Turning your app idea into a profitable business: How specialized startup services can help bring your app concept to life and scale it for success
Bursting with app ideas but unsure how to transform them into a profitable business venture? You’re not alone. Thousands of aspiring entrepreneurs struggle to navigate the intricate maze of startup challenges. From securing adequate financing to nailing down a sustainable business model, these hurdles often halt promising concepts in their tracks. But don’t be disheartened. By leveraging specialized startup services, you can not only bring your app idea to life but also scale it for success. In this article, we explain why choosing startup services may be a great help for you and also provide you with a list of relevant services.
Why do startups need specialized services?
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 20% of startups do not survive past their first year. Often, multiple factors intertwine to lead to the demise of an aspiring startup. Recognizing the risks that often lead to startup failure is vital for any new business.
A study by Skynova revealed that in 2022, the most prevalent reasons for startup failure were lack of financing, running out of cash, and the economic impacts of Covid-19.
Additionally, inadequate planning, poor marketing strategies, and insufficient market research contribute significantly to startup failure rates. The absence of a robust business plan or a sustainable business model often results in monetary losses and operational and legal issues. Lastly, startups can also be derailed when founders lack essential industry knowledge or experience.
To deal with the challenges, entrepreneurs often need expertise from the outside. Choosing relevant startup services can help to solve these problems and scale the business to success.
Top services that can help startups
Consulting
Startups often hit roadblocks due to a lack of know-how, especially when it comes to technology. That’s where technical consulting services come in. These expert services help break down hard tech decisions and simplify them for entrepreneurs. For example, a development company can suggest proper technologies to use in the project, ways to implement the idea and perform audits. Furthermore, they also assist in training the startup’s staff to use these technologies, thereby building the capacity of the startup to handle its IT needs on its own. By outsourcing a technical consultant, startups can focus more on their core business functions while receiving expert solutions to technical difficulties.
Analytics
With business analytics services, startups don’t just operate based on assumptions or gut feelings. Instead, they make evidence-based decisions that increase operational efficiency and enhance business performance. For starters, these services can help businesses decide which features to add to the product and what aspects of their product to focus on.
Choosing startup services like business analytics can help startups plan their projects carefully. Development companies let startups find out how long a project might take or what issues might pop up based on past projects. These services can help predict costs, meaning you can plan your budget well in advance and use limited resources wisely.
At Ronas IT, we use analytics to carefully plan projects, estimate costs and time needed for development, and prioritize features. The business analysis gives our clients a vision of how their idea can be implemented and sets realistic expectations.
UX/UI design
When choosing startup services, make sure to invest in User experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design. An intuitive, well-designed interface can significantly increase user engagement and retention are two key factors contributing to the growth and scalability of startups. On the other hand, an app that’s complicated to navigate or not visually appealing will likely deter potential users.
Designers get into your customers’ needs and behaviors through research and then use it to design an interface. UX designers can create user personas, map out customer journeys, and conduct usability testing to ensure the app is easy to use. Meanwhile, UI designers create aesthetically pleasing and intuitive app interfaces using design principles and color psychology. An effectively designed UI can foster an emotional connection with the users, further increasing app usage and customer loyalty.
We initiate design by constructing a mind map and building low-fidelity wireframes that outline the most complex user flows. Then we proceed to design 2–3 screens and several UI elements or assemble a prototype of the interface to define the app’s style. After the concept is approved, we get to work on creating a detailed interface design. Finally, we review the final design together with the client, making any necessary enhancements to ensure the product meets the client’s needs and expectations.
Branding
These services are about establishing a solid brand identity including logo design, color scheme, typography, and brand voice to align with your company’s mission and differentiate your startup from the competitors.
A well-structured branding strategy not only builds credibility and trust among potential users, but can also increase the company’s value, create customer loyalty, and form an emotional connection with the audience.
Web and mobile app development
Full-stack development services help startups to build fully functional, robust, and scalable web and mobile applications. These platforms serve as the primary point of interaction with potential customers and help deliver the product or service to the consumer effectively. For startups, having a custom-built app or website developed specifically with their business model in mind is invaluable. This can help businesses offer a seamless user experience, engage users, and eventually gain a competitive edge in their industry. Not to mention, effective app development can also help startups collect useful user data, feedback, and insights that can prove pivotal in refinement and scalability plans. Overall, choosing startup development services can play a fundamental role in young business growth and success.
