders come up with a product idea. The first being when the founder themselves have faced the problem and try to solve it with their product. The second way is a thorough study of user experience.

Focus on the key factors by going through a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) of your idea. This will help you understand where your idea stands as well as the potential risks it might entail.

What is your target market like?

You cannot wing your business solely with an idea – it just doesn’t happen that way. In order to stay afloat in the business world, you probably want to take time out to plan and research the market you are targeting. Consider the following steps before you take the plunge:

  • The Market Size

This is the total number of users within a given market who face the particular problem you’re trying to solve with your product. This is a major factor that shows if your idea is viable.

If you skip this step, chances are you could conduct business in a market so small that it becomes next to impossible to make any money.

potential value

This will help you create a viable business plan or be taken seriously when approaching potential investors.

  • Your Potential Buyers

Given the importance of defining your target customer, it is wise to set aside enough time to do a proper analysis. Who are your potential customers? Their location? Buying Habits? Average Income? Will they be willing to pay a price that can give you an acceptable profit margin?

  • Your Competition

Your market can be full of businesses selling products similar to yours. Identify how crowded is your industry, and what types of companies are at the forefront? Conduct competitor analysis and benchmarking to see how these businesses are working.

What is their market strategy? How much are they selling for? Does their product have distinct functions? Examine them closely. Since you and your competitors are locking horns for the same pool of customers, you can learn a lot from their experiences and strategies.

What is your product’s competitive advantage?

When focusing on the question of how to evaluate a business idea, it is important to analyze how your product differs from your competitors or if it provides additional advantages to your customers.

Marketing strategies are based on differentiation. It tells customers how a product is different and better than any other in the market. Even customers, when purchasing a product, understand its value and superiority to any other competitive offering. This is called a product’s competitive advantage.

To survive and thrive in the market, every product must have a clear and distinct competitive advantage.

Many factors that influence a customer’s purchasing decision. These include word of mouth, perceptions created by advertising or promotional campaigns, etc.

final purchase how to evaluate a business idea

So how to make your product the “better choice” in the market? Identify your unique selling proposition. Your product can be more robust, visually appealing, cheaper, or easier to use than most in the market.

Once you identify your USP, make it the heart and core of all your advertising and marketing efforts. This is the single message that you strive to convey to your potential customers in every way possible.

Once your product has achieved the perception of being superior in the market, you’ll be able to sell more and at high prices.

In Conclusion

So here is how you can evaluate a business idea you plunge into making your it a reality.

Take time out to research and analyze your data objectively before you test your business idea. First, make sure that your product addresses a real-world problem that customers are ready to pay for the value you are offering.

Next, examine your market and analyze your potential buyers and competitors. Is there a large demand for your product? Is the competition fierce?

Lastly, identify your unique selling proposition. Consider the ways you can make your product “the better choice” in the market.

Once you have the right answers to all these questions, you’ll be ready to take the next step in your entrepreneurial venture!

Feeling overwhelmed? Don’t be! Connect with us here and we’ll guide you through the next steps you need to take to start your business.

Posted on

Why most startups fail and how can you make yours succeed

why startups fail

As an entrepreneur or a business owner, you dream of your startup becoming the next Apple or Amazon. The harsh reality is that not all startups get to share their success stories. Here we will talk about why startups fail and how you can make yours succeed.

Table of Content:

  1. Overlooking the current market needs
  2. Not passionate or committed to the idea
  3. Startups run out of cash
  4. Not following a plan
  5. Spending all resources too soon
why startups fail startup genome

Look at the above statement. Do you wonder what can be the reason behind this?

This can be due to bad luck, or the sour market. In fact, there have been various researches and studies available online. Most of these mistakes can be avoided by taking strong steps at the very beginning of your business.

Here we’ve listed down a list of 5 reasons why most startups fail and how can you avoid them in order to succeed.

1. Overlooking the current market needs

After analyzing 101 start-ups failing post-mortems, CB Insights cited “not serving the market need” as the No. 1 reason for failure in 42% cases. That’s almost half of the number. So, what exactly does this mean?

This means that your products or services may not relate to the current needs or desires of your target market.

Successful startups identify beforehand if a segment of consumers is being served by existing providers or not. If not, then they develop and promote products and services to fill that gap.

How to avoid this?

There is one simple concept to tackle this problem and that is product differentiation.

Wonder why in a market full of Android products, people go gaga about a new iPhone from Apple every year? It’s the simple interface and sleek design that differentiates iPhones from every other product available in the market.

Similarly, a consumer choosing to order a product from Amazon rather than going to a nearby store to purchase the same thing is another example of a difference in the offering.

The market can be overcrowded with companies fixing problems the same way as you are. What it really needs is how you can differentiate yourself from what you offer.

If startups fail to analyze and test products in the market before launching it, then they may face the risk of shutting down forever.

Product differentiation is not only imperative to survive in a competitive market, but also creates value and help in defending a high-price range for products in the future.

