Lesson #1: Spend 20 years developing an internationally beloved franchise
As they say, the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, but the second best time is now. Think less about the technology available today and more about the characters that generations of children will grow up with.
Will people buy adorable plushie dolls and action figures based on your characters? Will one of my Facebook friends name their first-born children after one of your characters? If not, scrap whatever you’re working on and get started.
Lesson #2: Make it a game
People love mobile games so much that we can’t even compare them to other kinds of apps because they blow everything else out of the water in terms of engagement and revenue.
Trying to build a utility app? Make it a game.
Maybe you’re a publisher trying to get more readers? Reward them for every story they read with in-app currency that unlocks extra facts and figures. Let them discover local stories based on their physical location and capture them by throwing pence at a virtual newsie.
Lesson #3: Exist on the periphery
If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em—according to data from SimilarWeb, there’s been a concurrent increase in peripheral apps like fitness trackers, weather apps, and GPS location spoofers that allow Pokémon Go players to find Pokémon in other countries.
Cash in on someone else’s success just by being useful!