At Ronas IT, we have 16+ years of experience in developing web and mobile apps. We build secure and intuitive apps and provide transparency to our clients. We plan our work in sprints of 2–3 weeks — it allows us to work with rapidly changing requirements and adapt to market demands. After each sprint, our clients get a test version of a mobile app or a website to check how it works. With this approach, we make the development process clear and straightforward.
Quality Assurance (QA)
Quality Assurance, or QA, is a system of activities that ensures a product meets the specified requirements and customer expectations. QA engineers perform code and design reviews, testing processes, and bug fixing to increase the product’s reliability and performance.
For startups, particularly those in the tech industry, quality assurance is vital. It ensures that their applications are bug-free and function seamlessly, offering the best user experience. QA helps prevent any slip-ups that might occur right from the early developmental stages, thereby avoiding any potential damage to the startup’s reputation and possible financial losses.
During the development, our engineers run automatic tests and use bug-tracking tools in the finished product to fix the bugs and make sure that the app is stable.
Maintenance
A product’s journey doesn’t end when it hits the market. In fact, it’s merely the beginning of a continuous process of evolution and improvement, crucial for the product’s long-term success. Maintenance and post-release support are vital to this journey, so consider adding them to your list when choosing startup services.
These services include regular software updates, bug fixes, improved security measures, and adding new features based on user feedback and market trends. They ensure that the product continues to work well and meet evolving consumer needs.
Good maintenance prevents unexpected problems, which could harm the startup’s reputation. At Ronas IT, we maintain products after the release and continue to work on them. With ongoing upgrades and new feature additions, our clients can meet user expectations, keep customers happy, and grow their business.
MVP development
Simply put, a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is the most simplified version of a product that is fully functional and contains only the core features of the proposed final product. Developing an MVP allows startups to receive early customer feedback as well as test the product in the real market with actual users, without investing excessive time and resources into building a fully-fledged product. The collected feedback can provide valuable insights into what enhancements the product needs. These iterative improvements can significantly increase the product’s chances of success, as it evolves based on actual user feedback rather than assumptions.
Additionally, an MVP can also assist startups in attracting early-stage investors by demonstrating the usability and potential of the product. By proving the idea first with an MVP, startups can win the trust of investors, which can result in the funding necessary for full-scale development.
MVP development service providers help startups identify and focus on the most critical features that solve the target users’ primary problem. This ensures that the first version of the product cuts through the noise and stands out in the market.
By choosing our startup services, you get a fully working app designed to suit your business needs, just when you need it. We make sure to finish all the work on the project within 1-3 months. We can put as many designers and developers on your project, so it gets done on time. This might cost a bit more but it means that the work is done twice as fast. You can look at our pricing for quick MVP development services.
We have worked with over 1,500 clients, with many being startups. You can see more about our experience with startup MVPs in our ’Cases’ section.
Cybersecurity
Businesses store vast amounts of sensitive information online, hence, securing this data is paramount. This is particularly critical for startups that are still working towards building their reputation and gaining customer trust.
Cybersecurity services aim to protect startups’ digital assets from various threats, including hackers, malware, and data breaches. These services can include designing secure infrastructure, installation of protective software, encryption of data, and setting up firewalls. It also saves startups from potential regulatory punishments and financial losses associated with data breaches.
Legal services
When venturing into the business world, startups must consider several legal factors that could potentially affect their operations or result in serious liabilities. Legal services provide startups with the necessary guidance and assistance to navigate the complex world of business law and ensure compliance with various regulations.
These services encompass a wide range of activities including, drafting contracts, protecting intellectual property, legal advice on employment issues, forming legal entities, and helping startups understand taxes and regulations relevant to their industry. As for our company, we make sure that all of the products we build comply with the needed regulations.
Summing up
Building a successful app-led business isn’t just about having a unique idea. It calls for extensive planning, thoughtful implementation, and strategic growth-oriented measures. While all these could seem overwhelming for most entrepreneurs, choosing specialized startup services can significantly increase their chances of success. Services such as consulting, analytics, UX/UI design, branding, web and mobile app development, QA, maintenance, MVP development, cybersecurity, and legal services can pave the way for a startup’s journey from concept to profit. Just remember, no matter how enticing your app idea might be, its realization and long-term success largely depend on how you back it with the right resources and expertise.