The Business of iPhone App Development : Making and Marketing Apps that Succeed

The mobile landscape is very different than it was just a few years ago. The iPhones powerful software, revolutionary user interface, and powerful developer platform has driven an almost overnight explosion of apps. Consumers have shown through their actions that apps are how they want to consume content on mobile devices. The rapid change in the mobile landscape provides an excellent opportunity for entrepreneurship. In June 2008, I left a nearly four-year tenure at Apple because on the eve of the App Store launch, I felt the old guard of the mobile industry, who had been the gatekeepers, were about to lose their stranglehold, giving way to a new generation of entrepreneurs. My adventure in the iPhone space has been highly rewarding emotionally, intellectually, and, yes, financially. I have also never worked harder in my life. My firm, Double Encore, has been offering iPhone consulting and development services since July 2008. Since that time, I have met with a countless number of perspective clients from individuals to large brands. There is no shortage of enthusiasm and optimism. Yet the App Store is not the fountain of youth. Nor can it turn coal into gold. There are many more failures than successes in this young market.