Students Smell Success in the App Store!

There’s no doubt that the mobile app industry is taking the world by storm, changing our lives and creating multi-millionaires overnight. With that in mind, three university students in New Zealand take their first steps into this new and exciting world. Students – Mark, Paul and Chuck – recently launched their first app, Flying Fun for iOS, and are now looking to grow their already successful app business.

“Flying Fun is a new and addictive flight game, with a twist! Finally, a good working app version of the classic flash copter game. Fly along, collect gold coins, use power-ups and travel as far as you can. Download now and see how far you can get!”

Mark and Paul, identical twin brothers, have been dreaming about apps since the launch of the App Store. Both die-hard Apple fans and huge lovers of the iPhone and Mac, this industry is perfect for the two brothers.

“It feels amazing to have your own game on the app store. Waking up every morning and seeing which countries are downloading your app always puts a smile on my face.” – Mark

The exciting venture began mid-2012 when the students decided to take a leap of faith and work on their first app. The outsourced development was undertaken by Click Labs with the three students testing the app and posting feedback during lectures. Paul would literally hand his phone to students and ask them what they thought of his app. While simultaneously studying for their marketing majors, Paul and Chuck began reading up on marketing of a new kind: how to moneitse and sell apps. University assignments were left until the last minute as the team researched App Store Optimisation (ASO) and prepared for the inevitable launch.

“I love the marketing side of apps. The industry is still so young, I feel like I’m part of something really big.” – Paul

Flying Fun is at the end of it’s third week in the App Store and the trio have just released their first round of bug fixes and updates. The focus is now on making the app much more enjoyable based on user feedback. The team is soon releasing their second app that manipulates photos of the face, Geek Me. This app will compete with the likes of Fat Booth and Oldify by providing a mountain of useful features for the user.

The team has since finished university, are now working full-time and starting to pay off their student loans. App development and marketing activities are undertaken before and after work and the team aims to build a sustainable source of income to support themselves. Plans for the future include; growing a network of diverse and enjoyable apps, expanding onto the Android platform and growing the company with the help of key partners.

“Selling mobile apps allows you generate an income from all over the world, 24/7. Your selling to a growing customer base who literally just have to use the tools in their pockets to find you.” - Chuck

Want to help the students? Download Flying Fun now and leave your comments in a review!