The app ecosystem

We'll first pe into the paradox that the app ecosystem presents--the prospect of fame and fortune, but the obscurity of being lost amongst the millions. We'll also cover critical questions that every intrapreneur or entrepreneur needs to think about before they venture into building a new app. The same principles apply also for new ideas for an existing app. The first things you should ask yourself are:

• Why would users want to use my app?
• For what purpose or when would they actually need it?
• Why would they keep coming back to use it?

Creating a profitable app is hard, but not impossible. There are many well-known examples. One of them is Flappy Bird. In May 2013, an obscure solo app developer living in Vietnam named Nguyen Ha Dong released a game in the iOS App Store. The initial response to the app was muted, with just a few downloads. Several months later in early 2014, the game revived with a surge in popularity, and became the most downloaded game in the App Store at that time.

At the height of its popularity in January 2014, the game was earning $50,000 a day, from in-app advertisements as well as sales. A month later in February 2014, Dong famously pulled the game from the stores. This led to a short, frenzied period when phones with the app installed were being sold at a premium online.

The app is now a much-storied example of a rags-to-riches overnight success story. But whether by serendipity or by design, Dong's success is far from typical. Few solo app developers have succeeded in monetizing their apps.

For every intrapreneur or entrepreneur with shiny, bright, new ideas, the odds are stacked against them. When Steve Jobs famously quipped There's an app for that, he really did mean it. There's an app for just about everything! So, why does your bright new idea matter?