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How to Write a Business Plan for a Mobile App Startup?

Anton Baryshevskiy

Anton Baryshevskiy

Head of Business Development, Co-Founder

Anton Baryshevskiy

Head of Business Development

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How to Write a Business Plan for a Mobile App Startup?

If you’re on the threshold of launching your mobile app startup, there are numerous things you need to be concerned with: workload, core concept, budget, product implementation area, employees… You need to rightly put all key elements of this puzzle together to provide a clear roadmap for your project — that is, to compile a business plan for mobile app development.

We at Mind Studios know how to make a business plan for an app. Here, you'll find a complete guide to creating a business plan. Also, we’ve added our template to help all stakeholders and investors have a clear and most importantly, equal understanding of your startup idea. So if you don't know how to plan an app yet and where to start, let's find out more about it.

app business plan

A business plan is a guide that turns your ideas into action

As a rule, you should start with visualizing the project and formulating its key ideas. They will later become the basis of your business plan.

Another vital component of developing your project is writing a product requirements document (PRD) for your app. It consists of three sections: business requirements, user requirements, and software system requirements . The business plan is, actually, a component of the PRD, namely the business requirements part.

app business plan

All the preceding processes, such as developing a project vision, core ideas, and concepts, creating an app development plan, and drafting a PRD, allow all stakeholders to be on the same page as the startup's founder.

In this post, we’ll go through how to write a business plan for an app startup.

Some statistics

Still not sure if your startup needs a business plan? Numerous studies back up the value of having a well-thought-out business plan for companies on different stages of their business journeys.

According to one study that involved 3,000 company owners from diverse fields, those with business plans were almost twice as likely to succeed as those who didn’t. Furthermore, such strategic-planning companies were more effective in attracting investment or securing loans.

You can find more detailed information in the diagram below:

Some statistics

If your way is developing a mobile application

As of 2021, people have made 230 billion downloads of mobile applications, up by 63% than in 2016. Everyone appears to require mobile solutions these days, so your startup has a lot of room for imagination. You can choose from a wide range of mobile app types. To name a few, it could be a travel, event planner (here's an event app development guide), money management, social networking, or fitness app.

app business plan

No matter which one you decide to create, a pre-written mobile app business plan can help you seamlessly go through the mobile app development process with its four fundamental stages : discovery, idea validation , design, and actually, development.

A goal without a plan is just a wish

There is a plethora of mobile applications these days. It means, though, that there are hundreds of almost identical apps in each category. Attracting users becomes a task of utmost importance.

Chad Mureta, an app tycoon, says that a developer’s profit directly depends on their knowledge of what’s interesting to the user; that is, to create a successful and profitable application, a developer should think like a user .

Creating a mobile app business plan template based on thorough user analysis will help you explain your business idea to stakeholders. Also, you’ll see a path to a product-market fit. To make that happen, you should determine what your target audience wants, needs, likes/dislikes in competitors’ apps, and tends to expect from using your app.

Therefore, identifying your target audience preferences should be your priority, as it is one of the main drivers of your startup.

Understanding the market is the key to success

The author of the bestseller 4 Steps to Enlightenment. Strategies for creating successful startups , Steve Blank, suggests that very few people understand where their market is. The writer believes it is almost impossible to launch a thriving startup without analyzing the market it’s going to enter.

Before you start writing a business plan, it’s crucial to figure out not only the degree of public interest in your product but also the level of competition in the market you’re going to enter.

Thanks to the preparatory analysis of your rivals and potential app users, you’ll be able to flawlessly identify your product’s objectives, advantages, and unique value proposition (UVP). This will also help you form the basis of a proper business plan.

Review your business plan annually

Steve Blank claims that a business plan is static in contrast to a business model, which is dynamic. A business plan appears to be stable by definition: that’s a document created once and rarely revised after adoption.

But in our quick-to-change world, do you believe there’s anything that could remain static? Especially in terms of business? Investopedia , for example, shares an opposite to Steve Blank’s statement: A business plan should evolve in tandem with a company’s growth.

We at Mind Studios adhere to the last approach and recommend you go through your business plan for an app at least once every year . It will allow you to respond to changes in your users’ demands and assess what goals you have achieved and which ones you still need to accomplish.

Moreover, refreshing a business plan will enable you to keep your finger on the pulse of your startup’s current and upcoming financial needs and, therefore, help you develop efficient strategies to attract investments. Consider it a dynamic document that adapts to your startup’s development path.

Why should you make a business plan for apps?

In addition to helping you get your startup off the ground, a viable business plan acts as an indicator for investors to consider it as a potential asset.

app business plan

Let’s summarize the main reasons why your mobile app startup needs a business plan:

Reasons for a mobile app startup to draw a business plan

Both startups and established businesses need business plans, the content of which will depend on the company’s primary goal.

To attract partners, startup owners tend to use a business model canvas — a more flexible model of the traditional business plan. It can seamlessly adapt to the iterative nature of tech startup development, yet providing core information about a project.

However, the business model canvas for an app does not guarantee 100% success; it can only be one of the components that will help your project attract investment. A comprehensive business plan with a detailed description of your company and mobile app, justification of funds use, and coverage of all legal concerns is what can instill trust in all stakeholders of your project.

app business plan

Is there a difference between a business plan for a mobile app and other software?

There are obvious distinctions between mobile applications, websites, and other software solutions. They significantly contrast in marketing approach, monetization strategy, and feature sets. As a result, business plans for these solutions will differ as well.

A traditional software development business plan might be structured similarly to a business strategy for a mobile app company. However, any document that presents the firm and its product will be distinctive in content. It is reasonable since each project is unique, with its own goals and target audience.

What does a business plan for a mobile app look like?

Four core blocks of a business plan for a mobile app

Your mission is to create a reliable and stable mobile application for either enterprises, individuals, or non-profit organizations. In this case, a business plan will help you pave the road to make your project profitable.

Therefore, when writing a mobile app business plan for startups, you’ll need to estimate the cost of development and commissioning as well as the timing of the return on investment in your project. Only by doing this, will you get a clear picture of your app’s viability.

One of the essential factors in writing a good startup business plan for a mobile app is delivering maximum transparency at each part. Let’s highlight what you should include in your mobile app business plan to make it serve your business in the most effective way possible.

Executive summary

Let’s start with the executive summary . It is the first and most significant part of your mobile app business plan because it’s the first thing an investor will read. The executive summary should be clear and concise, with no detailed information about how your product works. Address the situation in the market, who your target customer is, and what unique problem your application can solve.

Make your proposal unique to distinguish your company from others. In other words, create a unique value proposition (UVP). Use your imagination: consider your executive summary as a movie teaser and your investor as a spectator. Would they like to see your movie?

Specify your goals . These objectives should rely on your business analysis. Investors will examine your aims to see if they satisfy their needs. You also have to determine the ultimate goal of your exit plan . Furthermore, you should establish a list of funding requirements and the proceeds that will be used to boost the attractiveness of your company. One of the essential factors in the startup business plan for your mobile app success is ensuring maximum transparency at each stage.

Make your document convincing . To do this, ensure your product’s concept and goals are crystal clear and do not vary throughout the paper. Provide the reader with accurate data and realistic expectations about your project. Of course, don’t forget to make sure that the name of the person who created the business plan and executive summary and the names of your team members are consistent throughout the documentation.

Business description

Introduce your company in this part, beginning with corporate information and ending with your mobile app concept. This part of your startup business plan will show investors the corporate values of your company, your mission, product vision, and the fundamental factors for your startup success.

This information is vitally important for investors. For example, a technology startup accelerator Y Combinator considers getting money as by far the easiest part whereas working on ideas — the most significant part for any startup in achieving success. In most cases, Y-Combinator-like organizations make compiling a thorough business plan a prerequisite before introducing newly-formed projects to investors.

app business plan

Company overview

Here you should describe your company’s:

Company's overview

This section should give the reader of your business plan detailed information about your startup: the official name of your company, the location of the headquarters, and its structure, namely the business entity type (LLC, corporation, etc.). Make sure to provide further details about your team, such as the number of workers, their names, job titles, and so forth.

Describe the purpose of your company and the fundamental principles that guide your business in the mission statement. After establishing your mission, outline the primary challenges and solutions your startup can offer.

app business plan

Company history

Before making any business proposal, describe the history of your company, how your team formed, and how you came up with your idea. In addition, you can talk about the main stages of your company’s development and the experience that precedes the product launch.

Whether you are outsourcing app development process or you have an in-house team, it is often the most significant part of the executive summary because your app development team is the main engine of your project implementation. You should specify each person’s name, position, work experience, and responsibilities in the company. In addition, you can involve an advisory group that will help you make essential decisions. Consultants on your advisory team should have experience in the industry.

Market analysis

Information about the state of the market should be the main factor in your app idea realization. You should be aware of the present situation in your industry, have up-to-date information, and be able to generate a short-term forecast.

To conduct market analysis , you should take several steps:

  • Examining existing business environment
  • Defining your market research criteria
  • Determining your total available market (TAM), service available market (SAM), and service obtainable market (SOM)
  • Identifying your direct competitors
  • Analyzing your target audience and figuring out the cost per acquisition (CPA) for your niche

No market research in the mobile app industry can be conducted without analyzing Google Play Store and Apple App Store with their ranks for top paid, top free, and top-grossing apps as well as user reviews.

Market forecasts

Forecasting is an integral component of writing a business plan for an app development startup realization.

Forecasts from reputable research firms such as Nielsen and Forrester are of interest when creating any business plan, be it a business plan for an app development, a website, or a traditional software startup business plan. To provide reliable market forecasts, you can:

  • Include data on the growth of companies with solutions similar to your mobile app
  • Add information on the amount of money poured into similar startups (platforms like Crunchbase or Y Combinator can help with this)
  • Enrich your business plan with some forecasts on your target customer behavior

Your goal is to assess whether there’s a real market for your product, whether there are enough customers in the market, and, accordingly, whether those customers are willing to pay money for using your product.

app business plan

SWOT analysis

SWOT analysis: Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats

A SWOT analysis is a strategic planning method that allows you to present a structured description of your business situation. It can be a great way to evaluate your app startup concept from four perspectives. Namely, its:

  • W eaknesses
  • O pportunities

It’s natural when a business has weaknesses: knowing about them will serve as a powerful driver for finding solutions and will reduce any risks your company may need to face.

Marketing strategy

An app marketing strategy is a bridge that allows your product to fall into the hands of your customers. You have to convince investors that you have such a bridge. This is an important part of the mobile app strategy.

When drawing up a mobile app marketing plan, you have to define the marketing strategies you intend to use in application promotion. Here are a few examples, along with descriptions of how they work:

Create a landing page

Landing page for a mobile app example

Creating a landing page for your mobile app will help you reach a wider audience by informing users about new features and updates. Make sure your page contains the name of the application, a description of its functionality, promotional videos, and so on.

Launch a website and blog

Launching a website is a great way to promote your application. There, you may, for example, provide more information about your company, its goals and values, and an overview of your future mobile solution.

A website blog is also a helpful thing with your app advertising. You can share news on your upcoming product and publish SEO-optimized articles for better promotion.

Social media marketing

Consider social media marketing while developing a business strategy to promote your app. Describe how you intend to use this form of advertising at various phases of your mobile solution development: before launch while attracting your audience and retaining users.

Estimate your marketing budget

You may estimate the cost of marketing services based on the market analysis you outlined in the preceding section of your business plan. Understanding the marketing budget is essential to all parties: you, the app owner, investors, and other stakeholders.

Product growth

Depending on the type of app startup, growing the user base approach differs, as does the business plan for entering different markets. For example, a massive advertising attack tends to make sense in markets where consumers understand your product or service and its usefulness.

Take, for instance, Uber , which has successfully launched extensive marketing campaigns. The company’s ads have spread globally with Uber localizing advertising for each region.

So, if you’re still working on a business strategy, think about how you’ll expand your user base in advance. This will tremendously assist you in future product growth.

Choose your product launch type

Feature flagged soft launch for a mobile app

Be sure to indicate the product launch type in your business plan. There are two such types: hard and soft launch . The first one means delivering a finished product to your entire target audience. A soft launch is when you release an MVP or full version of your app, but for a limited audience.

To rightly set out this part of your business plan, you should clearly understand what kind of financing you need to move forward. Moreover, you need to express it as clearly as possible to be sure a potential investor will also understand what funding you need.

The financial model includes, as a rule, a three- to five-year forecast of all the main forecasted indicators, including profit and loss, cash flow, balance sheets, start tables, unit economics calculation as well as your app’s projected revenues and costs. Your financial document has to contain the following components to determine the actual cost and distribution of investments in the best way, with a clear explanation of each.

Startup costs/funding required

Inform your investors about estimated costs. We recommend placing reasonable estimates and leaving room for extra expenses since these numbers might fluctuate.

Designate all types of costs :

  • One-time costs (e.g. relocation costs, costs for buying an office space, equipment, servers, software, licenses)
  • Fixed costs: they remain unchanged regardless of whether you produce something or not (e.g. rent, insurance, lease payments, fixed salaries)
  • Variable costs: costs that change according to the production volume (e.g. wages)

Monetization strategy

It is another section you need to add to your mobile app business plan. By illustrating your monetization model, you’ll demonstrate to your investors and other stakeholders that your project will be profitable and provide a return on investment with positive unit economics. It will also help you be sure that your startup will reach its break-even point.

The most common ways to monetize an application are :

  • Advertising
  • Charging for the application (if your business model describes a paid application, you need to convince the consumer why they have to pay and what they’re paying for)
  • In-app purchases (this is a widespread mobile app business model in iOS and Android applications)
  • Subscriptions (this model of monetization is quite popular and works until the user decides to cancel the subscription; in most cases, subscription apps have a free trial period)

Activities Mind Studios took to build an effective monetization model for Fitr.Training

One of our prominent projects in which we’ve helped set up a monetization strategy is Fitr. Training , a remote fitness coaching application. Our team analyzed the platform’s performance and discovered we could enhance the conversion rate.

We established a monetization model based on the collected data and customer feedback. Namely, our team launched an efficient subscription option. The results were remarkable: one out of every four coaches now uses the paid membership.

Mind Studios can also assist you in elaborating a potent monetization strategy.

Business plan example for a mobile app startup

We’d like to offer you a business plan template for a startup updated to 2023. Keep in mind that, although this mobile app business plan itself is structured according to all the rules, the calculations are entirely fictional. To complement our business plan, we also provide a mobile app marketing plan template, ensuring a strategic approach to promoting your app in the competitive market. This template includes up-to-date techniques for 2023, guiding you through effective advertising and user engagement strategies.

Download the free PDF business plan template for a mobile app here .

Writing a business plan for a mobile app startup isn’t easy. As a rule, the most challenging part of developing a business plan for a mobile app idea is writing the first page. Many people in this situation rush to find and download a free copy of another company’s business plan. They mistakenly believe that someone else’s business strategy will help them achieve their goals. But it absolutely won’t!

A business plan cannot be a cloned document. It must be one-of-a-kind reflecting your passion and enthusiasm in bringing your idea into life . A successful business plan should demonstrate that your company is viable and financially attractive. The higher the viability, the higher the investment opportunity.

If you need to compile a well-thought-out business plan to attract investments and successfully launch your app, our expert team at Mind Studios is here to help .

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Mobile App Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Business Plan Outline

  • Mobile App Business Plan Home
  • 1. Executive Summary
  • 2. Company Overview
  • 3. Industry Analysis
  • 4. Customer Analysis
  • 5. Competitive Analysis
  • 6. Marketing Plan
  • 7. Operations Plan
  • 8. Management Team
  • 9. Financial Plan

Start Your Mobile App Plan Here

Mobile App Business Plan

You’ve come to the right place to create your mobile app business plan.

We have helped over 100,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans and many have used them to start or grow their mobile app businesses.

Mobile App Business Plan Example

Below are links to each of the key elements of a mobile app business plan template:

  • Executive Summary – In the Executive Summary, you will provide a general overview of your business plan including your target market, business model, and how you plan to make your business successful.
  • Company Overview – The Company Overview section will provide an overview of your app idea, history of the company, monetization strategy and milestones achieved.
  • Industry Analysis – From your market research, you will provide an industry analysis. This will include a discussion of the current mobile app industry landscape, trends, and issues facing your industry.
  • Customer Analysis – The Customer Analysis section will describe your target market. This includes information on demographics, psychographics, and behaviors.
  • Competitive Analysis – This section includes an overview of your direct and indirect competitors, their market share, your competitive advantage, and how you plan to compete against them.
  • Marketing Plan – The Marketing Plan section will describe your marketing strategy. This includes information on your target audience, pricing strategy, and promotional activities.
  • Operations Plan – The Operations Plan section of your mobile app business plan will describe your business operations.
  • Management Team – The Management Team section will provide information on the management members of your team. This includes their experience, education, and skills.
  • Financial Plan – In the Financial Plan section, you will provide the financial model and financial statements for your business. This includes your income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement.

Next Section: Executive Summary >

Mobile App Business Plan FAQs

What is a mobile app business plan.

A mobile app business plan is a plan to start and/or grow your mobile app business. Among other things, it outlines your business concept, identifies your target customers, presents your marketing plan and details your financial projections.

You can  easily complete your mobile app business plan using our Mobile App Business Plan Template here .

What Are the Main Types of Mobile App Companies?

There are many types of mobile app companies across a variety of categories. There are mobile app companies that focus solely on mobile games. Others are exercise or wellness focused. Some mobile apps provide guidance on specific topics, some offer music streaming, and other apps provide help or assistance on a variety of topics. Many companies have developed company-specific mobile apps to allow users to become more connected with their products or offerings. For instance, most major brands, restaurants and financial services companies have company-specific mobile applications.

What Are the Main Sources of Revenue and Expenses for a Mobile App Business?

The primary source of revenue for mobile app companies are subscription paid by the users on an annual or monthly basis. Advertising (selling ad space to other companies on their app) is another significant revenue sources.

The key expenses for mobile app companies are the costs to advertise and generate users. These expenses are often in the form of targeted social media advertising or online targeted marketing. Some major mobile app companies pay to have their mobile apps advertised on television commercials or music streaming platforms. Another major expense for app companies are office space, employee salaries and technology licensing fees.

How Do You Get Funding for Your Mobile App Business Plan?

A mobile app startup is most likely to receive funding from angel investors and friends and family. Personal savings and credit cards are also often used. Venture capitalists will fund a business plan for an app once it achieves enough traction (e.g., enough users or generating enough revenue).

A well crafted mobile app business plan is essential for attracting any type of potential investor.  Most app startups require funding to get off the ground and cover at least their startup costs.

What are the Steps To Start a Mobile App Business?

Starting a mobile app development company can be an exciting endeavor. Having a clear roadmap of the steps to start a business will help you stay focused on your goals and get started faster.

1. Develop A Mobile App Business Plan - The first step in starting a business is to create a detailed business plan for an app that outlines all aspects of the venture. This should include market research on the mobile app industry and potential market size, information on the mobile app concept, the services or products you will offer, pricing strategies and a detailed financial forecast.  

2. Choose Your Legal Structure - It's important to select an appropriate legal entity for your mobile app business. This could be a limited liability company (LLC), corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship. Each type has its own benefits and drawbacks so it’s important to do research and choose wisely so that your mobile app business is in compliance with local laws.

3. Register Your Mobile App Business - Once you have chosen a legal structure, the next step is to register your mobile app business with the government or state where you’re operating from. This includes obtaining licenses and permits as required by federal, state, and local laws. 

