1. 10 Words of
App Creation Wisdom
from someone who’s already been there

2. 1The most important
m e t r i c i s n o t t h e
number of downloads

3. The most important metrics are
Most apps fail this test. If you are able to achieve a very
high retention rate, you can basically scale ad infinitum
(see Facebook, Whatsapp, Instagram etc.).
MAU
DAU
Daily Active Users
Monthly Active Users
and
You need to build a great, sticky
product that people want to use regularly.

4. 2 App development is
much more challenging
than web development

5. Creating an app is much more
challenging than creating a
web-based product or service.
Most people underestimate
the work needed to create an
app, even a very simple one.

6. 3 App development
requires much
more expertise

7. 10 years ago you basically just
needed a web programmer to get
started.
Today, if you want to build an app,
you need an iOS developer, an
Android developer, a designer
with app experience, plus if
needed a web programmer taking
care of the backend.

8. 4 Save by doing
things yourself

9. If you are young and are willing to learn and
do everything yourself, there are huge
opportunities waiting for you.
If you need to hire people to do it, it can get
fairly expensive, even if you use freelancers
in less expensive parts of the world.

10. 5 An app needs
constant care and
updates

11. An app is not a one-time
gimmick, it is a full-fledged
software product. You
regularly need to update it
because the ecosystem
changes so quickly. You
also need to fix issues and
bugs to keep your users
happy.

12. 6 The app store
is a lottery

13. User acquisition is a challenge.
If you don’t have the budget to
pay for app installs (which can
cost up to $5 per install), it’s
basically a lottery which apps
will show up on the result page
when searching for a keyword on
the App Store.

14. 7 E n c o u r a g e
word of mouth

15. You need to encourage word of mouth.
Our approach for doing that was the
ability to share meditation sessions on
Facebook and Twitter. ZenFriend was
able to get 40.000 downloads in two
years, which is quite good.

16. 8The easiest way to promote
your app is through an
existing user base

17. The easiest way to promote an app is if you
already have an existing customer base.
At Exsila we are currently developing our
app and have a huge advantage because
we have more than 100.000 registered
users. Starting a marketplace like Exsila
from scratch with only an app is much more
difficult and more expensive than starting
on the web.

18. 9 Apps are expected to
be free so building a
business model is hard

19. The business model is
a challenge as well.
Most users expect
apps to be free or very
inexpensive. You need
to have a
sophisticated
business model if you
want your project to be
self-sufficient. Most
apps are in fact losing
money. ZenFriend is
now generating $300-
$500 per month which
is nice, but nowhere
near being a self-
sufficient product.

20. 10 Use past experience to
create something even better

21. Building ZenFriend was a
fantastic learning
experience. I now have a
much better perspective of
what it takes to build and
market an app. I can now
use those learnings at Exsila,
and make our app even
more successful.

22. The slideshow was created
i n c o o p e r a t i o n w i t h
Shortcut. With Shortcut’s
growth hacks you turn your
app into a growth engine.
Shortcut helps you get
sticky and grow virally.
The wise man behind the
quotes is Remo Uherek.
Remo is the founder and
creator of the app meditation
app, ZenFriend. ZenFriend
partners with Shortcut to
boost growth and app
retention.