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14 Comments

Does it still make sense to make apps or its an oversaturated market?

I have some ideas for apps, new ones not "X but for Y" twists, mostly things I wished existed but they don't so I'm thinking of making them. But I remember reading that the app boom is over, but that was 5 years ago and in the meantime I seen the rise of an entire new generation of apps from tiktok to fintech to mobile gaming moving from simple casual games to the point there are eSports competitions for mobile games.

Is it really over? or that's old FUD? is making an app startup still possible? its bootstrapping an app doable? I think the last one its important since a lot of big apps were made by already established companies (tiktok was made by bytedance which was already a major player in the Chinese market, and mercadopago which is huge in LATAM was made by mercadolibre which is like the ebay+amazon of LATAM)

Opinions?

  1. 6

    It does if your app is better than others at solving a real problem.

  2. 3

    I guess it depends on what you develop.

    Last week I read a reddit post asking which app to use "for stocks".

    It seems like young people only think in apps. They don't consider "banks", "brokers", etc. anymore.

    You only need 1000 true fans.

    1. 1

      You only need 1000 true fans.

      I like that

  3. 2

    You never know until you finish something. Lots of people make lots of money via bootstrapping. Ex. I made lots of money and a nice living building inventory management that connects merchants to social media… Two very “saturated” markets.

    1. 1

      That would be b2b Saas right? I'm talking consumer apps, should've specified that (my bad)

      BTW props on your success

      1. 1

        B2C is a much bigger market so I'd say you have even more of a chance. It's all about perspective.

  4. 1

    I think it makes sense to solve real problems. Sometimes that can be solved with an app – other times it can be solved by reorganization and new processes or creating efficiency with logistics design.

    If you want some inspiration on how you can start solving business problems with technology, I'd check out the company IDEO, classic case studies of how improved product, tool, and process designs in business can solve real life problems.

    I am currently solving a problem with an app, but the decision to go with an app was from years of running into the problem and identifying a solution.

  5. 1

    As you say, there are still plenty of unimplemented ideas or implemented poorly. I had some ideas myself, but would have to learn a lot to produce a native app so I never started. Do you already know how to make apps? Then I would certainly go for it.

    Maybe validate your idea with someone first.

  6. 1

    I recommend checkout out some episodes of the "Under the Radar" podcast. The developers are indie iOS app developers, and they have 2 distinct styles that are both really successful.

    One builds the "Overcast" podcast app, he has been working on it for a long time, and he focuses on this single app. This works for him. I even pay for the app because I like it so much.

    The other builds many apps (roughly one per year), and his apps have a variety of success rates. His strategy is being "Mr. Day 1," whenever iOS releases a new feature, he makes sure that he's in the store on day 1 with an app that supports it. This works for him.

  7. 1

    There will never be an end to app development, in general. The "app market" cannot be oversaturated. Apps are just how we do things.

    But it's true that gone are the days of any ol' app getting lots of downloads, just because people want to try it out. As with any market, things become more competitive over time.

    Don't give up on the idea, but do a LOT of research before diving in.

    1. 2

      I think this advice is spot on. Focus on solving a specific problem for a specific subset of people and the app market is never oversaturated.

      Focus on problems that businesses face if you want to make more money and have stickier customers (compared to a consumer product).

  8. 1

    I think the time is coming to an end when it was possible to make a simple application and make money on it. Over time, more and more resources will be needed to gain market share.

  9. 1

    It really just depends on your target market and what problems you are solving. Do you want to share your ideas for apps for feedback or nah?

  10. 4

    This comment was deleted a year ago.

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