4. Identify Financing Options - It’s likely that you’ll need some capital to start your mobile app business, so take some time to identify what financing options are available such as bank loans, investor funding, grants, or crowdfunding platforms. 

5. Choose a Location - Whether you plan on operating out of a physical location or not, you should always have an idea of where you’ll be based should it become necessary in the future as well as what kind of space would be suitable for your operations. 

6. Hire Employees - There are several ways to find qualified employees including job boards like LinkedIn or Indeed as well as hiring agencies if needed – depending on what type of employees you need it might also be more effective to reach out directly through networking events. 

7. Acquire Necessary Mobile App Equipment & Supplies - In order to start your mobile app business, you'll need to purchase all of the necessary equipment and supplies to run a successful operation. 

8. Market & Promote Your Business - Once you have all the necessary pieces in place, it’s time to start promoting and marketing your mobile app business.  A mobile app marketing plan includes creating a website, utilizing social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter, and having an effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy. You should also consider traditional marketing techniques such as radio or print advertising. 

Learn more about how to start a successful mobile app business:

  • How to Start a Mobile App Business
  • How to Start a Mobile App Development Business

Where Can I Get a Mobile App Business Plan PDF?

You can download our free mobile app business plan template PDF here . This is a sample mobile app business plan template you can use in PDF format.

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Mobile App Business Plan

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A business has three pillars: the idea, the plan, and the execution. Congratulations! You have the app idea already, now you have to step forward with a plan.

But, somewhere with all the workload, the concept of the app, hiring the right people, budget, and development of the app, entrepreneurs overlook the need for planning.

Worry not, we are here to lighten your burden with our step-by-step guide for mobile app business plan writing.

Key Takeaways

  • A mobile application business plan helps you define your marketing strategy, customer acquisition strategy, retention strategy, and strategies to achieve your business goals.
  • Craft an impactful executive summary that outlines the type of your app business, marketing approach, financial outlook, and team expertise to attract potential investors and partners.
  • Conduct thorough market research to understand market trends, consumer preferences, and the needs of your target market.
  • To ensure efficient daily operations, provide in-depth operational plans that incorporate staffing, additional services, and customer service.
  • Create realistic financial projections for sales revenue, expenses, and profit forecasts while considering contingencies & emergencies.

Let’s get started with our guide, without any further ado:

How to Create a Mobile App Business Plan: A Complete Guide

1. executive summary.

An executive summary is a quick overview of the whole business plan. From mission & vision to financial projections, it includes everything in between.

Generally, entrepreneurs write this section at the end after having the full knowledge of the entire business plan.

Begin your executive summary with a brief introduction of your business, and include other elements like:

  • Market Opportunity
  • Vision & mission statement
  • Target market
  • Unique value proposition
  • Details of your services
  • Management team
  • Financial Outlook
  • Call to action

For instance, here is an example of an app business USP’s section:

USP for PrivyConnect – Social Media App: “Connect with Total Privacy”

Our social media app is dedicated to ensuring your online interactions remain private and secure. Unlike many other platforms, we don’t share your data or personal information with third parties.

We use robust encryption to protect your messages and content, and you have full control over who can see your posts. With us, you can truly connect with your friends and family in a safe and trusted environment. Your privacy is our priority.

Note: your readers might not read the whole business plan, but they will go through the executive summary. Therefore, make sure you write it engagingly to grab their interest.

Say goodbye to boring templates

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app business plan

2. Company Overview

In this section, present your business in detail. It should provide the details of your business & app name, the location of your office, the structure of your business, and other such information.

Now it is time you introduce what type of business you own, for example, your app type will be one from below:

  • Social media app
  • Messaging app
  • E-commerce app
  • Entertainment app
  • Health and fitness app
  • News or magazine app
  • Navigation app
  • Finance app

After that, mention the company history if you have any. Add the name and other qualifications & achievements of business owners. Mention the vision & mission statement of your app business along with your future goals.

In short, this section should provide an in-depth understanding of your business and business owners.

3. Industry Analysis

In the industry analysis section of your mobile app business plan, you have to provide the details about the mobile app industry. It will help you understand the market and gain a better insight into your business positioning.

Here are certain questions to ask while performing industry analysis:

  • What is the current size of the app industry in terms of both revenue and users?
  • What are the current trends of mobile app businesses?
  • Which apps are leading the industry?
  • Which mobile app concept is famous in public?

Conduction this industry analysis will educate you about the market and help you prepare marketing strategies according to the market trends.

In short, industry analysis will help to know a clear picture of the market, helping you in making informed decisions.

4. Competitive Analysis

Competitive analysis will help you identify the unique selling propositions (USP). Also, this way you will get to know your competitors.

Start by specifying who are your competitors – then compare it with both direct and indirect customers.

Now, let’s focus on your direct competitors, those similar to your mobile app. Provide an overview of each competitor, including their size and where they’re based.

Here are some questions to ask for competitive analysis:

  • Who are your primary competitors?
  • Who do they serve?
  • What are their USPs?
  • What is their pricing strategy?
  • What do they need to work on according to their customers?

A more effective way to this analysis is to conduct it from the customers’ viewpoint. You might even ask your competitors’ customers what they like and dislike about their apps to better understand customers’ perspectives.

Here is an example of competitors and competitive advantage of the app:

Competitors

SocialShield: SocialShield is a notable competitor in the privacy-focused social media segment. It emphasizes strong user data protection and secure communications. Their user base has been steadily growing, particularly among privacy-conscious users.

GuardChat: GuardChat offers encrypted messaging and content sharing. It has a user-friendly interface and strong encryption features. While their user base is smaller compared to established platforms, they have garnered a dedicated following.

PriviNet: PriviNet has made a name for itself by offering comprehensive privacy controls and anonymous user interactions. They have built a niche community of users who value privacy and user-controlled sharing settings.

Competitive Advantages of PrivyConnect

PrivyConnect’s comprehensive privacy controls and encryption set it apart as a top contender.

The app’s transparent communication and commitment to environmental responsibility contribute to its appeal.

PrivyConnect’s active community-building efforts and user engagement foster loyalty.

The app’s plans to expand into secure content sharing and social community growth align with industry trends.

This way you can get to know the USP of a mobile app development company. Once you get the USP, flaunt it in the entire business plan.

5. Market Analysis

In the market analysis section, do the market research and dive right into the market where you will be providing your app services. Begin the section by providing the details of your target customers.

Your target customers will depend on the type of app you own and the services you provide.

After a thorough discussion of the target market, discuss the market trends. Mention what your target customers prefer and what new are they looking for. For example, people might be looking for:

  • Integration of AR/VR
  • Sustainable and eco-friendly apps
  • Privacy and data protection
  • Personalization

At the end of the market analysis, do mention the regulatory environment mobile apps need to follow in the particular location.

6. Sales and Marketing Plan

Writing the sales and marketing section means jotting down the marketing strategy you will use to acquire new users and retain the existing ones.

Now it is time to mention the marketing strategies for your app, there are three phases of the launch:

Pre-launch phase

  • App-store optimization: Before launching the app, search for the keywords to include in your title, description, and other content.
  • Build a landing page: You can create a website or build a landing page to make your brand presence prominent on the web too.
  • Pre-launch promotion: Launch a teaser for your app before the release date itself. Give some special offers to the ones who will sign up even before the launch.

Launch phase

  • Deploy it on major app stores: Launch your app on all the major app stores to reach a wider audience. Make sure it is working smoothly and is free of bugs.
  • Social media marketing: There were going to be 147.2 billion annual app downloads in 2023 itself. Imagine the competition, so be sure to make your visibility strong through social media platforms.
  • Content marketing: Create blog posts, videos, or infographics related to your app’s niche. Share valuable content on your website and social media to engage users.

Post-launch phase

  • User reviews and feedback: Encourage users to leave positive reviews and ratings on app stores. Actively respond to user feedback and address issues (if any) ASAP.
  • User engagement strategies: You can enable push notifications or in-app notifications to interact with your users. You can also ask them to invite friends in exchange for a referral bonus.
  • Collaboration or influencer marketing: You can collaborate with some other mobile app companies and do cross-marketing. Influencer marketing is also a great choice.

Once you have noted down how you will acquire customers, then mention below things too:

  • Customer acquisition cost
  • Your monthly paid advertisement budget
  • Number of followers you have on social media
  • If there are any in-app purchases

7. Management Team

Knowing who is behind your app business will increase the appeal of your business plan.

The management team tells you about the people in charge of the app business. It should explain each manager’s experience, what they’re good at, and what their jobs are.

Here is an example of the management team:

Management team of PrivyConnect

Founder and CEO – Sarah Anderson Sarah is the visionary leader behind PrivyConnect. With a background in cybersecurity and a passion for online privacy, she founded the company to provide users with a secure and private social media experience. Sarah is responsible for setting the company’s strategic direction and ensuring its commitment to user privacy and data protection.

CTO – David Ramirez David brings a wealth of technical expertise to PrivyConnect. He has a strong background in mobile app development and security protocols. David oversees the technical development of the app, ensuring that it employs state-of-the-art encryption and privacy measures.

CMO – Emily Davis Emily is the marketing guru behind PrivyConnect’s success. With a knack for digital marketing and user engagement, she is responsible for building the app’s user base and promoting its unique selling propositions. Emily focuses on user-centric marketing strategies and community engagement.

COO – Michael Chen Michael is the operations expert at PrivyConnect. With years of experience in streamlining business operations, he ensures the app runs smoothly and efficiently. He also oversees partnerships and collaborations to enhance the app’s offerings.

8. Operations Plan

As earlier sections mentioned everything about your company goals, here it is time to mention how you will reach them. These goals are differentiated into two sections:

Everyday goals

They’re the heart and soul of your mobile app’s daily life, from coding and upgrades to the nitty-gritty of customer support. These are the everyday heroes that keep your app running smoothly.

Long-term goals

It’s all about milestones: the moments that make you pop the champagne. Picture celebrating your 10,000th app install, hitting that milestone sales figure you’ve dreamt of, or expanding your team.

9. Financial Plan

Your financial plan needs to have a 5-year financial forecast. For the first year, break it down into monthly or quarterly details, and then summarize it annually. This forecast should cover your income statement, balance sheet, Use of Funds, and cash flow.

Income statement

An income statement, often known as a Profit and Loss statement or P&L, displays your earnings and then deducts your expenses to know the profitability of your business. Make practical assumptions based on your competition.

Balance sheet

Balance sheets display your assets and liabilities. Although they can contain a lot of details, like equity, goodwill, other intangible assets, etc.

Uses of Funds

When you are seeking funding, this statement becomes necessary to show where you will use the funds. Here is an example of the Uses of Funds chart with the help of Upmetrics:

Uses of Funds Chart for Mobile App Business

Cash flow statement

Your cash flow statement helps you see how much money you need to start or grow your business and avoid running out of money.

Surprisingly, you can make a profit but still face financial problems that could lead to bankruptcy. Therefore, you will need proper cash flow planning to avoid such circumstances.

Why Do You Need a Business Plan for Your Mobile App

For entrepreneurs who jump into business directly without writing a business plan is like delaying their success. Here are some reasons why you need a mobile app business plan:

Writing a business plan helps you work out and make clear your business strategy. Do you want customers to pay upfront? Or there are in-app purchases? Writing this down from the start helps your team understand where you’re headed.

Finances are important

Sometimes, it takes months or even a year to cover customer acquisition costs. So, you need a plan with a solid financial forecast. A good plan lets you play with different situations, so you know how much money you need for both the long and short term.

Acquiring and retaining customers

Acquiring and retaining customers is one of the sole purposes of a business. In the business plan, you have to mention in detail about your strategies to have a clear roadmap.

Knowing Your Market

A business plan lets you identify your ideal customer profile. Knowing your customers is crucial, and having a deep understanding of your customers helps you make the correct updates to your product in the future.

Related Mobile App Resources

  • How Much Does it Cost to Start an App
  • How to Start an Mobile App Business

Download a Mobile App business plan template

Ready to kick-start your business plan writing process? And not sure where to start? Here you go, download our free mobile app business plan pdf , and start writing.

This intuitive, modern, and investment-ready template is designed specifically for mobile app businesses. It includes step-by-step instructions & examples to help in creating your own mobile app business plan.

The Quickest Way to turn a Business Idea into a Business Plan

Fill-in-the-blanks and automatic financials make it easy.

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Finally! You know how to write a mobile app business plan. Thus, you are one step closer to starting or expanding your business.

No doubt, writing a business plan is a challenging task, but it is a lot smoother with a top business planning tool . Therefore, take a deep breath and get started with your plan. All the best!

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Frequently asked questions, do i need to include information about competitors in the business plan.

Yes, in the section of competitive analysis: you need to mention your competitors and their USPs. This will help you to understand the market and know your strong points.

How often should I update my mobile app business plan?

An app business plan is a living document, you can change or update it whenever you want. Ideally, go through your plan and make changes according to the current situations atleast once a month.

Can I use a mobile app business plan to secure funding for my app project?

One of the main purposes of writing a business plan is to secure funding or get a loan. So, of course, you can present a solid mobile app business plan in front of lenders to secure funding.

How much does it cost to create a mobile app business plan?

Writing a mobile app business plan might cost from a few hundred to thousands of dollars depending on the complexity of the app, the number of integrations, UI/UX, etc.

About the Author

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Vinay Kevadiya

Vinay Kevadiya is the founder and CEO of Upmetrics, the #1 business planning software. His ultimate goal with Upmetrics is to revolutionize how entrepreneurs create, manage, and execute their business plans. He enjoys sharing his insights on business planning and other relevant topics through his articles and blog posts. Read more

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Download Mobile App Business Plan

How to Write a Mobile App Business Plan + Free Template

Male and female entrepreneur sitting at work station comparing specs and writing code as part of their mobile app development business.

Anthony St. Clair

11 min. read

Updated February 7, 2024

Free Download:  Sample Mobile App Development Business Plan Template

When Apple released the first iPhone in 2008, it also launched its App Store—with about 500 apps. Nowadays, the number of apps on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store totals about 5 million. If apps were people, they’d outnumber the population of Los Angeles.

Sure, the “gold rush” days of app development are long behind us, but building apps remains a solid way to bring useful or entertaining services to market. An app can also be part of a narrow or broader business strategy.

But with so much competition, building a profitable, successful app takes more than just an idea and a team of mobile app developers. You need a business plan to help guide your vision and implementation. This article will cover the steps to create your mobile app business plan, along with some tips to run it successfully. 

Need more guidance? Download our free mobile app development business plan for a full business plan outline that you can use to inspire your own plan.

  • How to write a business plan for a mobile app

A business plan can be as short or extensive as you need it to be, and not a page more. In fact, you could launch a successful business based on even a one-page plan for your app development firm.

Writing a business plan for your mobile app business comes down to thinking through where you are with your app idea, what you want to accomplish, and how you think you will get there. A good business plan gives you both a starting point and a road map, but you can always review it and update it as you go.

At its heart, that’s all your app business plan needs to do.

Here are some of the key things your mobile app development business plan should include.

1. Determine what kind of app you will develop

Competition and opportunity co-exist throughout every app sector. If you’re still trying to decide where you might want to target your app development , strong contenders and trending app verticals include:

  • Productivity
  • Shopping (mobile-specific and general eCommerce)
  • Health and Fitness
  • Personalization

The sector you’re developing your app for influences the type of app you’ll want to build. For example, will you code for Apple iOS, Google Android, or both? Will you focus on a web or hybrid app? Is the app an extension of a website or other business channel? 

You’ll need to have this information defined up front in order to conduct proper research and easily write your business plan . 

2. Conduct market research and identify competitors

It’s one thing to have a good idea for an app. But the real question is, does the idea have a market that will be hungry to buy in?

As you develop your business plan, understanding your potential customer base is key.

For starters, evaluate similar apps and competitors in the vertical you are developing for—especially if there is already an app doing something that you want your app to do. As you conduct research and put together a market and competitive analysis, be sure to think through the following questions:

  • Who are their customers?
  • Are they the same ideal customer and target market ? 
  • What steps will your company take to engage the market and involve them in testing and promotion? 
  • What are the demographics (such as profession, age, or sex) and psychographics (such as opinions, hobbies, and lifestyle goals) of your target market? 

If you don’t understand the market for your app, it will be difficult to get them to find, install, use, and tell the world about your app.

Researching the market and your competitors can also clue you into expected app features, pricing and revenue models, gaps in services, and pain points that customers feel aren’t being met.

Understanding these factors can also help your business plan address a potential threat to your app’s viability: abandonment. User retention can be challenging throughout the app market, with 25% of customers using an app one time and then ditching it. So, be sure that you take into account how to attract new customers as well as how you’ll keep them around.

3. Positioning and promotional strategies

Once you’ve proven the market demand for your app’s concept, you should start figuring out how to promote your app and position it in the marketplace. Your business plan doesn’t have to include a detailed marketing plan . But it can be the perfect place to set up a few essentials that can guide your app’s marketing throughout its development and release cycles.

At a minimum your plan should include foundational messaging for pitching, branding, mission, and your overall sales and marketing strategy for your app, such as:

Develop and refine your elevator pitch

How concisely can you get across what your app does, why it’s needed, and what will make people love it? Can you talk up those key points with anyone from potential investors to your ideal customer, developers, and engineers to your mom and your best friend?

Examine how you’ll build awareness, interest, and need for the app

Will early testers be part of your outreach? Will you work with social media influencers, traditional media, or celebrity endorsers? How will you articulate the problems your app solves or the joy it provides?

What are some of the branding and marketing tasks your startup will pursue? 

For example, what is the company name? The app name? How will you engage your market on the social media platforms they like to spend time on? What original supporting content will attract the interest of your key audience?

In your business plan, it’s essential to understand your startup from the point of view of a founder and key player. But the marketing and promotional components of your business plan help you see your app from the point of view of an outsider, such as a customer or investor. The better you understand these other points of view, the better you can develop your messaging, build your app, and make it a success.

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Free Mobile App Business Plan Template

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4. Startup costs, financials, and pricing

Figuring out the potential startup costs for your app is not a one-size-fits-all equation. Generally, these are some of the factors to consider as part of your financial plan .

Platform development

Expect different development costs when developing for iOS, Android, or both. Your process will include defining a function, outlining what you need for your MVP, wire-framing, coding, testing, designing, and more.

Internal employees or outside contractors? 

If you’re planning to build up a full-on firm with employees, benefits, and offices, you will be looking at a different cost structure than if you want to outsource to a contracted development company or work with a freelance team that’s not employed by your app startup. That team may need pros in charge of mobile and backend development, design, QA, customer support, design, marketing, managers, and more.

The resources you have and the resources you need

How long it’ll take to develop and release your app depends in part on the resources you have access to.

Successful apps monitor and improve. Did the app crash? Is it scaling sufficiently to handle increases in use and load? What usage metrics are you monitoring and analyzing? How will you need to update the app to deal with OS updates?

By understanding these and other potential costs, you can develop a budget in your business plan. For more in-depth financial considerations, you should develop forecasts to gauge costs, future cash flow , and how your app company might grow and change over time by hitting release and growth milestones.

5. Development milestones

The release of your app is a milestone that’s farther down the road. In the meantime, you’ll be developing milestones that reflect major accomplishments in the development process. Your business plan can reflect some of those milestones, such as:

  • Production of key features and functions
  • MVP completion
  • Testing and refinement
  • Acceptance of app in app stores
  • Achievement of sales and adoption goals
  • Implementation of new features and versions

Remember, app development takes time. Focus your initial milestones on pre-release goals. From there, you can set and work toward post-release milestones that can pave the way to future growth, releases, and profits.