2. Not passionate or committed to the idea

“People with passion can change the world” – iconic words by Steve Jobs.

Successful businesses aren’t made out of opportunities, but out of the greatest passion. Commitment and passion are two of the key factors when you want to make your startup a success.

An entrepreneur who conveys passion is more persuasive, motivated, and has a larger social network. The reason why startups fail is a lack of passion for a domain or lack of understanding which leads to them facing difficulty in dealing with problems that they eventually have to stop.

What they do not understand is leading a startup requires commitment, dedication, and passion to really see it grow.

How To avoid this?

  • Know what you’re passionate about

Is there something you love doing? What do you spend reading about the most? Is there a thing you’d love to do as your job?

It’s okay even if you’re unable to answer these questions. Not everyone has their passion sorted.  Do as much research as possible or try consulting an expert to guide you. But keep in mind, that your passion must be true for you.

  • Start working on growing yourself

Unfortunately, having your passion sorted is just the bottom of the hierarchy. You’ll have to eat a humble pie. This can be by building experience working as an employee or working as an independent contractor. This process may take months or even years but once you get the hang of it, you’ll be ready to make it your profession.

  • Lead your passion in the right direction

Not every passion pays well. Once you are definite about your passion, figure out how you can make it profitable.

The best way to do that is by getting out of your comfort zone and challenging yourself. Identify what your competitors are missing out and use your business to fill in the void. Discover what can you change in your industry.

Your experience while you were working towards your passion may help you here.

Also Read: 5 Must-know tips for new business owners & entrepreneurs

3. Startups run out of cash

This is one of the biggest mistakes of startups.

why startups fail fractl

Surprisingly, even among funded start-ups, money-related problems were the most common reasons why startups fail.

We get it, realizing that your business is running out of money is a gut-wrenching feeling and it takes a lot in grinding your company out of this hole.

How to avoid this?

  • Focus on growth with your cash

Based on their situations, growth can have different definitions for startups. Here it means focusing on advancing to a visibly higher-level. For example, if you have a working prototype, start focusing on the launch; if you’ve launched then move to market; and if you’ve started marketing work on improving sales.

  • Explore new investors
mentored startups

Meet new people and make the most out of those meetings. Find investors and if you fail to meet one try networking through your contacts.

4. Not following a plan

Even when you have the greatest product in the market, don’t expect customers to blindly come to you to buy it. Without a plan of how you’re going to put your product in front of your customers, you have nothing to bank on.

You need referrals, leads, advertising, and a proper marketing plan to push out the word about your business.

How will your target market become patrons of your business if they aren’t even aware of your business?

How to avoid this?

Create an effective marketing plan for your business. How is it going to reach out to your customers? Where is your target audience most available? Is it social media? Is it email? Consider activities like online advertising (through services like Google AdWords or Facebook).

Don’t be afraid to be innovative and creative as the whole point of marketing is getting your audience’s attention.

5. Spending all resources too soon

The initial stages of your business are when you should be very careful about how you are going to spend your money and resources and where exactly will they be going. There are some startups with millions in their budget, yet they will always end up going bankrupt.

How to avoid this? 

  • Don’t hire too fast

During the early stages of your business, you may get excited to build up your own “team”. But before you do that, understand that at first what you need the most is sales and developing your business.

  • Don’t ignore sales

Spending a big fortune on research and development and other technical requirements by completely shutting eyes on sales and marketing isn’t great. You need to look over them equally.

In fact, here are some areas where you can spend money at the early stages of your business:

  • Accounting

Whether your business is small or large, you need an accountant to handle all your finances. You can either hire one or pay for signup on tools like QuickBooks. Simple link your company’s bank account to it and pay a monthly price to check your books.

  • Content Management System (CMS)

There are various reasons you need CMS for, there include – blogging, hosting white papers and ebooks, landing pages, and lead capture. We’d recommend going for WordPress. It is the best platform that can give you the flexibility to do those experiments you want to do in the early stages.

  • Content Delivery Network (CDN)

No, CDNs aren’t just limited to big companies or websites with high-traffic. We are living in an era where 20% of a B2B product’s traffic can come from mobile devices (source: Ramen). So having a CDN can be a huge boon when it comes to improving the experience of those mobile users.

It is your time to shine!

So these were some common reasons why startups fail and how you can avoid them.

Every successful entrepreneur knows the importance of the right strategy and practice to get their business on top. Without having the passion, the right plan, and the right tools, you cannot expect your business to see the results you want to see.

Never step back in doing the right thing for your business, even when you feel like it may take time. An aspiring entrepreneur shouldn’t be afraid to take risks!

Take your startup to the next level by joining hands with us. Contact us here.

Posted on

10 Best podcasts every Tech Entrepreneurs must tune into!

10 best podcasts for entrepreneurs

Podcasts are an excellent medium to consume content these days. You can listen to them, well, almost anywhere and anytime. Commuting to work? Washing the dishes? Walking your dog? You can glean valuable information with a pinch of entertainment right at your fingertips. In this blog, we’re going to discover the 10 best podcasts for entrepreneurs.

