Hello rodinhoods,
So I am in my final year of college and like most of you here,have been obsessed about the idea of starting up and not opting for my campus placement.
I have an idea of a mobile app which will be useful a lot of people but don’t think it will be able to generate any kind of revenue as I don’t want to spoil the UX with ads.This model has been very successful in USA and Europe with the likes of apps like Instagram,Path,etc.What I am not sure about is if this could work in India.
By this what I mean is if it be able to generate VC interest (A lot of factors will come into picture here but assuming it genuinely could be solving a major problem).
I know my question is very generalized and jumping to any conclusion will be almost impossible but i would really appreciate any kind of opinion/advice that you’ll might have.You could probably just talk about what you think about this model.
Really need help as I will be taking a huge risk of not opting for college placements but I am prepared to take it. Just want to be able to justify my decision with valid points.Thank you.
Jamsheed Gandhi
building apps/webservices so that some big daddy comes down the line and acquires it is a good model only if you or the VC have got strong connects with large enterprises. building apps/services in india so that some US company can just pick iot up and mark their entry in the market seems to have run its course….(the last such transaction in India to my mind happened in the auction space), none of the US retailers have come and acquired any local home grown portal, not have i come across any app maker being bought out by their foreign counterpart. i think this model is now in its death throes. so if you want to build a kick ass app/webservice that can generate revenues or interest from the consumer.
hope this helps……
Vinay Gaba
Really appreciate your views… I do know it will be like playing with fire …but that’s the thing about being an entrepreneur..the rush that u get in proving the statistics wrong and going against all odds…the fact that you mentioned that you have not seen a home grown portal being acquired is a motivating factor for me !
The problem in India as far as the mobile ecosystem is concerned is the fact that there are a number of mobile application development companies..who develop a number of apps …but you don’t see a single app being the startup itself…which companies like Path,Instagram,etc are.Even if its theer in India I am sure its very rare.
I failed to understand the reason behind this and would like to get more inputs from you with regards to this.Thank you for spending time in reading and replying 🙂
Jamsheed Gandhi
Vinay,
at the cost of proving statistics wrong and going against odds you’ll run the startup into the ground….i’mm not being demotivating here but honestly with todays technology why will someone spend millions or crores for an existing brand or service when customer retention is so fickle? it takes less than a week to start an ecomm site, there are build on the fly ecom sites, there are back end logistics companies that will make space and stock and transport your goods on the fly, you have third party call centers to manage customer service.
build a good product, let the users come…….then the world will want to come and buy you……thats what happened with instagram……
Vinay Gaba
Completely got your point 🙂 thanx for explaining it soo well 🙂 really appreciate it 🙂
Abhik Prasad
Vinay,
I think you might need to do some more introspection about:
1.) Why are you really obsessed with the idea of starting up straight out of college ?
2.) Are you thinking of building an app with angel/vc funded money and then selling it out? Or do you want it to be the base of a sustainable business.
3.) Why wont you want to make money with the app if you think it will be useful to a lot of people (and am assuming solves a pain point rather than a nice to have app)
Its an app at the end of the day and you don’t really require too much resources apart from the technical skills to build a prototype…since you are still in college, why don’t you build it instead of thinking about it and see where it goes from there (while keeping your placement options open at the same time )
Don’t worry, if you don’t start straight out of college, you can always start a year later too 🙂
cheers
Vinay Gaba
Hello Raghav,
My intention of taking names of apps like instagram and path was to just to give you examples of companies following the “No revenue model”.What I intent to implement is not even close to any existing service. I am not looking to copy an existing service and call it India’s Path/Instagram or anything of those sorts. What I am not sure about is the monetization part of the app. And I completely agree with you on the part about Linkedin.Their business model is definitely more reliable than facebook.
Vinay Gaba
I don’t want to repent later on about not doing something that i was really passionate about. Also I already am working on the prototype, was not sure about using this business model as I have not seen/heard any such company in India using it and that got me thinking. I completely agree that if it solves a problem,generating revenue should not be a problem. But one of the primary factors in measuring the success of an app is the user base and such apps do generate a lot of eye balls.And as I mentioned in my previous post that we dont see an app being called a startup here whereas the case is completely different in say Silicon Valley. And as far as placements concerned, they start tomorrow so wish me luck 😛
Sudarsan Ravi
Vinay – Firstly kudos for wanting to work on something that you are passionate about. I believe starting straight out of college has its advantages. Firstly your need for money is at its lowest than at any point in your working life. Secondly, if you wish to start on something that is measured by customer acquisition over revenue then rather now than when you have more constraints in life.
Also, many times you do develop a revenue model over time. Just know that the Indian funding ecosystem is something that wont support you till you have a proven revenue model. As long as you can work independent of that and figure out a way to make money through customers (premium, commissions on alternate products, etc), you have a business at hand. Till then this would be more like a project that you dedicated time to and loved doing it.
If you are okay not making money up front, this experience will definitely teach you more than a job at any MNC will in the same time. You have my best wishes!
PS: Who cares if doing an app is called a startup or not…
Vinay Gaba
Exactly why I wanted to start early as I know later on with a steady job it is going to be difficult.I’d rather do what I know I will love doing than cribbing about the wrong step every single day of my life.I dont want to ever ask myself a “What if ” question.I will definitely post about my app and am sure people here are kind enough to give me ideas on how to generate revenue if I must. My focus is on eye balls first and then on revenue.
Really glad that you support my views 🙂 Appreciate it 🙂