  • Mobile app development tips for startup growth

As you develop your mobile app’s business plan, here are a few other tips and considerations to keep in mind.

Native, hybrid, or web?

Creating apps tailored to each OS—Apple and Android—can cost the most to develop, but also can maximize your app’s performance. The better the performance, the most adoption and use you could see in your target audience. 

At the same time, other apps work solely on the web, and others are developed as hybrids. Hybrid apps can help you manage team and development costs, but they typically can’t take full advantage of each OS.

As a rule of thumb, typically the more complicated or intense the app’s function, the better it tends to be to develop a native app. Lightweight functions may work fine in a web or hybrid environment.

Security and privacy

Privacy and security are at the forefront of customers’ minds as well as industry discussions around app business models. If you are developing for regulated industries—such as health care or financial services—there may also be legal privacy and security requirement to adhere to.

Decide on a platform: Apple, Android, or both?

If your target market is predominantly on one OS, that can guide your development decisions. Developing for both platforms requires more resources, but can give you the benefit of maximizing your ability to develop the app for each OS, and reach the most customers. Another option to consider is launching on one platform and adding another over time, depending on milestones in your business plan.

Offline vs online

A growing consideration in today’s app development firms is whether the apps can only function online, or if it can function offline too. Some level of offline function—and messaging that the app is offline—can make for better customer satisfaction, since users will have access to at least some features regardless of their internet connection.

For example, Google Maps can download route information so a user still has the mapping and some functions, even if they enter a remote location or go through an area where they don’t have a cellular or wifi signal. 

Walking users through what they can and can’t do offline, and how functions can be completed or data can sync once online again—can also go a long way to winning trust and loyalty from your app’s users. You’ll also want to determine if the offline function is something you develop as part of the launch, or if you roll it out in a later version.

Revenue model: Free/freemium, subscription, in-app purchases, ads, or a combo?

Apps can drive revenue in many ways. A common strategy is a freemium model: Offer a free baseline app, but other features can be unlocked with purchase or subscription.

Subscription models (usually with a tie-based free trial period) have also become increasingly popular in companies, and they are finding broad acceptance in the market. An app can also drive revenue by being a mobile commerce tool, helping customers complete a transaction from the convenience of their phone instead of having to go to a browser, non-mobile device, or other fulfillment channels.

Some apps are only available for purchase, often as a way to showcase an app’s superior or unique place in the market. Once purchased, though, other revenue models can come into play. The popular game Minecraft is a prime example: Customers purchase the app, but the Minecraft Marketplace offers in-app purchases to further customize the game.

Test properly before launch

If your app doesn’t work at launch, it may never recover from that stumble.

As the app reaches development milestones, ongoing testing can help you find and resolve problems before you have to deal with them in the deployed product. Conducting extensive testing across various devices, users, and OS versions can help you catch problems before they harm your new app—and your startup’s viability and profitability.

  • Download your free mobile app development business plan template

Our free mobile app development business plan can give you the template you need to start setting up your business plan—and your business. It’s just one of hundreds of free sample plans that have been time-tested by our team and by thousands of entrepreneurs all over the world.

The question is simple: What mobile app development business will you create? Whatever it is, your business plan can help you get there. Download your free plan now and get started.

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Content Author: Anthony St. Clair

Anthony St. Clair is a business copywriter, author of the Rucksack Universe travel fantasy series, and a craft beer writer specializing in Oregon. Learn more at anthonystclair.com.

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Why create a business plan for a mobile app?

A business plan is the backbone of any enterprise. Many people like to describe it as a map that assists you in getting from point A (idea) to point B (success) without accidentally venturing into point C (financial failure). You can also think of it as a set of guidelines used to devise app development strategies and manage the budget in a responsible and effective way.

A map showing how a business plan helps a startup reach success

A business plan helps steer the enterprise in the right direction

With a comprehensive mobile app business plan, you’ll be able to use facts and exact calculations to determine the overall direction of the business :

  • Gain useful insights into the competition and the current state of the market
  • Make informed decisions regarding marketing and communication
  • Outline a comprehensive financial strategy
  • Evaluate performance and decide on the best allocation of resources

It will also help you to better manage your team :

  • Keep everyone in sync and focused on the same target
  • Establish clear goals and KPIs, as well as set priorities

And finally, having a business plan is crucial if you want to win over investors and stakeholders.

This is not just our opinion — research confirms the value of writing a business plan. Recently, Palo Alto Software surveyed 2,900 entrepreneurs and discovered that those who create business plans are almost twice as likely to succeed as those who don’t. To measure “success”, Palo Alto used three metrics: business growth, secured investment capital, and secured loans. Find out more information about the study.

Statistic showing the benefits of a business plan

This study clearly shows that a business plan isn’t just a formality

What does a mobile app business plan look like?

A typical mobile app business plan is comprised of 8 sections:

  • Executive summary
  • Products & services
  • Company overview
  • Market analysis
  • Competitive analysis
  • Marketing strategy
  • Financial strategy

The whole document usually runs 20 to 40 pages including appendices, but this number largely depends on the scale of your project and your goals. A mobile app business plan for a massive product with international presence may well run into hundreds of pages, while an average startup is unlikely to go over 50 pages. 

When writing a mobile app business plan, you should always consider the target audience . Keep everything informative but concise — otherwise, you run the risk of losing the reader’s attention. This is especially important if you’re writing a business plan to raise funds: investors don’t want to have their time wasted. However, it’s crucial not to sacrifice any important information for the sake of hitting a hypothetical 40-page goal.

The typical structure of a business plan

Things to keep in mind when creating a business plan

Before we dive straight into writing a mobile app business plan, let us give you some tips that will help you along the way.

Before getting started on that Google Doc, ask yourself one question: what are you trying to achieve? The answer to that question defines your priorities. For example, if you’re going to use your mobile app business plan to raise some funds, you’ll want to focus on the reasons you need that money and exactly how you’re going to spend it.

Readability is highly important. This means that the information you present may be complex, but navigating it should be as simple to do as possible. The document should have a coherent structure, with one part logically flowing into another, and clear formatting with headings, subheadings, and enough white space. You can also supplement the numbers you provide with graphs to highlight the most important takeaways .

Business plan structure

Pay attention not only to what the document says, but also to what it looks like: with headings, subheadings, and diagrams you create a better document structure

Fact-based estimates

All financial forecasts in your mobile app business plan should be realistic — too much optimism will likely damage your image and lead to lack of trust, not to mention that inflated expectations can ruin the enterprise itself. With that said, all the reports should clearly indicate that there are good prospects for the business and what investors stand to gain if they support the project. If the reports paint a bleak picture, maybe it would be a good idea to test another concept.

External review

Creating a 30-page formal document is a daunting task, and there’s not a single reason why you should face it in solitude. In fact, it’ll be much better if you don’t! As you go, ask other people (preferably experienced) to review it from time to time — this way, you’ll be sure that your plan is logical and makes sense.

How to create a business plan for an app

OK, so we’ve established that a typical startup business plan consists of 8 sections, each equally important. But what exactly do you put in these sections? Let’s find out.

Write an executive summary 

An executive summary is a rundown of the whole document. It describes the current situation in the market, establishes the target audience, as well as puts forward the product’s concept, business goals, and financial projections. Put simply, it answers three big questions:

A well-written executive summary can act as a standalone document. In fact, many investors make their initial decisions after reading this part only, so getting it right is crucial if you want to win over important stakeholders.

The secret is to keep everything clear and concise: you want to convey the message that your app idea has huge potential without overwhelming the reader with 5-page long sheets and abstract ideas. Ideally, the executive summary shouldn’t run longer than 2–3 pages.

A diagram depicting the four key components of the executive summary, an integral part of any business plan

The four key components of an executive summary

Prepare the company overview 

In this section of your mobile app business plan, you tell the reader more about your company . Include the following information:

  • Mission. It’s a brief explanation why a company exists (take Google, for example: “Our mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful”)
  • Vision. It’s a declaration of the company’s potential impact on the world.
  • Corporate values
  • History and past achievements (if any)
  • Competitive advantages

You should also provide detailed information about the team : the number of people you employ, as well as their qualifications and previous experiences.

We recommend dedicating a separate subsection to your top management and key team members to tell about their background and achievements. This will help convince investors that apart from a great app idea , you also have great people behind it.

Make sure to cover the issue of ownership . Does each partner own an equal portion of the business? If not, how exactly is ownership divided?

Potential investors will definitely want to know this information.

Describe your products & services

This is where you really get into detail about your business idea. First, provide some information about the problem you want to solve. To do this, answer 3 fundamental questions:

A scheme showing the 3 key questions that help describe a problem that the mobile app will solve

You need to convince stakeholders that your product solves an important problem. Answering these 3 questions will help

You need to convince the reader that this issue is of importance. You can cite some research or statistics, but try not to oversaturate this section with numbers.

Then, you move on to the actual solution and tell how exactly you plan to tackle the problem. This is where you describe your product or service. Give a brief description of the processes involved, but again, avoid flooding the section with too many technical details.

Finally, give a brief examination of your competitors and highlight how exactly your product is going to surpass the already existing options.

Conduct an audience analysis

In the audience analysis part, you evaluate the current state of play and give justified reasons why you believe your product has a place in the competitive environment. This section includes queries into the target market , customer behavior, current trends , and several important metrics: cost per acquisition (CPA), total available market (TAM), service available market (SAM), and service obtainable market (SOM).

Try to be as specific as possible when talking about the target audience. Consider building customer personas — generalized representations of the people who are going to be interested in your product. To create a persona, conduct several in-depth interviews and organize the obtained information into the following blocks:

  • Demographic information — age, gender, income, place of living
  • Psychographic information — goals, challenges, motivation, personality type
  • Professional activities — qualifications, current job, past job experiences
  • Interests and personal tastes
  • Needs — why would they need your product?

An example of a customer persona sheet in a business plan

This is an example of what a customer persona sheet may look like

Carry out a competitive analysis

We’ve already touched on the subject of competition in the executive summary and the products & services section. This time, however, you dive in much deeper and provide a detailed analysis of your direct and indirect competitors, answering the following questions: What are their strengths & weaknesses? What marketing strategies do they use? What is their pricing?

Once you’ve described the competitive landscape, it’s time to show why your product is going to be superior. One way to do this is by conducting a SWOT analysis.

SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. It actually doesn’t need to be any more complicated than this: the section names speak for themselves.

In Strengths , you state the advantages that separate you from the competition.

In Weaknesses , you focus on the things your product lacks and resource limitations.

In Opportunities , you describe the prospects for your business, as well as the external factors that can have a positive influence on the enterprise (rising demand, changing attitudes, etc.).

And finally, in Threats , you cite any external factors that can have a negative influence on the enterprise (bad media coverage, changing regulations, and so on).

SWOT analysis in a business plan

Conducting a SWOT analysis is important for proper positioning

Outline your marketing strategy

This is where you describe three important things. First, you need to cover the channels you’re going to use to reach your target segments — for example, social media, target ads, or physical ads. Then, you specify the amount of money you plan to spend on marketing activities, and finally, the KPIs you’re going to use to evaluate efficiency.

Describe your financial strategy

We’ve reached the core of any mobile app business plan. A startup needs a financial strategy much like a ship needs an engine or a mast, and this section is where all the crucial number crunching is happening — akin to an engine room. Let’s look at what you need to include in this part of the plan:

  • A revenue model, also known as a monetization strategy
  • A monthly sales and revenue forecast for the first 12 months and annual projections for the next 3–5 years
  • An income statement, which outlines annual net profits or losses
  • A cash flow statement, which shows how much money the company operates with in total
  • A balance sheet, which lists assets, liabilities, and equity in your company
  • Funds needed (how much money you need to gain in investments)
  • Use of funds (how exactly you’re going to use gained investments)

Exit strategy

You need an exit strategy if you plan to sell your company some time in the future. Having this subsection is crucial if you want to draw the attention of venture capitalists and angel investors. The most common exit strategies are acquisition, initial public offering (IPO), and management buyout.

Make sure you understand all these terms correctly and can confidently use them when pitching — investors are more likely to trust an entrepreneur who knows their numbers .

A balance sheet in a business plan

A typical balance sheet lists a hefty number of assets, liabilities, and stockholders’ equity. Complicated, but important!

Compile an appendix

This isn’t a mandatory section — you can omit it altogether, if you want. However, it might be a good place for charts, tables, legal notes, licenses, permits, detailed studies, illustrations of your product, and all other miscellaneous pieces of information that can seem a little out of place if you include them in any of the primary sections of your mobile app business plan.

How to fund your app startup

We’ve compared the main sources of funding in the table below.

And now a bit more about every source of funding.

Bootstrapping

Bootstrapping is just a fancy word for using your own money. Unsurprisingly, this is the best way to fund a startup: there are no loans, no interest rates, no bonds, and no contractual obligations. If the idea fails, you’ve got no one to answer to (well, apart from your wallet) — and if it takes off, you get to keep more of the returns. 

Personal networks

The second most desirable source of funding. A personal network is your friends and family — or, in other words, people you have a close emotional connection with. Persuading them to fund your mobile app development project will be much easier than pitching the idea to complete strangers. And in case the startup fails, they will likely give you enough time to recuperate and pay them back. 

Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding means turning directly to end-users to get funding for the project, usually via the Internet. This method is very popular among smaller, niche-specific enterprises, but it doesn’t mean that large-scale ventures have nothing to gain from it — some businesses (including app development companies) manage to raise millions of dollars on Kickstarter and other crowdfunding platforms. Pros: you get to build a customer base super early. Cons: failure to deliver the promised product usually leads to court, unless you have exceptionally good PR.   

Angel investors

Angel investors are wealthy individuals who use their own money to support business ideas they find promising. They usually invest in budding projects in the seed stage, when the risks are at their all-time high — hence the name. But here’s the catch: in return, they get a share in the business, or at least a convertible bond. This means that if the idea takes off, they’ll gain a certain level of control over your company and become entitled to a share of your income. 

Startup contests at IT events

The tech industry is packed with conferences that can define the future of your app startup. Many of these events host startup contests with formidable prize funds reaching millions of dollars. Winning a contest like this is a quick way to get a solid influx of money early on — but, of course, there are no guarantees, and the competition is fierce.

Bank loans are your last resort. We recommend using this option only if every other one has failed. Why? Tons of paperwork, strict deadlines, and unfavorable interest rates make it poorly suited for fledgling startups — and don’t forget that failure to return the money on time may lead to severe consequences. It’s much safer to take a loan once you have an established company, but definitely not when you’re just starting out.

Monetization strategies

Deciding how your product is going to make money is one of the most important steps to take when developing a mobile app . There are multiple monetization strategies available, each of them suitable for specific types of businesses. Let’s look at some of the most popular ones.

One-time purchase

This strategy is based on the “pay once, use forever” principle. With this business model , you make your app available only after the customer purchases it, either before or after the download. This model can generate substantial revenue, but only if you offer unique features that are highly valuable to the user — otherwise they will most probably turn to free alternatives. Very common among productivity apps and games.

In-app purchases

The app and its basic functionality are free to use, but users can pay to access more advanced features or nice-to-have bonuses. The most famous examples of this model are probably games like Clash of Clans or Fortnite — you can play all you want for free, but if you want to progress faster or get in-game benefits , you can buy skins and in-game currency. Very lucrative if applied properly, but is mainly limited to the entertainment segment.

Subscriptions

Users can download the app for free, but to enjoy the full range of its features they’ll have to buy a subscription. Usually, this business model includes multiple options : for example, you can subscribe for a month, 6 months, or a year. To increase conversion, developers often offer trial periods that allow customers to fully experience all the advantages of the product before choosing to commit.

The basics of freemium-based mobile apps

This strategy is also known as the freemium business model

Talentum , an app we developed a couple years ago, used a subscription-based revenue model. Users could order food from their favorite chefs without any paywalls, but there was always an option to upgrade their accounts and unlock the full range of features.

Screenshots of Talentum, a mobile app that connects customers with top-notch freelance chefs

Talentum, the app that connects customers with top-notch freelance chefs

A fitness app we developed uses a similar system, but on the vendor side: coaches can buy higher-level subscriptions to take on more customers.

The subscription model is also used in dating applications such as Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge. Users that subscribe receive profile boosts, unlimited likes, advanced filters, and other benefits. Check out our article if you want to know more about dating app monetization strategies .

The most popular business model , which is also easy to combine with others. In this model, you use the app to run ads to generate revenue. There are several formats you can choose from, with some of them being more intrusive (like interstitial ads), and some less (like native or banner ads).

Many developers use this strategy together with a subscription-based model: the free version of the app is monetized using ads, while buying a subscription removes this annoyance and grants other benefits.

The difference between interstitial and banner ads in a mobile app

Keep in mind that the more intrusive the ad, the less users are going to like it

Commissions

Very handy for marketplaces of all sorts: if a vendor uses your app to sell their goods, you charge a commission for every sale they make at a fixed percentage. Alternatively, you can opt for charging fixed flat fees, but the first option is more widespread. The more vendors you attract to the platform, the heftier your revenue will be.

What is a business plan for a mobile app?

A mobile app business plan is a set of guidelines used to devise comprehensive app development strategies and manage the budget in a responsible and effective way.

How long does it take to create a business plan for an app?

Creating a mobile app business plan may take anywhere from a couple of weeks to a month.

Is it possible to create an application without a business plan?

Yes, it’s entirely possible, but in this case you’ll need a reliable partner to help with refining the concept and turning it into a cool product on the go. If you have an idea for a mobile app, reach out to us — we’ll help bring it to life with low development costs.

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How to Write a Business Plan For Mobile App Startup

How to Write a Business Plan For Mobile App Startup

Tech Editor and Content Team Lead

Table of content

Idea, plan, and implementation. These are 3 cornerstones of any project’s success. In the constantly changing modern IT world, it’s impossible to forecast success with 100% confidence. However, if you pay enough attention to each of these cornerstones, your chances to reach the top grow.

However, some entrepreneurs skip the stage in which they should create an app business plan. These people often believe practice to be a better way to reach the expected results, hoping spontaneous decisions can build the road to the top manufacturers' list. Unfortunately, this type of approach leads nowhere.

We have carefully analyzed issues that our clients and partners have come to us with, measured the performance of their projects and analyzed how a tech startup business plan impacts the overall company’s success. Today, we will explain the importance of a business plan and guide you through the main steps of developing your own.

Why You Need a Business Plan for Your Mobile App

Mobile apps brought an unexpected revolution to the digital era. The number of unique and useful apps increases daily.

Just a year ago, the number of applications available on the App Store exceeded 2.2. million.

The mobile industry is forecasted to bring in almost $190 billion of revenue in 2020.

Mobile industry revenue forecast

If you would like to join this beneficial industry, and already have a great app idea, it’s time to take the next step towards your goals and bring into being a great app business plan.

But first, let’s clarify why you actually need a brilliant business plan for an app .

Attracting great minds and great investments

Depending on the type of business model you want to use, you have to decide between startup co-founders or investors. In some cases, you need to attract both. An application business plan is your sole way to fulfill this task quickly and proceed with more significant steps towards your company’s growth.

Reducing the risks

Recent reports show that writing a business plan will bring you closer to your goals and ambitions. Entrepreneurs with extensive business plans are more likely to develop their company and increase their revenue than those who without a plan.

Planning is a simple way to secure loans and investments.

How can a business plan help

Keeping to the defined strategy

In a world full of interruptions, it’s hard not to miss the important things. Every day you, as a startup owner, will face new issues and obstacles. But a set of points on your blueprint will act as a quick reminder of why you started it and where it should take you.