Table of Content:

  1. The Lean Startup Podcast
  2. Clockwise Podcast
  3. Rocketship.FM
  4. The Twenty Minute VC
  5. This Week in Startups
  6. Masters of Scale
  7. Product Hunt Radio
  8. A16z
  9. Recode Decode with Kara Swisher
  10. Y Combinator Podcast

Podcasts are great for entrepreneurs who are eager to learn but just don’t have the luxury of time due to their tight schedule. This audio format lets you simply fuse entrepreneurial wisdom into your everyday life without taking precious time away from priorities such as fundraising, decision-making, and innovating next-generation products.

There are a variety of amazing podcasts out there to explore. Below are 10 of our all-time favorites and some of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs. Each has its own particular unique style with some of the biggest names in the tech world.

10 Best Podcasts for Entrepreneurs

1. The Lean Startup Podcast

lean statup co

The word “lean” has already been creating a lot of buzz in the entrepreneurial world, so it makes sense that we begin this list by talking about a podcast focused on lean tactics. Brought to you by the Lean Startup Co, co-founded by Eric Ries, this podcast hosts industry leaders covering a wide range of topics. From advanced management practices to enhancing product development, the podcast shares educational ideas, stories, and lessons for startups to drive long-term growth. The Lean Startup Podcast is one of the best startup podcasts available.

2. Clockwise Podcast

clockwise best podcasts for entrepreneurs

Hosted by Dan Moren and Mikah Sargent, Clockwise invites two special guests every week to discuss the current technology trends. Each episode begins with the host introducing four hot topics, then guests share their thoughts during a “rapid-fire” discussion. Cheap tech gear? Tech products during a pandemic? Future of AR? With a wide range of such exciting topics, you would only wish if every episode was longer than 30 minutes.

3. Rocketship.FM

rocketship

Want to listen to encouraging tales of successful tech entrepreneurs and get useful insights that will alter your perspective on businesses? Rocketship.fm is the podcast for you! The top-rated podcast talks about product growth, management, and sales with some of the big names in the tech industry. What are the important things to remember while running a business? What to avoid? How to develop capital? You’ll get all the relevant information you need to scale your startup.

4. The Twenty Minute VC

twenty minutes

Are you curious to know how investors make decisions? If so, The Twenty Minute VC got you covered. Founded by serial entrepreneur Harry Stebbings, the podcast provides 20-minute interviews with today’s most successful venture capitalists. By understanding what investors are looking for, you will get a competitive edge over other startups. Some of the topics discussed are the future of remote work, an investor’s decision-making process, and the customer acquisition funnel.

5. This Week in Startups

this week in startups

Jason Calacanis’ This Week in Startups covers the most interesting, outrageous, and exciting entrepreneur stories from around the world. The podcast features a group of rotating experts who gives out strategies on growth and leadership and helps you catch-up with the latest news from Silicon Valley. Some of the most notable guests include Uber Founder Travis Kalanick and Founder & CTO of Basecamp David Heinemeier Hansson.

6. Masters of Scale

masters of scale

Masters of Scale is another great podcast for startups seeking important information on how companies grow. Hosted by LinkedIn Co-founder and Greylock Investor Reid Hoffman, the podcast contains stories of success as well as failed entrepreneurs. Being one of the most famous entrepreneurs himself, Hoffman discusses his theories about businesses, leadership, management, and fundraising, with other successful founders.  Iconic CEOs of giants like Netflix, Spotify, Google, Facebook, etc. have been a part of this show.

7. Product Hunt Radio

product hunt radio

Product Hunt’s website is a great place to discover the latest and greatest products from startups around the world. Product Hunt Radio offers practical and insightful interviews with funders, investors, and journalists in the startup community and discusses the stories behind product making. Hosted by founder Ryan Hoover and successful entrepreneur Abadesi Osunsade, the weekly podcast also discusses the latest developments in tech. Legendary angel investor Chris Sacca, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, and famous author Robert Greene are some of the well-known people to be guests on this podcast.

8. A16z

a16z best podcasts for entrepreneurs

Produced by Andreessen Horowitz, a venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley, the A16z podcast mainly discusses the latest tech and culture trends. They bring industry experts, business leaders, and other interesting voices from around the globe and offer advice and useful information on academics leadership, entrepreneurship, investment, etc. You have something for every level of entrepreneurship making A16z one of the best business podcasts.

9. Recode Decode with Kara Swisher

recode decode

Kara Swisher, one of Silicon Valley’s well-known journalists, presents candid conversations with tech executives, politicians, celebrities, etc discussing their big ideas and how they’re changing the world. Her questions and approach with the guests are rooted in her background as a journalist. She’s not afraid to ask questions that nobody else would dare to which sets her podcast apart from the rest.

10. Y Combinator Podcast

y combinator best podcasts for entrepreneurs