Appillionaires: Secrets from Developers Who Struck It Rich on the App Store

Chapter 12: Life in the Trenches

I’m forever blowing bubbles,

Pretty bubbles in the air.

They fly so high,

Nearly reach the sky,

Then like my dreams,

They fade and die.

I’m visiting one of London’s exclusive private members clubs. I’ve been invited here to meet two recent university graduates who have persuaded their friends and families to invest in an app idea that they think will change the world. We drink by the rooftop pool and they describe their app to me. It begins, as always, with an explanation of why their idea is special, a rare gem that will stand out from the 5 billion other apps on the store. I listen carefully to their plans and they show me a demo of their app. They are not programmers, but one of them is a designer and has created the graphics for the app. They tell me that, so far, development has cost $16,000 and they’re not finished yet.

An Expensive Game

Their development cost is typical for a simple app. It’s estimated that the average iPhone app costs between $15,000 and $50,000 to produce — not including marketing. For comparison, take an app like Alice in New York, the sequel to Alice for the iPad. This was a bedroom project with a shoestring budget and it cost around $20,000 to develop — excluding my time. Also consider Atomic Antelope’s collaboration with ustwo, Nursery Rhymes with Storytime. This was a full studio project, with salaried employees working on the code and artwork. It cost over $60,000 to produce, excluding marketing and my time. Both ...