Preparing properly

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” ― Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin wasn’t involved in software development, but these words highlight the app business plan significance. By writing a plan, you are enhancing your knowledge about the market you plan to break into. This will clarify your goals, set your priorities and help you build more accurate forecasts. It’s your chance to reveal possible risks and find your own voice in the industry.

Managing and delegating effectively

Being a good manager is an art. A mobile app business plan is your tool for creating a masterpiece. It provides a vision of critical tasks, helping you delegate each of them to the responsible person.

Business plan helps to manage effectively

An App Business Plan Template

Now that you know how meaningful a business plan is for any project is, let’s find out what it actually is. Typically, a business plan is a set of:

bullet points describing your vision.

some statistics providing real numbers about the industry you plan to enter.

tables with defined steps and strategies you would like to implement to reach your goals.

Is the product viable? Does it have the potential to bring new experiences to the user and measurable benefits to its founders? Those are 2 primary questions your app business plan should answer. Include the following components to make your triumph inevitable.

Section 1. Executive Summary

This is the introduction to your business plan. This is the first thing your potential investor will see when becoming acquainted with your idea. Make it clear and remarkable, and answer these questions in your summary:

What problem do you want to solve?

Even though the market is chock-full of different solutions, consumers always face some obstacles and complications. You need to find these problems and identify the one that you can solve. Analyze your target audience’s needs at the moment, why the existing solutions do not satisfy these needs, and what you can offer to solve this problem.

What is your solution?

First of all, make sure your project is capable of addressing this problem. Then, introduce your idea but do not dive into details. This is not the right moment to introduce the functionality to investors. It’s time to generally highlight what your app will do to make app users happy. 

How will your app change the market? 

Answering the first question, you have possibly come to the conclusion that similar solutions already exist. Provide proof that your app is better than other apps. Share facts, numbers, and forecasts; avoid using clichés and make your answer as profound as you can. 

What goal are you pursuing? 

The primary goal of any business is financial return. In this section, you need to explain what your goal looks like, provide your vision of the app’s future, state how many users you expect to download your app, and what profit it will bring. Visualize your short-term plans and enhance your answer using metrics.

cta image

Section 2. Make a Business Description of Your Company

Create an attractive overview to increase interest. This section is how you get closer to potential partners by presenting the following things:

Basic info about your organization

Either your company is an LLC or another entity, the potential investor should know this. The company’s structure defines the way processes will be organized in the future.

Location is essential. If your team works remotely, mention it, too. And don’t forget to emphasize the reasons you have decided on this location or opted for remote collaboration.

A few words about the history

People like storytelling. So explain the company’s history. How did you come up with the idea of founding your own business? What did you start with? Make your story short but catchy so you can win the reader’s attention.

Team introduction

The app startup business plan should include details about your team so you could get even closer to the reader. By adding a few words on the company’s specialists, you can turn a boring description into a virtual introductory meeting.

Tell the potential investor about your managers. Provide information about the engineering team. Specify names, positions, experience, and even hobbies. Writing your app business plan, make the readers feel like they know the people you talk about.

One more actionable tip is to provide details about your advisory team. These experts help you with decision making, and their names can make a difference in the local market.

Section 3. Market analysis

To launch an app startup, you should know everything you can about the industry you are entering. By understanding its past and present, you can impact its future. This stage moves a hypothesis to real statistical data.

How big is the market?

To answer this question, you must analyze the following factors:

Total Available Market, or market demand for your app.

Serviceable Available Market, or the number of users you are able to reach out to.

Serviceable Obtainable Market, or the segment of your first users.

How does the market change?

Compare and analyze the market size 5 years ago and now. What has changed? How many influencers have broken into the market? How many failed? The amount of money spent in the industry will make your own potential income clearer.

What is the customer persona?

The only way to develop a legendary app is to look at it through your customers’ eyes. This is why you need to understand the target audience and create a portrait of your customer. A customer persona is a detailed description of what users that install your app look like. Define gender, name, occupation, education, hobbies and daily challenges they face. This is a portrait of the real person your app will serve.

Marketing strategy as a part of a startup business plan

Section 4. Marketing strategy

A solid mobile app business plan should describe how your app will get to potential user smartphones. Let’s have a glance at our step-by-step guide on how to build a successful marketing strategy:

Identify the channels you can acquire customers from

Today, social media marketing is considered the most effective way to promote a product. But will it be enough for your app? Go back to the research phase and find out how many potential users you are able to meet on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Provide the readers with information on what channel may be most profitable.

An app landing page is an excellent way to reach out to your target audience, too. Develop an engaging mockup and provide the partners with information on how many customers will find out about your product from a landing page.

Decide on metrics

During the beginning stages, your success will be measured with the number of installations or conversion rates, not with financial revenue. So decide what metrics will be useful for your project’s evaluation.

Referral programs participation

Consider participation in referral programs

Referral programs could become your growth fuel. Decide on which companies to collaborate with and explain to the app business plan readers why this cooperation is expected to be fruitful.

Don’t forget to optimize your website and mobile application to improve SEO. And remember:

“Be undeniably good. No marketing effort or social media buzzword can be a substitute for that.” - Anthony Volodkin, Hype Machine founder

Section 5. Define Your Competitors

If you are not Elon Musk, you definitely have competitors. And if you have competitors, you should learn from them. Make sure your business offers unique functionality and has the ability to cater to users’ wishes like no other tool could. But at the same time, be aware that there will always be someone doing something similar.

Know your competitors. Study the market and increase your awareness of potential rivals, as well as their history and capabilities. Study their weaknesses and brainstorm how to turn these into your strengths.

Section 6. Choose a Monetization Strategy

As we reach the finish line of your app development business plan template building, we will talk about finances. Running a non-profit project is good, but when it comes to mobile apps, which have a market of billions of dollars of revenue annually, the monetization strategy deserves exceptional attention.

How can you turn your efforts into financial profit?

  • Use advertising

You can simply advertise other products with your mobile app. This is one of the fastest and easiest ways to monetize it. However, you should have an impressive number of active users to implement this strategy.

  • Charge a fee for installation

There are so many free apps all over the web that users ignore the paid ones. Be ready to demonstrate unique features to convince users to install your app.

  • Add a Paid Account option

Offering a free trial is an attractive option. After the trial period ends, allow an account upgrade. If your app demonstrates good performance and powerful functionality, it is very likely that users will be ready to pay for it.

Choose your strategy before you start your sample business plan. Potential partners and investors will not support your idea unless the monetization strategy is well-defined and clear. So be ready to answer questions about what financial profit you expect to make from this app.

Section 7. Startup Costs & Funding

Did you know that one of the key reasons startups fail is financial issues?

Why do startups fail?

29% of companies simply run out of cash and 18% of companies have other types of cost issues. Now, when you are closer to your first technology startup business plan example than ever, consider the importance of costs and funding for your business.

Why is the financial component of planning so important?

It is vital for you to understand what type of funding you need to get your app up and running.

Your potential partners must know how much money you need.

Your startup financial model should reflect the forecast for the next 3-5 years. Add the following data to your plan:

Talk about required funding

You have a rough estimation of how much money you need. Try to foresee possible issues. A backup financial plan may be useful, too.

Specify payment frequency

Some costs should only be paid once. Other costs, like salaries or maintenance costs, are repeatable. A detailed financial plan is the final thing you need to provide in your application business plan.

In Conclusion

Strive to create an excellent app business plan, keeping in mind the following tips:

Make it simple and clear.

Be professional and realistic.

Avoid slang.

Proofread, then proofread it again. Also, don't neglect grammar checkers like Grammarly . Such a tool will not only correct your spelling or grammar but also advise you on the style of your writing.

Isn’t it exciting? Now you know how to write a business plan for an app! Now you are one step closer to fruitful business relations and considerable funding to bring your idea to life. And now you are one great step ahead of your competitors.

We have seen dozens of business plans on our path. Now we can say for sure which plan is the right first step to great achievements in the future.

Want to know more about the project cost?

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How To Create A Killer Mobile App Business Plan [+Template]

app business plan

September 27, 2022

Adam Hoeksema

If you’re on your way to developing your first mobile app, or you’re looking to grow your mobile app business, you might be considering improving your business plan. If you haven’t got one already, maybe you’re still in need of a little convincing, or the thought of doing it yourself is still overwhelming. 

Fortunately, building a mobile app business plan isn’t all that hard, and with the right approach you’ll end up with a robust document that will inspire investors, woo bankers, or, at the very least, give you valuable insight into where you’re headed and how to get there. 

In this article, we’ve got the whys and the hows of your mobile app startup business plan, as well as a handy template to follow.

Download: Mobile App Business Plan Template

First, though, in case you’re in need of a little push, here’s a little motivation.

Do you Really Need a Mobile App Business Plan? 

The short answer to this is: yes. The longer answer holds the caveat that it depends on how serious you are about succeeding financially with your venture. 

When you’re starting out, you probably won’t know a huge amount about the market or how your product will fit into it. You might have an idea for an app and are willing to just build it and see what happens. 

And this could be fine; if you’re not worried whether or not it’ll be successful, you don’t have a lot to lose, and spending time on a business plan for a hobby project might not be the right choice for you. 

app business plan template

But if you want to compete and actually reach the most people, you do need a plan, and you do need a business-minded approach. You need a business plan. This is true, regardless of whether or not you’re ever going to show it to anybody. 

A business plan can feel a bit like an overwhelming commitment to a certain direction, but in fact, it’s the very vehicle for defining and understanding that direction in the first place. 

Further, your mobile app business plan will be a documentation of your investigation into the industry, and how you’ll be navigating your way through it with your app. This document puts your commitment into writing, and demonstrates to any outside stakeholders your business chops: essentially, how reliable you are as an entrepreneur. 

The importance of a business plan, therefore, is two-fold: Firstly, you’ll be gathering significant information on your company and its position in the industry. This will lead you to accurate projections and enable to you take the right business risks to grow your company. 

Secondly, you’ll be setting yourself up with a reputable document that you can show to investors or loan providers, should you be looking to fund the next growth phase of your business.

Funding Options for Your Mobile App Startup

When it comes to funding in business, there are three main sources. To find the first one, you need to look no further than the end of your nose. Bootstrapping a business, or self-funding it, has many advantages over the more involved options of taking out a huge loan or persuading another individual or company to invest in you. However, it also has its drawbacks. Let’s break down these three options, for clarity:

  • Bootstrapping – There’s a good chance your overheads are going to be relatively low with a mobile app startup. If you’re a single person or a small team, you can work from home, and your initial costs could range anywhere from $50 to $500k, depending on whom you ask; the lower end of which is nothing to be sniffed at, but certainly more attainable from the proceeds of a side-gig or savings account. However, if you’re a little farther ahead in your project, or it’s a bigger job, you might need a rapid injection of capital that your wallet can’t handle. In these cases, you could try one of the next two options.  
  • Loan – Loans for mobile apps aren’t hard to come by. Getting a good deal takes a little longer, but there are plenty of options from banks to crowdfunding that could provide you with a hefty chunk of capital for your mobile app project. Banks might be faster but more expensive, and crowdfunding might be cheaper but could take a while. Weighing up the pros and cons for the range of options, and consider that if your business fails, you’ll still probably have to pay that money back.
  • Investment – For less financial risk, consider an investment. The added benefit of finding the right investor will come with their handy experience in the market, which you may or may not be allowed to make use of. This is one of the most time-consuming approaches to get right, and you’ll have to hand over a significant percentage of your company equity to get a good deal, but you won’t be held financially responsible if you don’t make it. 

So, the benefits and drawbacks of each capital source are related to what you have and what you are willing to give away. Loans and bootstrapping allow you to maintain full equity share but are limited either by additional financial risk, or (typically) lower financial injection, respectively. 

The investment brings with it the opportunity to learn from expert involvement but will take away some of your control in the project. So, this is a personal choice and will depend on your available options. However, there’s one thing that all funding options will require to make a return on your app business, and that’s a solid demonstration that you know your market. 

If you’re looking to scale quickly, and you’re trying to get capital from external sources, you’ll need to be able to provide a good business plan. If you’re not getting anyone else involved just yet, you could still benefit from a business plan simply through the research you’ll need to embark on to build one. The first and most immediately useful data you’ll gather will be on the market.

Market Research for an App Startup Business Plan 

Now we’re segueing into building a business plan, and we’ll have a template for the full mobile app business plan document for you in the next section, but if you’re still not entirely convinced you need one, consider one of the major components to a business plan: The market research. 

mobile app business plan

Even if you’re paying your own way, and you don’t need to prove anything to anyone, you’re going to want to have some good financial projections to know where you’ll be in five years. Working backward from this, you’ll need strong financial papers to project from, and to form those, from a very short or non-existent financial history, you’ll need to know your market very well, as well as how to find them. 

So, market research is the early investigation to find the data you need to figure out your financial future and plot your path toward it. Market research will alert you to whether you’re launching your app at the right time, what your unique selling point is, and how you’re solving problems for your customers. 

All of this will come in the form of good, hard data, from which you can extrapolate everything from your marketing media to your expected growth rate. We’ll go into a little more detail about how to begin your market research in the mobile app business plan template below. 

In completing your market research, you’ll be completing a significant portion of your business plan, and you’ll have gathered plenty of data to compile much of the rest of it. So, by the time you’ve got this far, you’re already almost there. Take a look at how your business plan might look as a document once it’s laid out. 

Your 7-Page Mobile App Business Plan Template

There are numerous layouts and sections you can add to a business plan, most of which follow a similar template to the one we’re about to go into. You can add sections where you need to if you need to, but the seven pages below make up the basis for a solid plan, and shouldn’t be left out. Let’s see how it breaks down:

Page 1 – The Executive Summary

This is the front page of your document, and it’ll summarize what’s to come. Therefore, it’ll usually be written last. It’s designed to catch the eye and lead the reader to the relevant section to their interests, but it can also be quite a handy reminder of all the work you’ve put in. 

Of course, you haven’t put in that work yet, so keep reading, and compile the next six sections before you come to this. 

Page 2 – The market Analysis 

Here we get into the meat of the issue. All that market research should have given you a deep insight into what’s out there, who the competition is and what they’re providing to your future customers. What is the state of the industry? Who are the heavy hitters and what do they accomplish?

Identify all of these things in the context of your customer profile; who they are, what they like, and what problem they’ve got (that you’re going to solve for them). This page should include statistics, graphics, and a brief overview of the market as a summary. 

Page 3 – The Company Description

Now it’s time to introduce yourself as a solution. Your introduction will cover the next two sections too, beginning with a description of how you plan to address all the issues mentioned in the above section. What is it that you’re providing that will keep you competitive? 

List the attributes that give you an advantage, and point your focus on all the things that make you unique. Cover your history and your mission statement in the context of how you will use these to your advantage in the market. 

Page 4 – Your Organization and Management

Next, break down the way the company is structured. If it’s all you, this shouldn’t take long. If you’ve got some key players, here’s where to show them off. You’ll also put in the legal structure of your company, or, if there isn’t one yet, what you want it to be. 

Management will get a section each, and a link to their resume, with a short blurb on why they’re there and how they boost your standing in the industry. List their responsibilities here, and tie it all together. 

Page 5 – Your products and Services

So, what are you actually selling? Talk about your app, which platforms it’s going to be available on, any copyrights you have, and any upcoming R&D info you’ve got in the pipeline. Follow up with how your product will address the specifics you mentioned in the market research and how it will help your ideal customer. 

You might have two versions of this page, depending on whom you’re planning to show it to. For investors versed in tech, you can list features. For loans or marketers, you might want to focus more on the customer perspective. The things it does for the consumer, from that angle. 

Page 6 – Your Sales and Marketing Strategies

Your revenue streams should have become evident to you during your market research; the strong, low-risk ones and the weaker or higher-risk avenues should be listed as such. You need to have a marketing strategy that reaches your people where they’re looking, and you need to have at least a rudimentary understanding of your sales funnel and where your touchpoints will be. 

If you’ve got someone on your team dedicated to this, they should be able to fill it out for you. If not, do your research and find some marketing and sales templates for inspiration. 

Don’t worry too much about this at the early stages – the important part is to have some idea of your first two or three strategies to focus on. Trial and error will help you complete this section later on. 

Page 7 – Your Financial Planning

In business, this is what it’s all about. Your project will never scale without an ROI, and you need to know what that’s going to be, and how it’ll be affected by market trends, capital injections, and company growth. There are several important financial documents you’ll need to have completed for this, these are the income statement, the balance sheet, and the cash flow statement. Each will help you when it comes to projecting. 

And project you must! We’re going to go into why that’s so important to get this right in the next section, but for now, consider that you’re going to need a projection with which you can manipulate inputs to see what the outcomes of different strategies will be. This is critical for knowing where and when to invest, cut spending, increase spending, and all other long-term financial decisions.

And there you have it. A pretty comprehensive mobile app business plan; the construction of which is almost as significant as its existence.

You can download our free mobile app business plan template here.

More on the Significance of your Financial Documents

This is so important, it warrants its own section. Your financial papers are going to act as the calculator with which to determine how to run your finances. This means you’ll need to be able to enter your proposed investment, and immediately see how long it will take to make a return. Then, you’ll want to add in a pandemic or a tsunami or some other act of god and see if you’ll be able to recover from that. 

You’ll need to know these things for your own benefit, but if you’re ever going to be taken seriously by a bank or investor, you’re going to need to prove to them you’re not dreaming. Projections that are too optimistic are going to be an immediate turn-off. Data that isn’t accurate show that you’re not a diligent business partner. Incomplete documents suggest that your organizational skills aren’t reliable, and investing in your project is taking a risk on an amateur. 

For a professional mobile app financial projection template, check out ours here at ProjectionHub . This template has facilitated accurate projections for over three thousand mobile app businesses and it comes fully customizable with free support and review of your projections to make sure you’re on the right track.

Even if you’re not looking for funding, your mobile app business plan template is a valuable tool for entering the market and staying there. It doesn’t take a panel of experts to build a business plan either; you can do most, if not all of the work yourself. 

Putting in the time to do the right research and gather accurate market data, compiling your financial documents, and designing realistic templates that depict your upcoming financial situation are the major keys to success when building a mobile app startup business plan.

About the Author

Adam is the Co-founder of ProjectionHub which helps entrepreneurs create financial projections for potential investors, lenders and internal business planning. Since 2012, over 50,000 entrepreneurs from around the world have used ProjectionHub to help create financial projections.

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How to Create a Convincing Business Plan for Your Mobile Apps?

business plan for mobile app

Steps To Create a Business Plan For Your Mobile App

1. detailed summary, 2. company introduction, 3.  all about the industry, 4.  marketing strategy, 5.  operational strategy, 6.  financial plan, why make a mobile app business plan, magnetizing investments, reducing the risks, helps you keep everything in perspective, wrapping up.

Having an app idea is simple. But planning the business needs is quite tedious and crucial!

If you choose to develop an application without doing the research, then while characterizing the audience, and planning use cases and features that will interest that audience, you risk developing a product you assume individuals will need, but in reality they don’t.

Therefore, having a business plan for a mobile app is crucial. A business plan not only helps in the initial planning and discovery phase of a project, but also acts as a reminder of all the critical aspects that should be taken care of during the mobile app development. 

So without further ado, lets move on to our main discussion “How to build Business Plan for a Mobile App Startup” or “How to Write Business Plan for Mobile Application Idea?”

