Strategies To Consider While In Search For App Investment

The right investor can offer a much-needed lifeline for your app that can catapult your product to incredible heights. Mobile apps, especially in their infancy, need some cash injection in order to survive. Just like any other business, the people who make it run need to get paid. Your developers need some sort of incentive to keep working. You also need money to run marketing campaigns that will get the word out there about your app. A cash injection could be the deciding factor determining whether your app is successful or not. This is why knowing how to contact investors is very important as it will determine whether your product will be launched.

However, the big question remains, how does one get these investments? What do you need to do while searching for investors if you want to increase your chances of securing funding? This article shall highlight some of the most important strategies that you need to consider while searching for app investment.

The Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

Your MVP is the stripped down version of your app that can perform its core function. Sure, you have an app idea. Ideas are a dime a dozen these days. Your potential investors need you to demonstrate to them that your idea is workable, and this is what an MVP does. Having a simple app demo can go a long way in building investor confidence.

However, if you cannot afford to pay a developer to create your MVP app, you need not worry. The value of your product can be demonstrated in many other ways. For example, in 2007, Dropbox launched a website with a very simple video explaining what Dropbox does. They almost immediately got 75 thousand subscribers and an acquisition offer from Apple. Today, Dropbox is worth 10 billion dollars.

The Pitch

This can sound surprising, but many people with app ideas do not know much about their own apps. All they know is they have an idea for an app that can do this or that. What would it take to develop such an app? What other apps are currently doing that thing? How would it generate revenue? They have no idea.

Everyone knows about the elevator pitch concept. If you happen to run into a potential investor in an elevator, and all the time you have to talk to him is until the next elevator stop, how can you present your entire idea in its entirety within roughly 60 seconds?

If you want to increase your chances of securing that investment, you need to do a few things:

a. Stand out

What makes your product different? Do you have a website? Have you done some level of branding for your product? There are lots of services out there that you can take advantage of to start you off with simple branding. Show your investors that you are serious about your product and they will believe in you.

b. What do you know about investment?

You need to educate yourself and learn the basics of investment. A startup with no product or traction should not expect to raise big bucks. Have reasonable expectations. Know how much you can realistically raise and how you will pay back your investors.

c. First Impressions

Make a killer first impression. How can you impress your investors through the delivery of your pitch? When making a presentation, less than ten slides will do. Fifty slides will tire out your potential investors and you will likely walk away with nothing. Keep things simple and practice, practice, practice.

Where Can You Find Investors Online?

You can source investors on several websites. With your MVP and your pitch ready, this part should be a breeze. Here are a few sites that will likely show you some love:

a. Kickstarter

Over 100 thousand startups have successfully raised the funding they need through Kickstarter. Kickstarter requires you to have a clear project and clear goals when you apply. It will connect you with backers who will fund your project. You will share different versions of your app with your backers, after which you will get feedback.

Crowdfunding sites such as Kickstarter are great for getting funding while keeping 100% of your company or product. The downside is, you may have to offer free products to backers or tailor your product to specially suit your backers. For example, Zive (Gmail for Mac) had to lower the price of its product from 10 dollars to 5 dollars for its Kickstarter backers. Another downside is that if you fail to reach your target goal within the campaign time, you get nothing. In this way, Crowdfunding is an all or nothing game.

b. AngelList

AngelList connects angel investors with startups. If your product is in its early stages, then this platform is perfect for you. In 2014, AngelList helped startups raise over 100 million dollars in funding. Plus, AngelList ventures get funded really quickly, an average of fewer than 25 days.

c. Go4Funding

This platform is quite similar to AngelList. At Go4Funding, angel investors can view a list of projects that need funding and choose the option that suits them. You will need to provide links to your MVP and have a business model outlined, highlighting expected ROI.

These are just a few ways you can source funding for your app. Opportunities are limitless, and as long as you stay motivated and aim to impress by being thorough, you are sure to secure the funds you need. As long as your idea has the potential to change lives for the better, and you strongly believe in it, you definitely keep forging ahead. You owe it to the world.

This story is published in The Startup, Medium’s largest entrepreneurship publication followed by +388,268 people.

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