It’s not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen.
Imagine you have a great idea with the best execution plan but you don’t have adequate funds to make it happen, it’s worthless. There are so many wanna-be entrepreneurs who are looking for investors for their app startup but they are unable to influence investors with their pitch.
In this post, I have listed some essential tips that can be useful to raise money for building your first mobile app.
Understand the fund requirements
The first thing first, you should decide your fund requirements. Many times, assumptions are made for funding which can be too far from actual investment and that can be an extra burden to handle in the middle of app development. Get a fare estimate for app development cost so you can have an idea about fund requirements.
You should know the fund requirements for:
- Developing an app
- Fund for every traction
- Post-launch services
Even if you are getting funding from your savings or friends, you should have an estimation for an execution plan.
A strong app idea that can solve the main problem
Ask yourself – does my app idea sound strong? Can you convince yourself to invest in the same app? If no, then you have to work again from scratch.
An idea can be great but if it can’t solve the main problem, the app won’t last for long. So make sure you address the main problem. Read the blogs and websites that provide success stories for a mobile app that can give you an idea of reality.
The second most important thing – consider MVP (Minimum Viable Product) instead of developing a full product to attract investors and early users. This will give you an idea of whether your idea actually works or not.
Build an app prototype
An app prototype gives investors a clear idea about the end product and so developing with your own funds can be successful. When you already have an actual product, it becomes easy to recognize its demand and this will inspire them to invest in your product. They will understand your authenticity and sincerity before they make the decision to invest in your app.
Create an elevator pitch
An elevator pitch is how you describe your app briefly to investors in a powerful way. A successful sales pitch should be creative, short and should get the attention of investors as they are the busiest people and you will have only 30 seconds to impress them.
So hone your sales pitch for better communication with your investors, convey your message and the value your app is offering. Include all the numbers and statistics for growth along with the business growth strategy.
As said, try to convey your message with exact solutions so investors can connect themselves with an app idea.
Make a list of the target audience and market
Basic but essential. Create a list of target audiences and markets as soon as you get an app idea. There are millions of apps in the app stores and you need to understand the market audience to stand out from the crowd. Think about it – how one would invest in the app which has not any target audience market?
Create a detailed report for investors to show how you are going to target them. This will be more fruitful.
Prepare a list of investors
Now, you are done with your sales pitch and your prototype. The next step is to get a list of investors. There are various websites from where you can find them, AngelList, for example. Not every investor will invest in your app so understanding their mindset will help you to reach the right one.
For instance, there are so many people who only invest in tech businesses and if you don’t have the same idea, they might not be interested in funding your startup.
Take part in-app contents
There are numerous app contents happening around the world and offer a chance to win the money prize for funding. Are you confident about your app idea? If so, take apart and you can be the winner to get funds.
Business incubators who are promoting startup organizations hold these types of contents to provide necessary development funding. Make sure you have a great sales pitch in order to make the most out of it and win the investors.
SXSW, LLC holds an App Contest as SXSW Accelerator Pitch Event every year for individuals and companies who are doing the most creative work in their industry. Here, startup owners from different fields pitch in front of judges and the live audience.
Brand your app
Branding is vital to make a strong impression on investors about your app idea and to show you are serious about your project. Some branding visuals like app icon, domain and landing page can help you to generate funding.
There are lots of tools available on the internet to get your work done. For instance, you can take help from 99designs for easy logo creation.
Get a loan
Many financial institutes offer loans to startups companies to scale their businesses including product development. Make a strong business plan along with market research and revenue generation model and assure them that your app idea is great for users and will generate revenue.
Improve with every “Rejection”
Not every pitch gives favorable output even if you have made a strong pitch. Several times, you are likely to get a rejection but that should not make you disheartened.
Instead of giving up, try to understand what you are missing in your concept and learn to improve yourself. Ask for their feedback so you can improve your app and elevator pitch in a better way. Be a learner, this will help you to enhance your business model and so can achieve milestones.
Conclusion
Getting funding is not an easy process. Be confident about your app idea and build a strong network. You can also learn from successful stories who already had received funding for their app startups.
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