Startup costs

You have to start somewhere! Thus, a short overview of your detailed mobile app business plan is something you must pay special attention to, since this is going to be the first thing that the potential investors will encounter. 

Things that make this section ideal are – convey more while writing less , refrain from mentioning the working of the product, and so on . Instead, focus more on market scenario, targeted users, and make sure you implement the below mentioned steps –

Focus on problems addressed

‘Problems’ are something that always prevails. Meaning, there is always room for improvement and innovation. What you are supposed to do here is analyze the problems users are facing with the existing solutions and find out –

  • The needs and demands of the users at the moment 
  • Problems users are facing with the products similar to yours
  • why these solutions fail to satisfy – what are they lacking that you can provide in a better and different way.

State your proposed solution

Try not to divert from the path of the problem while explaining its solution, i.e., do not go into the functioning and features of your app, rather stay focused on the problem and the ways in which your app addresses them.

Business Plan for Your Mobile Apps

Unique Value Proposition

This is where you can boast of the things that differentiate you from other organizations and solution providers, something about your app that is unique in itself. Not just better but definitely different. For example, the USP for Domino’s Pizza is “You get fresh, hot pizza delivered to your door in 30 minutes or less or else it’s free.”

End objective of your app

After everything’s said and done, it all comes down to this – The goals you plan to achieve with your app. 

You MUST state the vision of your app’s future, i.e., how many downloads you are initially expecting on your application, how much profit you are expecting, and much more. It is best to visualize your short-term plans and then improve your answer through metrics.

Advice

The next step while making a detailed and convincing business plan is to prepare your company’s information. Since the future is unpredictable, the things you have mentioned in the above section may not be as appealing to the investors as you may conjecture. 

Firms like Y Combinator, TechStars, to name a few, are known to select startups for funding based on the team and the founders. So, you see how crucial this section just became for you. Moreover, it would add as a plus point if you could provide information about the MVP or a prototype you have developed.

The things you should cover here are –

Provide an overview

There are some questions that you need to address in this section to help investors understand your organization and develop trust in it.

  • Type of entity – Are you an LLC or privately owned organization? 
  • Location – Where is it housed?
  • Duration – When was the organization established?
  • What is the team size of your company?
  • Do you operate off-shore as well or not?
  • What are the problems your company is currently going through?
  • What is the ultimate goal of the company?
  • What is your vision?

Advice 1

Take it from the top

Like a novel, you must tell the story of your organization while briefly touching on all the preliminary motivations, business app ideas, problems, etc. that you encountered at the time of its inception.

List everything about the history of your company that is worth knowing, since it could be a lot damaging if any crucial information is withheld from the investors and is revealed later. It can include the locations you have operated in, early hires, major pivots, product launches, and such.

Management team

Remember each and every person in your company is an important cog in your organization’s machinery. This is why you are required to mention the names of all the members of management with all the relevant information related to them, i.e., qualification, professional experience, expertise, KRAs while mentioning the organizational hierarchy.

Advisory panel

Almost every mobile app development company is backed by an advisory team. The panel consists of industry experts with years of experience under the belt. More often than not, they are the makers of some successful apps. Creating a list of such advisors can immensely improve your brand image and credibility, boosting the chances of getting funds.

Essentially, your end product is going to target a particular industry. Hence, it is obvious for you as an entrepreneur to know every grain of major information, from market history to current trends related to your targeted industry.

Market size

The most basic thing that you must know and also showcase in your app startup business plan is the size of the market. This includes – total available market (market demand for the app), serviceable available market (number of users you can target say in 3 to 5 years), and serviceable obtainable market (the segment of your initial users in 6 to 12 months).

If you are wondering how to do so then, you can always refer to the credible data provided by some trusted third-party platforms, namely, Sensor Tower , App Annie , and Statista .

Keep updated with market projections

You need to understand the market’s past and present to gain insight into future predictions. The best thing to do here is to compare and analyze the market size of the past 5 years, mention the number of new entrants in the industry, the number of total fundings, and so on.

Advice 2

Competitors analysis

Competitive analysis is an indispensable element of any business on this planet. Regardless of the organization type, industry, size, etc. – all religiously perform this step. 

Various models around this have been devised to gain the attention of angel investors. Out of the many, the one we recommend is the 2 x 2 matrix model, in which variables portray these four aspects: challengers, leaders, niche players, and visionaries. In order to highlight the execution and vision of the app as it progresses, these four elements are displayed via an x-y axis scale.

Self-assessment through SWOT

SWOT analysis representing four components – Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats is used for self-assessment by all organizations. It enables you to give a structured description of your company’s situation in an efficient way in your business plan for app development .

Advice 4

Acting as a bridge between your app and the end-users, a solid mobile app marketing strategy wields the most power. Your role is to devise such a marketing strategy that acts as a ‘deal-sealer’ between your firm and the investors. This will show the investors that you have the medium to make your app reach the users’ smartphones from an app store.

These are some points that you can include in your marketing strategy- 

Describe the user persona first

Creating user personas is very beneficial . This is something you would be able to identify while you are doing your research on the market. In case there is more than one user personas, you must mention them in your app development business plan . The more in-depth it is, the more promising your business plan seems to the angel investors.

The said information is to be included in the user personas – Age, Gender, Occupation, Location, Income group, and Marital status. Other information that is classified as psychographic data includes attitudes towards money (price-sensitivity or value shoppers), the context of app usage, personal/professional aims, hobbies, preferred sites and apps, tech-savviness, and so on.

Customer acquisition strategy

Once you have identified the user personas of your app, you can determine your customer acquisition strategy. One thing you have to be absolutely sure about is your CAC (customer acquisition cost). You will be able to estimate the right cost once you have established which channels and campaigns you will employ in marketing your mobile app business strategy highlighting your app’s USP (unique selling proposition). 

Here are some channels that you can try to achieve great results –

  • Incentivized user downloads
  • Search engine marketing
  • Organic installs
  • Social media (Facebook/Twitter/Instagram) ads
  • Partnerships
  • App store optimization
  • Content marketing
  • Push and in-app notifications
  • Retargeting campaigns
  • Mobile site redirection
  • Mobile app wall ads
  • Email marketing
  • Event marketing

Advice 5

Product driven growth

Change in product driven growth is one of the most common elements of pivoting a startup . If your business model needs a large mainstream user base, then it is of utmost prominence for you to build a referral program in your mobile app business model to leverage network effects. A well-known and effective mobile app business plan example is Uber. For instance, Uber offers a coupon on the users’ next ride as a reward for referring to others and the referred person also enjoys coupons on the first ride.

Make a landing page

A landing page can really help you in numerous ways. One of which is that it can help you expand your horizons in terms of target users. It keeps the readers informed and updated about innovations and further updates of your app. One thing to keep in mind whilst doing this is to make sure it contains the name of your app, its description, promotional videos, etc.

Read here

Define your key metrics

There are several metrics on the basis of which you can measure your business growth and popularity of your mobile app. This is something that you must include in the web or mobile app business plan . You have to be careful while picking the right metrics suitable for your business model. An example – if your app is a social media application, then your ideal key metrics should be the daily active users instead of the number of downloads.

Advice 6

Stating the strategy regarding your daily operation imparts an impression of awareness and readiness on your part to the investors, something which always works in the favor. This also includes your strategy for customer relations.

You must describe and map out how you are going to handle customer services and maintain quality assurance. It also includes how you are going to perform the app development process and manage it. Other things to cover in this section are-

Users Process

You can mention information such as how your users are going to behave from the start to the end, i.e., when they first hear of your app and start using it. 

Personnel plan

This outlines all the data related to the employees. It concerns how and when you will hire the employees, how salaries will be expensed, how will you set the hierarchy in the organization and so much more. 

It is the stage where you could literally say “Let’s talk numbers”. What the investors would want to see in this section are the answers to the questions – how will you make money? What will be the cost to run the business? What will be the financial plan for mobile application? And how much funds do you need?

Devise an app monetization strategy

Just like for marketing, you need to have an efficacious mobile app monetization strategy ,  something that we have also covered in detail in our article named “ How to choose the right pricing strategy for your mobile app project ”. 

Startup costs

According to CB insights , 19% of the startups fail because they get out-competed.  In the graph below, you would find that 29% of the startups get shut down as they run out of cash.

business plan stats

You can avoid this fate by analyzing the costs you may need. Similarly, it is crucial for you to mention to the investors all the details related to the costs and expenses you would be needing and for what.

Since the devil is in the details, here is what you should include – one time costs, recurring costs (rent, inventory, etc.), fixed costs (rent, utilities, etc.) variable costs (i.e, the salary of employees) and a lot more.

Funding needed

It is here at this stage that you are going to ask for the fundings and reveal all the information related to it. Address these questions in this section –

  • How much money do you require?
  • What percentage of equity are you proposing to give in return?
  • Is this going to be a convertible note or a preferred stock?
  • For what duration this money will suffice before you need to propose for another funding round?

Now that we have discussed in detail about the steps to create a business plan, it is now time to sit down and ponder on the “why” of creating a business plan for your mobile application. 

According to Statistics, in 2023, mobile apps are projected to generate more than 935 billion U.S. dollars in revenues through paid downloads and in-app advertising.

Mobile-app-revenue

Another report by Statista states that by 2023, it is estimated that the annual number of app downloads worldwide will amount to 299 billion .

Now you can see the importance of mobile apps and the importance of making a business plan for your mobile app.

The most obvious reason why mobile app startups make a business plan for developing an app, as you might have surmised as well, is to bring in more and more investments. This is to attract investors and even start-up co-founders – the choice is yours to make, and sometimes you need to have the support of both. 

An efficacious business plan will help your vision be represented in a crystal-clear way while displaying the scope of your mobile app concept and business app ideas as well.

Un-planned actions pertain to risks, and risks in business are synonymous to cost-inefficiency and loss.  

When you devise a business plan, you actually map out the whole journey of your business, something that can provide you great insights into the many unanticipated and probable risks. 

When making big decisions, it is common to forget and leave out certain important aspects that can make or break the foundation of your business at a much later stage. However, when you have a blueprint including a set of points acting as a reminder of those crucial aspects, it becomes easy for you to remember them. Mobile app development business plan is that blueprint. 

Regardless of what category your mobile application belongs to, the business plan for each one is essentially similar, for the most part. A business plan is static in contrast to a business proposal for an app , which is dynamic. This is because it is a document created only once and is not rewritten after the purpose is fulfilled.

We hope that this article has provided you with detailed and good insights on business plan for your mobile app. If you need any assistance on mobile app development services, then you can opt for Appinventiv, a top mobile app development company in USA for quality results.

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How to Start a Mobile App Business

How to Start a Mobile App Business

ON THIS PAGE

  • How To Start a Mobile App Business
  • How To Start a Mobile App Business FAQs

Helpful Slideshows, Videos & Images

  • Additional Resources in the Mobile App Industry

Starting a mobile app business can be very profitable. With proper planning, execution and hard work, you can enjoy great success. Below you will learn how to start an app successfully.

Importantly, a crucial step in starting a mobile app business is to complete your business plan. To help you out, you should download Growthink’s Ultimate Mobile App Business Plan Template here.

Download our Ultimate Mobile App Business Plan Template here

15 Steps To Start a Mobile App Business

  • Choose the Name for Your Mobile App Business
  • Develop Your Mobile App Business Plan
  • Choose the Legal Structure for Your Mobile App Business
  • Secure Startup Funding for Your Mobile App Business (If Needed)
  • Secure a Location for Your Business
  • Register Your Mobile App Business With the IRS
  • Open a Business Bank Account
  • Get a Business Credit Card
  • Get the Required Business Licenses and Permits
  • Get Business Insurance for Your Mobile App Business
  • Buy or Lease the Right Mobile App Business Equipment
  • Develop Your Mobile App Marketing Materials
  • Purchase and Setup the Software Needed to Run Your Mobile App Business
  • Build Your Team
  • Open for Business

1. Choose the Name for Your Mobile App Business

The first step to starting a mobile app development business is to choose your business’ name. This is a very important choice since your company name is your brand and will last for the lifetime of your business. Ideally you choose a name that is meaningful and memorable. Here are some tips for choosing a name for your mobile app business:

  • Make sure the name is available. Check your desired name against trademark databases and your state’s list of registered business names to see if it’s available. Also check to see if a suitable domain name is available.
  • Keep it simple. The best names are usually ones that are easy to remember, pronounce and spell.
  • Think about marketing. Come up with a name that reflects the desired brand and/or focus of your software company.

2. Develop Your Mobile App Business Plan

One of the most important steps in starting a mobile app business is to develop your mobile app business plan . The process of creating your plan ensures that you fully understand your market and your business strategy. The plan also provides you with a roadmap to follow and if needed, to present to funding sources to raise capital for your business. Your business plan should include the following sections:

  • Executive Summary – this section should summarize your entire business plan so readers can quickly understand the key details of your mobile app business.
  • Company Overview – this section tells the reader about the history of your mobile app business and what type of mobile app business you operate. For example, are you building hybrid apps or native apps? Will your app be available for purchase from different app stores? Will it undergo app store optimization for Apple’s app store or another app store? Do you specialize in developing Android apps or iOS apps?
  • Industry Analysis – here you will document key information about the mobile app industry. Conduct market research and document how big the industry is and what trends are affecting it.
  • Customer Analysis – in this section, you will document who your ideal or target customers are and their demographics. For example, how old are they? What are their interests?
  • Competitive Analysis – here you will document the key direct and indirect competitors you will face and how you will build competitive advantage.
  • Marketing Plan – your app marketing plan should address the 4Ps: Product, Price, Promotions and Place.
  • Product : Determine and document what products/services you will offer
  • Prices : Document the prices of your products/services
  • Place : Where will your business be located and how will that location help you increase sales?
  • Promotions : What promotional methods will you use to attract customers to your mobile app? For example, you might decide to use pay-per-click advertising, public relations, search engine optimization and/or social media marketing. You might also try to secure advertising on an app store to reach a larger audience or creating YouTube videos that showcase your user interface and all the features of your app.
  • Operations Plan – here you will determine the key processes you will need to run your day-to-day operations. You will also determine your staffing needs. Finally, in this section of your plan, you will create a projected growth timeline showing the milestones you hope to achieve in the coming years.
  • Management Team – this section details the background of your company’s management team.
  • Financial Plan – finally, the financial plan answers questions including the following:
  • What startup costs will you incur?
  • How will your mobile app business make money?
  • What are your projected sales and expenses for the next five years?
  • Do you need to raise funding to launch your business?

Finish Your Business Plan Today!

3. choose the legal structure for your mobile app business.

Next you need to choose a legal structure for your mobile app business and register it and your business name with the Secretary of State in each state where you operate your mobile app business. Below are the five most common legal structures:

1) Sole Proprietorship

A sole proprietorship is a business entity in which the owner of the mobile app business and the business are the same legal person. The owner of a sole proprietorship is responsible for all debts and obligations of the business. There are no formalities required to establish a sole proprietorship, and it is easy to set up and operate. The main advantage of a sole proprietorship is that it is simple and inexpensive to establish. The main disadvantage is that the owner is liable for all debts and obligations of the business.

2) Partnerships

A partnership is a legal structure that is popular among small businesses. It is an agreement between two or more people who want to start a software company together. The partners share in the profits and losses of the business.

The advantages of a partnership are that it is easy to set up, and the partners share in the profits and losses of the business. The disadvantages of a partnership are that the partners are jointly liable for the debts of the business, and disagreements between partners can be difficult to resolve.

3) Limited Liability Company (LLC)

A limited liability company, or LLC, is a type of business entity that provides limited liability to its owners. This means that the owners of an LLC are not personally responsible for the debts and liabilities of the business. The advantages of an LLC for a software company include flexibility in management, pass-through taxation (avoids double taxation as explained below), and limited personal liability. The disadvantages of an LLC include lack of availability in some states and self-employment taxes.

4) C Corporation

A C Corporation is a business entity that is separate from its owners. It has its own tax ID and can have shareholders. The main advantage of a C Corporation for a software company is that it offers limited liability to its owners. This means that the owners are not personally responsible for the debts and liabilities of the business. The disadvantage is that C Corporations are subject to double taxation. This means that the corporation pays taxes on its profits, and the shareholders also pay taxes on their dividends.

5) S Corporation

An S Corporation is a type of corporation that provides its owners with limited liability protection and allows them to pass their business income through to their personal income tax returns, thus avoiding double taxation. There are several limitations on S Corporations including the number of shareholders they can have among others.

Once you register your mobile app business, your state will send you your official “Articles of Incorporation.” You will need this among other documentation when establishing your banking account (see below). We recommend that you consult an attorney in determining which legal structure is best suited for your company.

4. Secure Startup Funding for Your Mobile App Business (If Needed)

In developing your mobile app business plan, you might have determined that you need to raise funding to launch your business. If so, the main sources of funding for a mobile app business to consider are personal savings, family and friends, credit card financing, bank loans, crowdfunding and angel investors. Angel investors are individuals who provide capital to early-stage businesses. Angel investors typically will invest in a mobile app business that they believe has high potential for growth.

5. Secure a Location for Your Business

You might choose to run your mobie app business from home or build a remote team. Alternatively, you might secure a physical location for your business. To find the right space, consider:

  • Driving around to find the right areas while looking for “for lease” signs
  • Contacting a commercial real estate agent
  • Doing commercial real estate searches online
  • Telling others about your needs and seeing if someone in your network has a connection that can help you find the right space

6. Register Your Mobile App Business With the IRS

Next, you need to register your business with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) which will result in the IRS issuing you an Employer Identification Number (EIN).

Most banks will require you to have an EIN in order to open up an account. In addition, in order to hire employees, you will need an EIN since that is how the IRS tracks your payroll tax payments.

Note that if you are a sole proprietor without employees, you generally do not need to get an EIN. Rather, you would use your social security number (instead of your EIN) as your taxpayer identification number.

7. Open a Business Bank Account

It is important to establish a bank account in your mobile app business name. This process is fairly simple and involves the following steps:

  • Identify and contact the bank you want to use
  • Gather and present the required documents (generally include your company’s Articles of Incorporation, driver’s license or passport, and proof of address)
  • Complete the bank’s application form and provide all relevant information
  • Meet with a banker to discuss your business needs and establish a relationship with them

8. Get a Business Credit Card

You should get a business credit card for your mobile app business to help you separate personal and business expenses. You can either apply for a business credit card through your bank or apply for one through a credit card company.

When you’re applying for a business credit card, you’ll need to provide some information about your business. This includes the name of your business, the address of your business, and the type of business you’re running. You’ll also need to provide some information about yourself, including your name, Social Security number, and date of birth.

Once you’ve been approved for a business credit card, you’ll be able to use it to make purchases for your business. You can also use it to build your credit history which could be very important in securing loans and getting credit lines for your business in the future.

9. Get the Required Business Licenses and Permits

Every state, county and city has different business license and permit requirements. Nearly all states, counties and/or cities have license requirements including:

  • General Business License – This is the most common type of business license. It gives you permission to operate your business in a specific location.
  • Sales Tax License – This type of license is required if you will be selling products or services that are subject to sales tax.

Depending on where you open your business and the type of apps you develop, you will have to obtain the necessary state, county and/or city licenses.

10. Get Business Insurance for Your Mobile App Business

Business insurance policies that you should consider for your mobile app business include:

  • General Liability Insurance – This type of insurance can help protect the business if someone is injured or their property is damaged as a result of something the business did or failed to do.
  • Product Liability Insurance – If the mobile app business sells products, this type of insurance can help protect against any injuries or damages that occur as a result of using the product.
  • Workers’ Compentation Insurance – If the mobile app business has employees, this type of insurance can help protect against any injuries or illnesses that they may suffer while working for the business.

