What does it take to be an app developer? Well, apps are software, so obviously you gotta write code. The temptation is to leave it there. To make software, you gotta be able to make software. That's it!
But to be a successful app developer – to make a living from software – I think you need 3 disciplines:
Engineering and marketing are hard, but they're reasonably well understood. Just RTFM, call the API, calculate your ARPU, decrease your CAC, and you'll have a handle on things.
But "product" is elusive, and it's certainly eluded me. Honestly, I'm not good at recognizing whether my app ideas are worthwhile, and it's cost me months sunk into projects that aren't useful or used.
Sometimes, that's ok. I learn a new API, tack another skill onto the resume, and move on. But emotionally, commercial failure is hard, so I'm trying to get serious about "product".
I'll ask myself:
In hindsight, these are obvious questions. "Products must have vision statements" is probably tattooed on your hand in Business 101. I'm a CS major; I never took that class 😔. And clearly, it's a useful lens:
Consider GoodNotes, an app I use every day. It lets me fill out homework PDFs without having to print them out, mark them up, and scan them in. That's a strong product claim, and it's pretty exclusive because the developers started early and invested years of work. Widgetsmith's photo widgets let me see family photos without peering through the grid of app icons, and was similarly an early launch.
This puts a lie to last week's post: AR writing isn't something I should make. The product statement "Users can write on a big wall without needing an actual chalkboard" is compelling but not exclusive. iPads + Zoom screen sharing already serve most remote-writing needs, and I expect iOS apps to be available in the headset, just as GoodNotes is on the Mac. Throw in a first party Freeform app, and there's scant room for new entrants.
Exciting technical challenges don't always make for exciting products. My work is a cool tech demo, not a cool app. Sadly, it's a mistake I've made several times. I hope to avoid it in the future.
Thanks for reading. To tell me what else I missed in Business school, you can find me on Mastodon.