Find an insurance agent, tell them about your business and its needs, and they will recommend policies that fit those needs.

11. Buy or Lease the Right Mobile App Business Equipment

A mobile app business needs a computer, internet access, and software to create mobile apps. If you plan to have a physical location for your team, you might also need office supplies and furniture.

12. Develop Your Mobile App Business Marketing Materials

Marketing materials will be required to attract and retain customers to your mobile app business. The key marketing materials you will need are as follows:

  • Logo – Spend some time developing a good logo for your mobile app business. Your logo will be printed on company stationery, business cards, marketing materials and so forth. Your logo might also be displayed within the app. The right logo can increase customer trust and awareness of your brand.
  • Website – Likewise, a professional mobile app business website provides potential customers with information about the products and/or services you offer, your company’s history, and contact information. Importantly, remember that the look and feel of your website will affect how your target audience perceives you. A website is a good place to announce company news and app updates to new and existing app users.
  • Social Media Accounts – Establish social media accounts in your company’s name. Accounts on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and/or other social media networks will help customers and others find and interact with your mobile app business. Social media pages are great for building communities of your users.

13. Purchase and Setup the Software Needed to Run Your Mobile App Business

There are a few software programs that a mobile app business needs in order to get started. One option is Appcelerator, which allows you to develop apps using JavaScript, HTML5, and Titanium. Another popular tool is PhoneGap, which helps you create cross-platform apps using HTML5 and JavaScript. Finally, you’ll need a development environment like Eclipse or Xcode in order to write code for your apps.

14. Build Your Team

A key component to starting most any business is to build a great team. This is especially true for mobile app businesses, which are heavily reliant on technology. You’ll need to assemble a team of talented engineers, designers, and marketers who can help you turn your vision into reality.

If you don’t have the necessary skillsets in-house, you’ll need to hire freelancers or consultants to fill the gaps. The most important thing is that you have a solid foundation of people who can bring your app idea to life.

15. Open for Business

You are now ready to open your mobile app business. If you followed the steps above, you should be in a great position to build a successful business and you will know everything you need about how to start an app business. Below are answers to frequently asked questions that might further help you.

How to Finish Your Mobile App Business Plan in 1 Day!

How to start a mobile app business faqs, is it hard to start a mobile app business.

Starting a mobile app business can be easy as long as you have great app ideas and the resources to make them come to life. Your biggest challenges will most likely be securing the funds needed to start the business and building a team for the app development process. The steps outlined above will help you and teach you how to start an app business.

How Can I Start A Mobile App Business With No Experience?

If you have a great idea for a mobile app but lack the experience to make it happen, you can always consult with or hire someone who does. There are many ways to get started in mobile apps without any prior experience. Doing thorough market research and investigating how other app developers run their businesses can also be very helpful in launching your own successful app development company.

What Type of Mobile App Business Is Most Profitable?

There is no definitive answer to this question since there are many factors that can affect profitability. However, some types of mobile app businesses that tend to be more profitable than others include those that offer unique and innovative products or services, target a specific niche market, or have low overhead costs.

How Much Does It Cost To Start A Mobile App Business?

The cost of starting a mobile app business can vary depending on a number of factors, such as the type of app you want to create, the platform you want to develop it for, and whether or not you hire someone to help you. In general, you can expect to spend several thousand dollars at a minimum to get your business off the ground.

Key startup costs include:

  • Hardware with enough speed and space to ensure a smooth work environment and a high-resolution screen
  • Finding and hiring the right coder(s), as needed
  • A place to work, if needed
  • Office furniture

What Are the Ongoing Expenses for a Mobile App Business?

Your ongoing expenses for a mobile app business will depend largely on the type of app you have created and the platform you are using to sell it. Generally, your biggest ongoing expenses will be employee salaries and software costs.

Key costs to remember include:

  • Wages – App developers typically have at least an undergraduate degree, and are required to have a specialized skill set. These factors combine to make your app development team’s wages your single largest industry expense.
  • Purchases – These generally entail development kits, hardware, and software updates.
  • Royalties – App store royalties are a significant cost for app development businesses, but these costs have been trending downward over the last five years.
  • Marketing - Marketing costs include advertising and any other expenses associated with promoting your business and products.

How Does A Mobile App Business Make Money?

Most mobile app businesses make money through a business model that is a combination of advertising and in-app purchases or subscriptions. Some apps also offer paid memberships that give users access to additional features or content. Users might also pay an initial fee to purchase when downloading an iOS app from the Apple app store or an Android app from the Google Play store.

Is Owning A Mobile App Business Profitable?

Yes, owning a mobile app business can be profitable. However, it is important to keep in mind that profitability depends on a number of factors, including the type of app you have created, your target market, and your marketing and advertising efforts.

Why Do Mobile App Businesses Fail?

There are many reasons why mobile app businesses fail. Some common reasons include a lack of innovative products or services, poor marketing and advertising efforts, and an inability to generate enough revenue to sustain the business. Additionally, many businesses fail due to a lack of understanding of the mobile app industry and how it works.

How Big Is the Mobile App Industry?

There are currently an estimated 455,835 Mobile App businesses in the US. This industry has experienced rapid revenue growth over the past five years, to reach $16.2 billion.

What Are the Key Segments of the Mobile App Industry?

The two largest product segments for the Mobile App industry are Games and Social Networking apps. Smaller product categories include News Apps, Entertainment Apps, and Other Apps.

What External Factors Affect the Mobile App Industry?

A number of factors affect the performance of the Mobile App industry. These drivers include:

  • Number of Mobile Internet Connections –This corresponds to the number of people who own a smartphone, which in turn affects demand for apps.
  • Percentage of Services Conducted Online – The increasing number of online purchases and business transactions represents a distinct opportunity for app developers, as more people complete these transactions via smartphone applications.
  • Time Spent on Leisure and Sport s – Since games are a major segment of the industry, it follows that the more time people have for leisure, the more game apps they will download. 

Who Are the Key Competitors in the Mobile App Industry?

The companies with the greatest market share are King Digital Entertainment, Kabam, Electronic Arts, and Zynga (all game app developers).

What Are the Key Customer Segments in the Mobile App Industry?

The Mobile App industry’s largest customer segment is consumers between the ages of 18 and 29. Consumers aged 30 to 49 are the second-largest customer segment, followed by those over the age of 50.

How Much Do App Developers Make?

About 25% of developers earn over $5,000 per month on the iOS platform, and 18% of developers make this on the Android platform.

According to PayScale, the median salary for a senior Software Engineer/Developer/Programmer is $99,193 per year.

Where Can I Download a Mobile App Business Plan PDF?

You can download our mobile app business plan PDF template here. This is a business plan template you can use in PDF format.

How To Build a Billion Dollar app?

Mobile App Development Cost and Design

Inside the Android Factory: 5 Ways to Build Profitable Applications

5 ways to build profitable android applications infographic

For additional information on the App Development industry, consider these industry resources:

  • The Application Developers Alliance: appdevelopersalliance.org
  • Gartner: www.gartner.com
  • The Verge: www.theverge.com/apps
  • App Mavericks: www.appmavericks.com

OR, Let Us Develop Your Plan For You

Since 1999, Growthink has developed business plans for thousands of companies who have gone on to achieve tremendous success. Click here to see how Growthink’s professional business plan consulting services can create your business plan for you.  

Other Helpful Business Plan Articles & Templates

Business Plan Template & Guide For Small Businesses

Step-by-Step Visual Guide to Mobile App Planning

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Have a promising idea for an app on your mind? Great! That’s 20% of what you need to do to create a thriving product, already done!

Next comes the harder part of it, where you actually have to turn your idea into something that works.

We are about to dig into a visual strategy that could help you speed up your app development process. Read on to find out how to plan an app using easy-to-use visualization tools.

Goals for the App

Who is your target audience, brainstorm solutions, draw user flows, architecture diagrams, your app vs. your competitor’s app, outline your campaign process, putting it all together, working together, now you know how to plan an app. are you ready to plan yours, define the specifications.

There are a few specifications you need to define before you go ahead and develop your app.

These specifications come under your business plan – which documents what you want to do and how you plan to do it.

Check out how to visually improve your business plan here .

During the mobile app planning process, the goals you set will help you decide which features to add and how you should develop and design your mobile app.

Now, goals you set may vary from what you want your app to do to how you will market it to people. It is important to sit down and define what these are. Ask yourself

  • What is the purpose of your app?
  • How will it help simplify the lives of its users?
  • How will it help solve the problems of its users?
  • How do you plan to market it to your target audience?

Answers to these questions will help you outline the goals you need to focus on. And once you agree on them, prioritize your goals so you’d know where to start.

Tip: Usually it’s a good idea to keep your goals to 1-2 at max so that your app is focused and easy to use.

Understanding your target audience is vital to the development of your app.

Among information such as age, gender, career, location and other quantitative data, you should also learn about your user’s requirements, challenges, needs, and responsibilities.

Other qualitative information you should have a record of are the technologies your users use, what platforms (Android/ iOS) they are familiar with, what app functionalities they prefer etc.

For example, using a Venn diagram you can identify what app features you should prioritize given the different types of customers you would attract.

Example of a Venn Diagram

Now that you know who your target audience is and what problems they have, it’s time to figure out how to use your app to solve those problems.

This calls for brainstorming for ideas with your team. To facilitate the session, you could use a visual tool like mind maps .  What’s special about mind maps is that it increases productivity by helping you better structure or organize a free flow of ideas.

A completed mind map drawn around a single topic – in this case, the issue your user is facing – will give you a quick overview of how you should approach the situation and make quick decisions.

Tip: Color code – use different colors to represent each of your main branches – your mind maps to organize ideas better.

Example of a Mind Map

To determine which features to add to your app, you need to know how users are going to go through it. Is it a registered user who wants to edit information on her account, or is it a new user who wants to create an account?

All kinds of interactions that a user will have with your app can be visualized through use case diagrams – which are basically used to describe what a system does.

It’s the easiest way to convey to the developer what app features need to be focused on and show to your stakeholders what problems you are trying to solve.

Example of a Use Case Diagram

Or you can draw some Flowcharts to explain how a user gets something done via the app. This will really help you zero in on how the app is supposed to work.

Start Sketching Your App

Now that you have identified how different users may interact with your app, it’s time to flesh it out. This means, turning your idea into pictures which will be converted into navigable screens during the final stage.

This is where you get to decide how many screens there will be and how each will look like. And putting them in a logical manner will help you get the idea as to how it will work.

Most apps will have some sort of data they have to capture and use. A great way to visually break it down is to use an  Entity Relationship (ER) Diagram. This will allow you to identify the key things you want to capture and how they are related to each other.

ER Diagrams are a really simple tool to do this even if it may sound daunting to use at first.

Example of an Entity Relationship Diagram

Based on your user flows and data needs identified earlier, it’s time to define how the app looks and works .

Wireframes are line sketches of the interface of your app. They show how it should work without really bothering about colors, placement, and other styling details. At this stage, it’s more about the functionality vs. styling.

Tip: Link the wireframes together via button clicks to show the navigation experience within the app.

Traveling Guide App Wireframe

When describing how your app works to outsiders such as stakeholders, you can use architecture diagrams like block diagrams or network diagram (example below).  They simplify complex processes that a non-tech savvy person might find confusing.

Example of an IT Infrastructure Diagram

Plan Your Promotional Strategy

How many users you attract to your app depends on how you promote it.

Before you plan your strategy, you need to figure out where you are at compared to your competitors. This means analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of your app against that of your competitors, and opportunities and threats that you might have to face in the market.

A simple SWOT analysis will help you get a quick overview of these factors.

Example of a SWOT Analysis Template

SWOT analysis to plan your promotional or marketing campaign step-by-step. Get the input of your marketing team as well.

Example of a Flowchart

And if you initially want to brainstorm for new ideas, use a mind map to generate promotional campaign ideas .

As you can see, there are a series of aspects that go into creating an app. A great idea is to link these Flowcharts , Mind maps , ER Diagrams and wireframes together in a sensible fashion. This way anyone can really walk someone through the entire app concept and know exactly how things are going to work.

We guarantee you that this clarity will save you a large chunk of money and time when it comes to actual mobile app development.

Building an app is usually not a single person’s job. You’ll have your developers, potential clients/customers, partners all wanting to have a say in how things should work and be done.

Using real-time collaboration when you are on a conference call or even in the same room to update and modify the diagrams as you make decisions is a great way to make sure that everyone is on the same page.

If you are using Creately , you can also use offline commenting so that you can have pointed discussions on various parts of your mind-map, wireframe or flowchart easily with everyone in your team.

Visualization makes communication easier, whether it is between you and your development team or your stakeholders.

As they simplify complex processes, help organize and communicate ideas, visual tools like these make planning an app -well – a piece of cake!

Join over thousands of organizations that use Creately to brainstorm, plan, analyze, and execute their projects successfully.

FAQs on Mobile App Planning

  • Clarifies the purpose and goals of the app, ensuring it meets user needs and aligns with business objectives.
  • Takes a user-centric approach by understanding the target audience, their preferences, and behaviors.
  • Efficiently allocates resources, estimating budget, time, and development requirements.
  • Mitigates risks by identifying and addressing potential challenges in advance.
  • Facilitates a seamless development process with a structured roadmap and improved collaboration.
  • Enhances user experience through well-planned UX and UI design.
  • Considers scalability and future-proofing to accommodate growth and expansion.
  • Optimizes cost and time by defining scope, prioritizing features, and streamlining workflows.
  • Aligns the app with business goals, evaluating its impact on revenue, customer engagement, and brand awareness.
  • Provides a competitive advantage by conducting market research and developing unique features or value propositions.
  • Inadequate market research, leading to a lack of understanding of target audience needs and competition.
  • Unclear objectives and goals, resulting in a lack of direction and purpose for the app.
  • Poor user understanding, neglecting to consider user preferences and pain points.
  • Feature overload, including too many features that can lead to a cluttered and confusing user experience.
  • Ineffective planning and scope creep, causing delays, increased costs, and compromised user experience.
  • Ignoring platform considerations, leading to inconsistent user experiences across different platforms.
  • Poor UX/UI design, resulting in confusing navigation and unattractive visuals.
  • Insufficient testing and quality assurance, leading to bugs and poor performance.
  • Lack of analytics and metrics, missing out on valuable insights for optimization.
  • Neglecting post-launch support and updates, hindering user satisfaction and app growth.
  • Product manager: Defines app vision, sets goals, and coordinates development process.
  • UI/UX designer: Creates intuitive and visually appealing user interface and experience.
  • Mobile app developer: Implements app functionality using programming languages.
  • Backend developer: Builds server-side infrastructure, handles data storage and integration.
  • QA engineer: Tests app for functionality, usability, and performance.
  • Project manager: Manages timelines, resources, and communication.
  • Database administrator: Manages databases, ensures data integrity and security.
  • DevOps engineer: Handles app deployment and CI/CD processes.
  • Security specialist: Ensures app security and data protection.
  • Marketing specialist: Develops marketing strategy for app launch and user acquisition.

More Related Articles

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Amanda Athuraliya is the communication specialist/content writer at Creately, online diagramming and collaboration tool. She is an avid reader, a budding writer and a passionate researcher who loves to write about all kinds of topics.

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How to Create the Best Business Plan for an App? Guide to a Business Plan App

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Summary: The world has witnessed a great upsurge in the mobile app market. As per a report, the global mobile app market size was at USD 206.85 billion in 2022. And it is all set to increase at a CAGR of 13.8% till 2030. We all know that these and many other stats are right and effective.

On what basis are we so confident about? There is a major increase in the internet and the adaptability of online apps. So, now businesses tend to make calculative moves by developing mobile app business plans. Let’s have a look at how to write a good business plan for your mobile app.

Key Takeaway:-

  • Such a business plan for the app will help you measure the risk factors beforehand.
  • Steps to curate an app business plan are stated below to ensure a proper direction for your mobile app.
  • Why should you opt for a mobile app plan? Ensure your futuristic success with a plan on hand prior to the SDLC.
  • What good will such a business plan do? You will be able to figure out every necessary point in time & also get a good team to execute the plan.

Introduction

Anything well-planned always gives a better outcome than an unplanned thing.

Imagine the scenario in which you want to go on a trip.

In the first scenario, you have yet to plan the trip. You reach there and have to do a rekey of things. You will have to look for a nearby stay, have food, and have fun. Eventually, it did consume a lot of your time, money, and energy.

A planned trip with all the things right from the hotel to food and fun will help in a hassle-free holiday. Now you have travel apps and agents to go and get every booking document way before your trip.

So, while reading too, the first thought that came to your mind was a planned & well executed trip.

The same goes for apps. Plan it to win the online spectrum at the right time.  

In this competitive online space, who will not want a great curated business plan? Every startup or enterprise has to expand and grow to survive the online world.

Now, let’s directly chase the question.

Why Do You Need a Mobile App Business Plan?

Reasons for a mobile app startup to draw a business plan

  • In general, the revenue in 2023 is over $935 billion. 
  • 21% of millennials open an app 50+ times per day. 
  • 49% open an app 11+ times each day. 
  • A typical mobile user uses 30 apps per month and 10 apps per day.

All these mobile app statistics are alarming. To ace in the digital world, you have to strike hard with a business plan.

There are 100s of apps made on the same concept. Why will a user use your app? How will you lure them to stay for long? What are the other futuristic business ideas? Thus, you need a roadmap to discover your project phases and needs.

How will your mobile app startup succeed? From where will your app get funds? How will you survive in the later SDLC stages? All these things and many more can be noted in a mobile business plan app.

And most importantly, such advance plans always help to get to the user base.

What is the worth of a business plan? Know it from the best tycoon:-

Without a plan, even the most brilliant business can get lost. You need to have goals, create milestones, and have a strategy in place to set yourself up for success. – Yogi Berra .

Perks to Get an App Business Plan

  • You need a strong business plan to transform your ideas into actions.
  • A plan will always help you to improve. 
  • It defines growth points and steps to expand in the future.
  • You can raise funds by presenting it to the investors.

Now, without further due, let’s get into some exceptional steps to follow for your PRD.

How to Write a Successful Business Plan for Your Mobile App?

Pave a winning road with a business plan. It does not matter whether you are an SME, enterprise, or startup; every app idea will need a plan to flourish in the unknown online space. 

The key factors that you should know for a business plan are budget and investment returns on a timely basis. Apart from that, you have to provide maximum transparency to achieve each milestone in real-time. 

Let’s have a look at some of the intricate steps to follow when creating an app business plan.

Business Plan CTA 1

8 Steps to Create a Good App Development Business Plan

8 Steps to Create a Good App Development Business Plan

#1 Executive Summary

Executive Summary

As the name has, it is ‘summary’. We all know it means a precise & concise way to define one’s business; when you approach an investor, they do not have time to read every bit about you.

You need to jot down the essential details of your company and its offerings. 

What should be the overview?

  • Make a unique proposal
  • Create an excellent UVP
  • Specify your goals
  • Provide accurate documents

Your business plan must contain the current and expected market situation along with target customers. It should also have the crux of your app, i.e., what problem will it solve? But all the details are to be mentioned in a precise way.

#2 Introduce Your Firm

For a good plan, you need to start with your firm’s details and end with a mobile app idea. You have to show your investors your company’s mission, product vision, and other factors for your startup’s success. 

Describe Your Firm

Write the details of your startup. It should give a reader details like the company name, location, headquarters, team size, hierarchy, etc. The mission statement of your firm should specify its goals. Also, list the main problems and the likely answers your startup may provide.

Always ensure that your business plan is easy to read. And also, one should understand the mission of your firm from the very beginning of your plan.

Company History

Every investor is interested to check a firm’s background. How did your company come into existence? How did you come up with such an idea? What were the stages of your company’s development? How have you decided to launch your product? All these details will help you to win the trust of your fundraisers. 

Your Tech Team

Why will a third party take an interest in your venture? There are two reasons to believe you.

  • Your app idea and its growth perspects.
  • The team backing your app idea with their tech brains.

Whether you outsource app development or have an in-house team, you need to have a detailed description of the team members. From work expertise to company responsibilities, the business plan should consist of all of it.

#3 Marketing Analysis & Strategies

Marketing analysis

Details about your app idea’s market are very crucial. You have to keep a watch on the industry and consumer needs. Every factor, along with its impact and solution, has to be given into the plan. A forecast of your ideal situation is a must. Such details help to know your overall market knowledge and the analysis for the future.

What should be your intricate steps?

  • Review the current business environment
  • Define your research criteria
  • Get to know your overall market, SAM, and SOM
  • Know your rival
  • Analyze your audience
Expert advice: One has to study Google Play Store and Apple App Store. You will easily come to know about who is at the top, who is paid more, and which apps are grossing well. Ensure that you get the nerves of every app in the store right. And prepare for the missing pieces in your app.

#4 Forecast Your Market Possibilities

Why should your mobile app business plan have such a market forecast? How will it help your market credibility? A market forecast always shows your app idea’s efficacy to grow in the later stages. And if you are someone with a startup app idea , then, of course, such a step is a must for you. 

Now, what are some of the reliable points to showcase in your plan?

  • Describe the expansion of businesses.
  • Include data about the amount of funds received by your firm. And who has invested in it so far?
  • Add some forecasts about the behaviour of your target users.

Your goal is to look into a long term situation. Study and analyze deeply whether there is a real market for your product. Is there enough customer base? Will you be able to maintain money & funds in the future? All these factors do matter a lot. 

Being an IT professional in web and mobile app development , we know the importance of market forecasts. With every app idea before making our first move, we ensure to analyze every bit of the market. Thus, it gives our team of experts a proper picture of the current needs. And provides great insight to the project owner about the future.

#5 SWOT Analysis

SWOT analysis

Now, this is a well-known method to get the right analysis of your business. Every brain understands SWOT.

  • Opportunity

Every business has a weakness; you cannot simply deny it. With SWOT, you will get all the loopholes in time. And can work on them to convert them into prospects. Such findings also represent a futuristic expansion for your business.

#6 Create a Marketing Campaign

How will anyone come to know about your app? Via Marketing. Obvious answer! One needs to be careful about how they present themselves to the world.

The market awaits eagerly about new entries. You need to focus and strike at the right time among the right audience. With so much of the online and offline world, you need to be on the right channel to meet your potential client. Let’s have a look at some examples:-

Create a Landing Page

A landing page is a trustworthy face for your brand. You need to showcase features, functionalities, and the motto of your online product on the page. Ensure that you use the logo and the name correctly. Also, to engage more audiences, you can integrate an explanatory video. 

Launch a Website & Blog

Today, the very first thing we all do is to check a brand, product, or service’s online presence. So, as we say, it has become a mandatory move to build a website and start to blog for a better SERP rank. You have to promote your app with keywords and all the other SEO rules to be among the untouched global audiences. 

It is a modern and trusted way of advertising your business.

Social Media Platforms

Of course, this is The Way to be among all kinds of age groups. Market yourself thoroughly on all the popular social media like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads, etc. It helps a lot as these have their in-house plans, which helps a product reach and market itself well in advance.

You have to put aside a budget only for social media. And look into the analytics of your page to improve on every online front. It is very easy to be in the public eye, but to catch their attention for seconds is the game to be aced. 

The Market as per Budget

Marketing is an integral part of creating an app business plan. You have to get an estimate to spend on these strategies. You have to keep a check on your money spent. And the response achieved to be on the right strategy and meet the end goals on time.

#7 Product Growth & Launch

Product growth and launch

Every app is different and varies in user base, too. So, the growth of every online business differs a lot. An ABC tactic that worked for XYZ product is not necessarily apt for your venture. To expand in the right direction, you need a good sense of the market. And attract apt audiences that tend to make a loyal user base in a short span.

Now, as far as the product launch is concerned, there are two kinds of launches. In every app development business plan, you will have to mention one of these types. 

  • Full-fledged deployment: You deploy a full bloomed SDLC. The one with all the features, tech stacks, and other growth criteria.
  • MVP model: This is a minimalistic version of your idea. The MVP app development contains much needed features and functionalities. It is the best way to explore and know the possibilities of growth from the user’s perspective. 

#8 Finances

The financial model has a three- to five-year outlook for all the key forecasted indicators, like:-

  • Profit and loss
  • Balance sheets
  • Start tables
  • Unit economics calculation
  • Revenues and expenses 

These will help you get an actual cost & asset value. In the future, it will help to figure out budget ways. 

Now, the investor might ask you about how you will monetize your app in the later stages. Here is a brief on it before ending the blog.

Monetization Strategy for an App Idea

Monetization Strategy for an App Idea

If you are creating an app business plan, the strategy display is a must. Your firm will make profits in the future, and you are confident of it. 

Here are some of the common money-making tactics for your app business:-

  • The charge for the services (You have a premium app model. Ensure that the users pay and use it.)
  • In-app purchases are a great model for mobile apps on both iOS and Android.
  • Subscriptions (this monetization strategy is very common. And continues to make revenue until the user decides to cancel the subscription. And so most apps offer a free trial period.)

Classic Tip from Our Experts

To flourish in your app business plan, you should take an MVP model with you. With such an app or software development, it becomes easy for the third person to understand your intent and be with you in the discussion.

A business plan with a functioning model is what will definitely make its way through. You can address your audience most effectively with such a profitable move. For more query on the topic, you can consult our experts. Also, get a free quote for your app idea!

Business Plan CTA 2

On a Concluding Note!

Bring out your unique app business plan. No clone successfully made its way up to an original Uber, Netflix, Amazon, and Flipkart. Get yourself out there with our tech brains. Let’s explore the best for you and your business together. Invade the online space with a great mobile app business plan.

1. What is a business plan for a mobile app?

The app business plan is a document with all the details of the business and step wise representation of a futuristic SDLC. 

2. How does a mobile app business plan look like?

It starts from a brief history of your company to the marketing plan, launch date, investor details, and more. Every minute upgrade which will happen in the future has to be mentioned in the plan. 

3. What is the price to create a business strategy for an app?

It depends on the size of your business and the entire project scope. Our cost to create a business plan starts from $3000.

Mobile App Business Plan

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Parth Kotecha

Parth Kotecha

Parth is the Tech Consultant and BDM, at WebMob Technologies, who has an intriguing insight on technology innovation. He has experience of over 6 years and has a vast portfolio when it comes to handling & understanding client’s ideation. He bridges the gap between the development team and the client to ensure a seamless development of the application

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BusinessPlanTemplate.com - The World's Leading Business Plan Template Directory

Mobile App Business Plan Template [Updated 2024]

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Mobile App Business Plan

If you have a mobile app startup or want to expand your current mobile app business, you clearly need a business plan.

The following mobile app business plan template and example give you the key elements to include in a winning plan.

You can download the Mobile App business plan template (including a full, customizable financial model) to your computer here.

Mobile App Business Plan Example

Below are links to a sample of each of the key sections of a solid business plan for a mobile app development company:

  • Executive Summary – The Executive Summary provides an overview of the mobile app business and its goals. If you are seeking funding, this is the first section that a potential investor or lender will read, so it should be compelling.
  • Company Overview – In this section of your business plan, you should provide a detailed description of your mobile app business including the history, mobile app concept, business model, mission statement, and the company’s growth plan.
  • Industry Analysis – In the Industry Analysis section, you will describe the mobile app industry including recent developments, market research and trends, and the competitive landscape.
  • Customer Analysis – The Customer Analysis section of a business plan for an app will provide details about your target audience including their demographics, needs, and preferences.
  • Competitive Analysis – In the Competitive Analysis section, you will provide information about the strengths and weaknesses of your direct competitors (other mobile app businesses) and how you will establish your competitive advantage to gain market share.
  • Marketing Plan – The Marketing Plan will detail the monetization strategy for your mobile application and how your company will promote your mobile apps and/or development services. This includes a comprehensive digital marketing strategy to reach your target customers on multiple platforms (Google Play, Apple Store, etc.).
  • Operations Plan – The Operations Plan outlines the day-to-day operations of your mobile app business. This includes information about how you will manage your team and develop, launch, and support your mobile applications.
  • Management Team – In the Management Team section, you will outline the qualifications and experience of your executive team members and advisory team.
  • Financial Plan – The Financial Plan section will include a 5-year financial model and projections (income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement). This is important to show potential investors and lenders that you have a viable plan for the mobile app business.

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Appther Blog

Converting Ideas into Mobile Apps

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Mobile App Business Plan & Examples for Startups

Mobile app business plan immersion for startups.

Hello, 😊 everyone.

I appreciate your efforts in learning new things and embrace your wisdom.

And I assure you, after reading this whole postulate there is an enhancement in value creation.

As per the topic heading ‘ mobile app business plan for startups, ’ it raises many questions in your mind, right.

And the question may be like:

What is the need for a business plan?

What is the different aspect of startups that I need to focus on?

Which type of mobile app succeeding in the market? …… and so on.

So, asking a question is a good habit.

Brainstorming is definitely is one of the crucial initial steps required for startups.

Now, let’s start with the basic FIRST question;

Why the mobile app is required for business?

According to KLAUS SCHWAB, founder of the World Economic Forum and the author of ‘THE Fourth Industrial Revolution’:

“ We have yet to grasp fully the speed and breadth of this new revolution. considering the unlimited possibilities of having billions of people connected by mobile device, give rise to unprecedented processing power, storage capabilities, and knowledge access. Or think about the staggering confluence of emerging technology breakthrough, covering wide-ranging fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), Robotics, the internet of things (IoT) to name a few .”

From this statement, you can conclude that we are on the initial stage of the economic transformation of society. In this new wake of the technology era, we are connecting every aspect of human life with the internet.

There are certain examples with which you got to know how the internet changing the way of living and mobile app is the catalyst of it.

Social Food Dating Apps blog

Socializing app

To connect with people, we are using the app like Facebook, meet up.

Food Delivery apps

Apps like uber eat, DoorDash and many more, changing the food industry approach towards their customers.

Dating apps

For interacting with girls or boys we are using many apps like Tinder, Happn, Bumble and so on.

There a plethora of such apps that are changing human economic behavior. And all credit goes to mobile technology.

With the above-described information, you got an idea, why a mobile application-based business idea is important for your startup.

As you have the mobile app idea, now you want to change it into reality.

ALSO READ:  WHAT IS ON DEMAND SERVICE APP?

At this stage the SECOND question arises in your mind:

What are the steps to follow in the mobile app development process?

mobile app business plan

I n general, these are certain steps which help you out in the planning process:

Step 1 – Requirement Elicitation

Under it, the business analyst and technical specialist gather the information from the client and start brainstorming on an idea and come up with more detail information to turn your idea into reality.

Step 2 – Designing UI/UX

Designing is one of the most important steps in the mobile development process. Because User interface design is the first milestone that creates a direct impact on the user’s mind as he uses the app functionality.

Step 3 – Prototype

As a client, if you see the first prototype of your app then only you realize how an actual app looks like with basic functionality. At this stage, you visualize the actual product as the user of it and how it actually works in the real world.

Step 4 – Development of an application

After finalizing the prototype, the development teams like:

(a) Front End Developer

  • Android developer
  • iOS developer
  • Angular developer (web developer)
  • HTML and CSS developer

(b) Backend Developer

  • Node.js developer
  • Python developer
  • Php developer

This step is a core technology. With client concern, app development technology is used by the developer (depend on the budget of the client).

Step 5 – Testing

Beta version of the app tested on the limited user. So that you can eliminate bugs and get feedback from the user. Through the testing, you can analyze the potential risk that can occur when your app is live on the app store or play store.

Step 6 – Deploy or execution of an app

This stage is known as the release of an app to the real people. It is the final product, now your app is live on the app store or play store for all user to download it

Step 7 – Updating app with the new feature

Technological enhancement is the continues process. Updating with new features is imperative for inducing the user. After analyzing the user feedback and their requirement, updating is the need for the business.

These are the general steps that you can follow in planning the mobile app development business plan.

NOW, the THIRD question arise:

How much it cost to develop a mobile app?

  According to a clutch survey (it’s a B2B review site), the average price for developing the mobile app is $171,000 approx.

App with multiple features can cost you from $100,000 to $200,000 (as per the well-known mobile app development companies)

But you didn’t need to panic with the app development cost… why?

Because we in A ppther charge the reasonable ticket as per the client requirement.

App with the basic features, ticket you someway $15k to $30k.

App with the dynamic features, ticket starts with $30k and last up to the client requirement.

Basically, the cost of the app development is depending on:

  • A number of features.
  • Technology (frontend and backend)

The satisfaction of the client with the product is the priority of the Appther team.

After getting known how much it cost. Now another question arises in your mind.

FORTH question is:

What is a business plan strategy for startups?

After developing an app(or in the process), the next step is, that now you need to ponder on making the Business plan strategy.

There are different entities/departments in the company and for developing a business strategy you should know how all parts of the system function.

I’m providing you a piece of general information about business plan templets for your awareness. Such templets you can find on many websites, so in brief, I’m describing it.

Business plan stencil:-

1. executive summary .

  • Brief introduction of your business idea

2. Company Analysis 

2.1 Objective

2.2 Company Value

  • What is the problem of customers that you are solving?
  • What is the solution that you are providing?
  • Key Success Factors
  • One of them the most important pillars of the company. Consolidate it very wisely.

3. Industry and customer analysis

3.1 Industry niche analysis

  • Learn from your competitor. Don’t repeat the mistake that already your competitor had done.

3.2 Customer persona

  • Types your customer to whom you are targeting

4. Marketing and sales analysis

4.1 Marketing and promotion technique

4.2 SWOT Analysis

S – Strength

W – Weakness

O – Opportunities

T – Threats

4.3 Timeframe your targets

4.4 Pricing Strategy

5. Operational structure 

5.1 Organizational Structure

5.2 Quality control measure

5.3 Staffing & training

5.4 Location of your business

6. Financial computation 

6.1 Revenue Model

6.2 App development & designing cost

6.3 Marketing budget

6.4 Cash flow

6.5 Balance Sheet

6.6 Funding

Each business has its own business strategy.

So, choose the strategy as what suits you more or what are your strengths, work with it and give the direction to your business accordingly.

More information  

When you are done with all the information as the above mansion.

There is one more area where you need to focus on and it is ‘Digital Marketing’.

As the internet is thriving more n more people are coming online and screens of mobile, tablet, laptops and so on are the new advertising board.

Internet changing the economy in a more optimistic way.

And mobile apps act as a catalyst for changing human economic behavior.

To develop the mobile app business plans, we need a holistic approach.

And building the strategy is a time-consuming process, so have patience and believe in your idea.

Once you have the determination for the execution of your plan and pour your energy into implementing it with full enthusiasm, then definitely you will achieve the goal.

For more information, you can contact us.

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Shopify's new price hikes could put pressure on its app developer ecosystem

  • Shopify is increasing the cost of its Plus subscription plan by 25% from $2,000 to $2,500 a month.
  • The increase could lead to cost cuts elsewhere, potentially affecting the Shopify app ecosystem.
  • Despite the price hike, experts believe Shopify Plus still offers the best value in e-commerce.

Shopify’s decision to raise prices on its Plus subscription plans has got people talking about the effects it could have on developers and startups building in its ecosystem.

The Canadian e-commerce company told merchants last week it would be raising prices on its Plus plans by 25% from $2,000 to $2,500 a month for merchants on a one-year term. If merchants sign up for a three-year term, they will be charged $2,300 monthly. Merchants can keep their current rates if they opt into a three-year contract by April 24.

The price hike comes a year after Shopify raised prices for its base subscription plan. In some cases, the basic plan price increased by 33%.

Many have shrugged off the most recent price increase. As Shopify Plus is geared toward larger merchants, earning at least $1 million a year in GMV, an increase of $500 a month could represent a small portion of a brand’s overall budget. 

"The increase is material, but it won’t be devastating for 90% of merchants," said Andy Cloyd, the cofounder and CEO of Superfiliate, an influencer marketing startup that works exclusively with Shopify merchants. 

But if merchants overwhelmingly decide to stick with Shopify, it will likely mean that many will look to trim costs elsewhere in their tech stack, several Shopify experts and app developers told Business Insider. That could mean churn in the Shopify app ecosystem. 

Shopify frequently touts its third-party app ecosystem as an advantage for merchants looking to grow their business efficiently. A company representative said in 2021 that the average merchant uses six apps to run their business, but many merchants have told BI they use more, sometimes spending hundreds of dollars a month on each.   

"Companies will have to trim elsewhere to offset, and of course, that has an impact on individual merchants’ user experience," Stephen Watson, founder of marketing firm Elysian Solutions, said. 

That means increased pressure on developers to prove that their apps are worth the cost. Many of the most popular Shopify apps have also raised prices recently. 

"Anything that hurts your end customer is not good for your business, but apps that show demonstrable ROI are not the first to go," Cloyd said. “If a $500 a month price increase causes a lot of churn for you, you probably weren't critical to their business.”  

Erman Küplü, the CEO and cofounder of Shopify apps Analyzify and Risify , said that Shopify raising its prices was a reminder that running software businesses can be expensive. Many software companies prioritized growth over profitability until recently. 

"I am actually quite happy Shopify and other vendors are raising the prices," Küplü said. "This will encourage and justify small vendors (like us) to raise as well."

Many still see Shopify Plus as a good value

E-commerce experts who spoke with BI said they still see Shopify Plus as offering the best deal in the industry, especially as the company has added more features over time, like B2B and wholesale offerings, new advertising products , and the ability to customize a brand's checkout experience. 

It's possible that some lower-volume Plus merchants will downgrade to more basic subscription options due to cost. Some Plus-exclusive features, like Shopify Audiences, are not yet available outside North America, which could make the higher costs of Plus more difficult to justify for merchants based elsewhere. 

However, changing to a more basic plan — or migrating to a new platform altogether — could require more work than it’s worth. 

“A 25% rate hike is tough, but once you custom-coded your checkout experience, it’s harder to downgrade because of the sunk cost of that development work, not to mention the impact on your conversion rates,” Watson said. 

During Tuesday's fourth-quarter earnings call, CFO Jeff Hoffmeister said the company is not expecting to see impacts from the Plus pricing change until the second half of the year. He said it will depend on how many merchants decide to lock in their current pricing with a three-year contract and how many merchants decide not to upgrade to Plus. 

“We still believe that by far we are delivering the greatest combination of value and power to the platform that merchants can get anywhere, so we expect to have our merchants vote again with confidence in terms of staying on the Shopify platform,” Hoffmeister said. 

Got a tip? Contact this reporter at [email protected], [email protected], or on the secure messaging app Signal at (646) 889-2143 using a non-work phone. 

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Apple Has a New Plan for Its App Store. Many Developers Hate It.

To comply with European regulations, Apple has proposed reducing its commission on app sales while adding new fees and hurdles.

Four iPhones on display.

By Tripp Mickle and Adam Satariano

Tripp Mickle reports on Apple from San Francisco. Adam Satariano reports on European tech regulation from London.

After 15 years of dictating how apps are distributed on iPhones, Apple has been forced to take marching orders from European regulators. A new law to bolster tech competition has demanded that Apple open its devices to competing app stores and payment alternatives.

But app makers say Apple’s response to the law, which is intended to give consumers and developers more choice, is a false choice. Tucked inside the plan, they argue, are new fees and rules that make it prohibitively expensive and risky to make the changes that the law was intended to bring.

The backlash is the latest chapter in a long-simmering fight between Apple and app makers. Apple says it must keep a tight grip on the App Store to ensure quality and safety, while many developers say the company rules with an iron fist and abuses its power to squeeze them for fees and thwart competition to its own services like Apple Music and Apple Pay.

European regulators largely sided with developers in writing the Digital Markets Act, a 2022 law that requires Apple to give app makers alternatives for selling to iPhone and iPad users. In response to a March deadline for compliance, Apple told developers last week that they essentially had three options in the European Union, home to roughly 450 million people.

They could stick with the status quo App Store system and continue paying Apple up to a 30 percent commission of all sales. Alternatively, they could reduce their commission to 17 percent, while taking on a new 50-euro-cent charge on every download above one million annually. Or they could avoid Apple’s commission by distributing through a competing app store, while still paying Apple’s download fee.

After doing the math, many developers said Apple was offering a worse alternative. Several pointed out that a maker of a free app with 10 million downloads a year that opted to distribute through a competing app store would owe Apple about $400,000 a month because of the new 50-euro-cent fee, according to a fee calculator that Apple released. That essentially guaranteed that they would stay with the existing App Store model, where they can distribute free, rather than sell through alternative marketplaces.

Spotify, the streaming music app that filed an antitrust complaint against Apple in Europe , said it might abandon plans to add credit card payments for audiobooks and subscriptions because of the fees.

Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite, which sued Apple in 2020 , said it had major questions around its plans to release a new game store because Apple’s plan would give it the power to vet and approve competing app stores. And Hey.com, an email and calendar service, said the proposal had upended its plan to distribute software directly to users, which Apple isn’t making possible.

“This can’t be what the European Commission meant because it doesn’t change the fundamental dynamics,” said David Heinemeier Hansson, one of the founders of Hey.com. “Apple has made the provisions so poisonous and the bar so high that it’s clear no one should ever use this.”

The mounting criticism will test how aggressively the European Union will enforce its landmark new digital policy. Executives at dozens of app companies have already called on E.U. regulators to reject Apple’s proposal.

Apple said the policies complied with the E.U. law while limiting potential risks to users. “Apple’s focus remains on creating the most secure system possible within the D.M.A.’s requirements,” the company said in a statement.

Andreas Schwab, a member of the European Parliament who helped write the Digital Markets Act, said the commission would have to weigh Apple’s proposal after March 7, when the rules take effect. Should the European Commission open a formal investigation, it could set up a lengthy legal battle between the E.U. regulators and one of the world’s largest tech companies.

“Everything has to do with money,” Mr. Schwab said. “Those that complain would like to earn more money, and Apple wants to earn money with its own App Store.”

The backlash comes at an important moment for Apple. The U.S. Justice Department is considering antitrust charges against Apple for uncompetitive business practices, a case that could force the company to make more policy changes. Apple is also facing slowing sales of iPhones, iPads and Macs. Wall Street analysts believe that trend will continue when Apple reports quarterly results on Thursday for the three months that ended in December. This week, the company is also releasing its first new product in nearly a decade, an augmented reality device called the Vision Pro.

The Digital Markets Act aims to create more competition in a digital economy dominated by the biggest tech companies. These large platforms, which include Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft and TikTok’s owner, ByteDance, will now face new limits on using their dominance in one area like smartphones, social media or e-commerce to box in users and undercut rival services.

A spokesman for the European Commission, the 27-nation bloc’s executive branch, said it would not comment on Apple’s policy changes before the March deadline. He noted, however, that Apple and other large tech platforms had been urged to review any changes they planned to make to comply with the D.M.A. with the businesses likely to be most affected, to ensure that the changes wouldn’t create new anticompetitive problems.

Apple said it had spoken with several developers before releasing its plan, but Apple didn’t extend its outreach to some of its sharpest critics, such as the Coalition for App Fairness, a Washington trade group that has nearly 80 members, including Spotify and the Match Group, the maker of Tinder.

“If they were serious about complying with the law, they would have done that and tried to bring people on their side for their announcement,” said Rick VanMeter, executive director of the Coalition for App Fairness.

Apple said it had contacted more than 1,000 developers after the new policy was released last week and would hold sessions to answer their questions. The company said 99 percent of developers in the European Union would “reduce or maintain” the fees they owed, and it pointed to support from people like Justin Kan, one of the founders of the video game streaming service Twitch. “Apple’s making major concessions and game developers have more freedom now than ever,” he said on X .

Others disagreed. Andy Yen, the chief executive of Proton, a Swiss company providing encrypted email and internet services, said Apple was offering a false alternative to the existing App Store fee structure. He said the new option was so financially prohibitive, especially the 50-euro-cent technology fee, that “nobody in their right mind is going to choose it.”

Mr. Yen said the change would cost Proton millions of dollars, in part because many of its users use its free services. Even though it wants to try alternative app stores and payment methods, the company would have no choice but to stay with Apple’s current terms, he said.

Apple’s new system could upend many developers’ business models. More than 260,000 apps use a so-called freemium model where users pay nothing to download an app but have options to buy premium features, according to Data.ai, an app economy research firm.

Because only a fraction of subscribers pay for content or goods, developers say they couldn’t afford to pay a 50-cent fee for every download.

Apple also included terms in its new policy that prevents developers from reversing their decisions. Once a company like Spotify or Proton decides to move over to Apple’s new fee structure, there is no going back.

“It’s designed so that picking the new system is a massive risk for your business,” Mr. Yen said. “It’s a massive deterrent.”

  More about Tripp Mickle

Adam Satariano is a technology correspondent based in Europe, where his work focuses on digital policy and the intersection of technology and world affairs. More about Adam Satariano

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Date night strike: Thousands of US, UK delivery, ride-hailing drivers stop work on Valentine’s Day

Dozens of ride-hailing workers participated in a strike on Valentine’s Day at O’Hare Airport, calling for higher pay and better working conditions. (Feb. 14)

People protest ride-hailing companies like Uber, Lyft and others in the Transportation Network Provider parking lot at O'Hare International Airport, Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

People protest ride-hailing companies like Uber, Lyft and others in the Transportation Network Provider parking lot at O’Hare International Airport, Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

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Ride-share drivers protest near Orlando International Airport at Airport Lakes Park, Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024, in Orlando, Fla. Thousands of ride-hailing and delivery workers in the U.S. and the U.K. went on strike on Valentine’s Day, calling for higher pay and other changes to their working conditions. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP)

People wait in the ride-hailing pickup area at O’Hare International Airport, Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024, in Chicago. Ride-hailing workers were protesting companies like Uber and Lyft across the country Wednesday, demanding better wages and safer working conditions. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

People wait in the ride-hailing pickup area at O’Hare International Airport, Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024, in Chicago. ride-hailing and delivery workers were protesting companies like Uber and Lyft across the country Wednesday, demanding better wages and safer working conditions. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Carmen Peralta joins other ride-hailing and delivery workers in protest of Uber, Lyft and other companies in the Transportation Network Provider parking lot at O’Hare International Airport, Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

An authorization sticker is displayed on a vehicle in the Transportation Network Provider parking lot at O’Hare International Airport, Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024, in Chicago. Ride-hailing and delivery workers were protesting companies like Uber and Lyft across the country Wednesday, demanding better wages and safer working conditions. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Rideshare vehicles are parked in the Transportation Network Provider parking lot at O’Hare International Airport, Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024, in Chicago. Thousands of ride-hailing and delivery workers in the U.S. and the U.K. went on strike on Valentine’s Day, calling for higher pay and other changes to their working conditions. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

People wait in the rideshare pickup area at O’Hare International Airport, Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024, in Chicago. Thousands of ride-hailing and delivery workers in the U.S. and the U.K. went on strike on Valentine’s Day, calling for higher pay and other changes to their working conditions. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Blossom Boston joins other ride-hailing and delivery workers in protest of Uber, Lyft and other companies in the Transportation Network Provider parking lot at O’Hare International Airport, Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Uber and Lyft driver Marcus Cruz, center, joins other rideshare drivers at a rally for batter pay and working conditions at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Austin, Texas, Wednesday Feb. 14, 2024. Thousands of ride-hailing and delivery workers in the U.S. and the U.K. went on strike on Valentine’s Day, calling for higher pay and other changes to their working conditions. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

FILE - In this Feb. 9, 2021 file photo, a passer-by walks past a sign offering directions to an Uber and Lyft ride pickup location at Logan International Airport, in Boston. Thousands of U.S. ride-hailing workers plan to park their cars and picket at major U.S. airports Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024, in what organizers say is their largest strike yet in a drive for better pay and benefits. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 12, 2016, file photo, a ride share car displays Lyft and Uber stickers on its front windshield in downtown Los Angeles. Thousands of U.S. ride-hailing workers plan to park their cars and picket at major U.S. airports Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024, in what organizers say is their largest strike yet in a drive for better pay and benefits. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)

Thousands of ride-hailing and delivery workers in the U.S. and the U.K. went on strike on Valentine’s Day, calling for higher pay and other changes to their working conditions.

In the U.S., Uber and Lyft drivers planned daylong strikes in Chicago; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; Miami; Orlando and Tampa, Florida; Hartford, Connecticut; Newark, New Jersey; Austin, Texas; and Providence, Rhode Island. Drivers were also holding midday demonstrations at airports in those cities, according to Justice for App Workers, the group organizing the effort.

Meanwhile, U.K. delivery drivers for Uber Eats, Deliveroo, Just Eat and Stuart said they would turn off their apps and refuse deliveries between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. The group Delivery Job U.K., which called for the walkout, said on Instagram that the strike was “a crucial opportunity to be seen and heard by society.”

Of eight delivery drivers who spoke with The Associated Press on the streets of London Wednesday, all but one said they planned to halt work at 5 p.m. Several, however, questioned whether the strike was long enough to make enough of a financial dent in the businesses.

FILE - An Uber sign is displayed inside a car, May 15, 2020, in Chicago. The Biden administration will enact a new labor rule Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, that aims to prevent the misclassification of workers as “independent contractors,” a step that could bolster both legal protections and compensation for many in the U.S. workforce. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

“One day is not effective,” said Evadur Rahman. “If we strike more than one day — two, three, four days — they’re gonna be affected.”

Rahman, a Deliveroo driver who planned to participate in the strike, said his daily pay dropped in recent months from about 140 pounds ($175) for eight hours of work to around 100 pounds ($126). He said he wanted the company to raise the minimum rate it pays per order from 2.90 pounds ($3.64) to closer to 5 pounds ($6.28).

“They must improve the minimum pay,” Rahman said. “It’s not enough for survival in this country.”

Justice for App Workers estimated that thousands of drivers stopped working Wednesday, and said that workers in 12 or more cities beyond the original 10 had held impromptu demonstrations. Delivery Job U.K. had expected 3,000 people to strike.

Jocilyn Floyd, who has been driving for Uber for nearly a decade, joined the picket line Wednesday at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago.

“Uber has proven time and time again that they’re putting profits over people. In shareholder meetings they discuss profits; there’s no question about safety, protection from deactivation or compensation,” Floyd said.

Uber said Wednesday that the strike wasn’t hurting driver availability or customer demand.

“Despite the headlines, we’ve seen no impact to our operations or reliability for riders. In fact, in most markets there are more drivers on the road today than there were during the same period last week,” an Uber spokesperson said.

Uber and other companies that rely on self-employed gig workers say those workers appreciate the flexibility of the job. But many gig workers are pushing to unionize, saying that would give them the ability to bargain over compensation, safety measures and other benefits.

In November, that unionization effort saw a setback in the U.K. , when Britain’s top court ruled that Deliveroo couriers don’t have collective bargaining rights because they aren’t considered employees.

Deliveroo said Wednesday that it has a voluntary partnership with a union that includes annual discussions on pay and it also provides couriers with free insurance and sick pay.

“Rider retention rates are high and the overwhelming majority of riders tell us that they are satisfied working with us,” the company said in a statement.

Rachel Gumpert, the spokesperson for Justice for App Workers, described ride-hailing as a “mobile sweatshop,” with some workers routinely putting in 60 to 80 hours per week. Justice for App Workers, which says it represents 130,000 ride-hailing and delivery workers, is seeking higher wages, access to health care and an appeals process so companies can’t deactivate drivers without warning.

But ride-hailing companies say they already pay a fair wage and have an appeals process in place for deactivations.

Earlier this month, Lyft said it began guaranteeing that drivers will make at least 70% of their fares each week, and it lays out its fees more clearly for drivers in a new earnings statement. Lyft also unveiled a new in-app button that lets drivers appeal deactivation decisions.

“We are constantly working to improve the driver experience,” Lyft said in a statement. Its U.S. drivers make an average of $30.68 per hour, or $23.46 per hour after expenses, Lyft said.

Uber said its U.S. drivers make an average of $33 per hour. The company also said it allows drivers to dispute deactivations.

Associated Press writers Jill Lawless and Brian Melley reported from London. Associated Press Video Journalist Melissa Perez Winder reported from Chicago.

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Biden student loan forgiveness plan: Administration reveals who may qualify

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  • The Biden administration released its proposal for which struggling borrowers should qualify for its new student loan forgiveness plan.
  • It said that receiving a Pell Grant, having a disability and a person's age could be factors signaling hardship.

The Biden administration has released its proposal for which struggling borrowers should qualify for its new student loan forgiveness plan.

The Supreme Court's conservative majority blocked President Joe Biden 's first aid package last year. In an effort to create a loan forgiveness program that is legally viable, the Biden administration is working to narrow the relief by focusing on certain groups of borrowers, including those with balances greater than what they originally borrowed and students from schools of questionable quality.

Its new proposal concerns borrowers experiencing financial hardship , the category that has remained the most vague.

The U.S. Department of Education outlined on Thursday a set of factors that could identify struggling borrowers, such as those with student loan balances and required payments that are unreasonable relative to their household income, and people with high child-care and health-care expenses. It also said that financial hardship could be based on other debt obligations, disability, or age, among other factors.

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"The ideas we are outlining today will allow us to help struggling borrowers who are experiencing hardships in their lives, and they are part of President Biden's overall plan to give breathing room to as many student loan borrowers as possible," Department of Education Undersecretary James Kvaal said in a statement.

At one point, it seemed possible that the "financial hardship" category had been dropped from what has become known as  Biden's Plan B for student loan forgiveness . While Biden first attempted to cancel student debt through an executive order, he has now turned to the rulemaking process.

Over three rulemaking sessions, the negotiators tasked with determining who will be eligible for the president's revised relief plan identified several  categories  that could signal hardship. Those include borrowers who received a Pell Grant or qualified for a health insurance subsidy on the Affordable Care Act's marketplace.

But the Education Department did not include language on borrowers in hardship in its relief proposal, and the negotiators didn't get to vote on the category.

Shortly after the rulemaking sessions, lawmakers including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. and Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C.,  wrote  to U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona on Jan. 24., pressuring him to still consider struggling borrowers for relief.

"We are concerned that, without full consideration of cancellation targeted toward borrowers facing financial hardship, the rule will not provide adequate debt relief for the most vulnerable borrowers," the lawmakers said.

The Biden administration seems to have heard those worries. The Education Dept. said it will hold an additional rulemaking session on Feb. 22 and Feb. 23, during which the negotiating committee will focus exclusively on financially strapped borrowers. Its own proposal suggests the category could cover millions of Americans.

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IMAGES

  1. Mobile App Business Plan Template [Updated 2022]

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  2. How to Create a Business Plan for Your Mobile App

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  3. App Startup Business Plan Template [Free PDF]

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  4. Mobile App Business Plan Template

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COMMENTS

  1. How to Write a Business Plan for a Mobile App Startup?

    A business plan is a guide that turns your ideas into action and helps you attract investors, partners, and users. Learn how to create a business plan for a mobile app startup with a template, tips, and examples from Mind Studios, a leading app development company.

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    What Is a Mobile App Business Plan? What Are the Main Types of Mobile App Companies? What Are the Main Sources of Revenue and Expenses for a Mobile App Business? How Do You Get Funding for Your Mobile App Business Plan? What are the Steps To Start a Mobile App Business? Where Can I Get a Mobile App Business Plan PDF?

  3. Mobile App Business Plan Template & Guide [Updated 2024]

    Learn how to write a business plan for your mobile app development company with this comprehensive guide. Download a free template and get tips on market research, financial analysis, competitive analysis and more. Find out the importance of business planning and the sources of funding for mobile app companies.

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    What does a mobile app business plan look like? A typical mobile app business plan is comprised of 8 sections: Executive summary Products & services Company overview Market analysis Competitive analysis

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    Rating — 4.7 · 11 min · July 27, 2023 Sofiya Merenych Tech Editor and Content Team Lead Are you looking for some tips on how to write a business plan for an app? Take a look at our Business Plan For Mobile App guide. Table of content Why You Need a Business Plan for Your Mobile App An App Business Plan Template In Conclusion

  8. Creating a Business Plan for Your App: A Template

    Instead, consider creating a business model canvas. A business model canvas is a more focused and agile form of the traditional business plan. One of its advantages is that it can more easily ...

  9. How to Start an App Business

    1. Create an app business plan Your app's company's business plan is your roadmap to go from concept to release. Writing a business plan doesn't have to be complex.

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    7 - Use your business plan to secure app funding. Once you have your business plan, it's time to use it as a tool to get you the funds you need to develop your app. Choosing the right funding source depends on your app's stage, funding needs, and the trade-offs you're willing to make in terms of control and equity.

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  16. How to Create Mobile App Business Plan: A Comprehensive Guide

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  17. Mobile App Business Plan Template [Updated 2024]

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  20. Write your business plan

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  21. Mobile App Business Plan & Examples for Startups

    Step 6 - Deploy or execution of an app. This stage is known as the release of an app to the real people. It is the final product, now your app is live on the app store or play store for all user to download it. Step 7 - Updating app with the new feature. Technological enhancement is the continues process.

  22. How To Write A Business Plan (2024 Guide)

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  23. The Best Business Plan Software

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  24. Shopify's Pricing Changes Are Impacting Developers and Startups

    Shopify is increasing the cost of its Plus subscription plan by 25% from $2,000 to $2,500 a month. The increase could lead to cost cuts elsewhere, potentially affecting the Shopify app ecosystem ...

  25. Developers Pan Apple's New Plan for App Store in Europe

    Apple's new system could upend many developers' business models. More than 260,000 apps use a so-called freemium model where users pay nothing to download an app but have options to buy ...

  26. Uber and Lyft drivers plan Valentine's Day strikes

    Drivers were also holding midday demonstrations at airports in those cities, according to Justice for App Workers, the group organizing the effort. Meanwhile, U.K. delivery drivers for Uber Eats, Deliveroo, Just Eat and Stuart said they would turn off their apps and refuse deliveries between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m.

  27. Uber, Lyft and Deliveroo workers in US and UK plan Valentine's Day

    In America, campaign group Justice for App Workers said in a blog post last week that drivers for Uber and Lyft, as well as riders for DoorDash, were "sick of working 80 hours/week just to make ...

  28. Biden administration reveals who may qualify for student loan relief

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