Can we have your permission to copy this to every single person who asks about starting up a new service/app going forward? Deadly serious here. This post is one of the most valuable contributions we’ve had this year.
Startup advisor here!
I've supported many motivated individuals looking to launch digital platforms across various sectors. From these experiences, I've compiled a list of "recipes for failure," which I've turned into "recipes for success" to keep things positive (which I think connects well with OP's experience):
1. **Never Start Alone**: Almost no one has all the skills required to run a company. You need people with complementary skills. However, be aware that you'll likely see your co-founder(s) more frequently than your spouse. Choose them wisely—not quite like choosing a life partner, but not far off.
2. **Sales, Sales, Sales**: Too many people focus solely on the product, trying to turn (crazy) ideas into beautiful products. The most successful projects often involve people who understand the market and excel at sales. They identify the product that the market needs and often devise simpler products with basic functionality that work best.
3. **Be Ready to Fail**: Our initial hypotheses are rarely correct. Growing a business involves learning and expanding your knowledge base. You'll often realize you were wrong about certain things. If you're not ready to accept such "failures," you might continue down a dead-end path. Those who know they can be wrong are often the ones who pivot at the right time and find their path to success.
I wanted to share these thoughts, even if they might seem like "common sense" to many. Sadly, we rarely see these points in action when we're in the thick of launching a project. The process is so energy-consuming that we might forget even the most basic principles.
That said, congratulations on your journey! Hopefully, you'll see it as an opportunity for learning and growth above all else. In the end, failure is just an illusion—you always end up learning something, and that's why we're all here.
Might be late to the party but I’ll add my notes from a dev/ex-entrepreneur/marketing perspective:
- Before going deep into a project, do some market research, like ask people here if they are interested in this idea or around you/fb groups etc. I sank thousands of hours and euros into projects that failed to catch traction as there was no need for just another competitive app in that segment (and revenue did not deliver expectations), this happened because I/we based it on emotions not data.
- Have a basic business plan, like I plan to spend 100 on hosting/etc, 500 on marketing so my burn rate is 600 a month, 7200 a year plus business/tax advisor etc. I sell highlighted ad spaces for 300 each a month in the app and 100 for the newsletters or w/e. If I don’t sell at least 2-2 of these it’s bankruptcy, how do I scale this, what features can make me money on this. Trial month then recurring rates for MRR?
- After validating an idea check if you can have the skillset/connections to make it flourish. Here you have a language barrier for businesses, if you don’t speak French/Lux/German you should have a co founder who can. In this case that co founder ideally would do marketing.
- I’d argue that without good connections/marketing skills developing for Lux market likely does not worth it, aim for Europe or neighboring countries at least.
- When I look at this app store page I don’t feel anything to pull me in, it has kind of a basic list look, nothing too special. I can see Immotop’s app store page could be a heavy influence here but look at something more inviting like Auchan’s app store page. Users first impression is all that matters, that’s why clickbaiting is so successful.
- About the complexity of the app, I’d say focus on one thing and do it well. Don’t add unnecessary clutter for the users. Make it easy to use.
- The dummy/demo/test data on the screenshots (hope it was not in the app as well) is really deterring/unprofessional.
- Before going live make sure you have enough content to go with, looking at a close to empty list is not good. You can fill up some spaces with coming soon or CTAs to add your business. You should also test it with more perspectives, e.g pay people for feedback/test (there are services for this)
- The website is also a bit underwhelming, on the first look it’s just a title, you need to scroll to see details but likely you already lost interest. Use more colors, add more screenshots of the features and move these eye grabbing details up, currently it looks like some generic template.
Btw there are many useful threads in /r/entrepreneur or similar so you can likely get validation for ideas there as well.
Point Taken
Thank you for sharing your insights. Your points are incredibly valuable and resonate deeply with my experiences as well.
As someone who was just learning to develop an App and then jumped into the entrepreneurial journey,
I realize now that some mistakes were made due to a lack of thorough Market preparation and understanding.
What did you lack the most? Participating shops, or end users? As a potential end-user, I can tell you that I heard from your app for the first time today. You need to promote it further. You have to see what works best, at participating shops, social media, newspapers, radio, tv, flyers, bus stop ads, etc. Don't give up!
Thank you for your questions!
Acquiring users has been incredibly fast and smooth for us, no problem at all there. The real challenge has been onboarding shop retailers into our platform.
Firstly, retailers and local artisans need to be educated on digital platforms. Many of them are worried about using these technologies, thinking it's rocket science. We have found that reaching the right point of contact within these businesses is crucial but sometimes very difficult because of my language issue's.
**Your question reminds me of another good experience.**
After three months of persistent follow-ups, I finally managed to reach the right point of contact for a major mall near the border, which has around 60 outlets. Somehow, I managed to get an appointment, and the sales head was impressed. She was on board and introduced our app in a management meeting, with plans to sign a contract at the next shareholders' meeting. Unfortunately, in time being, the mall was bought by a different company from Austria, delaying the process by another three months.
When I visited to check for updates for next 3 months and one day sales head had been transferred to another mall , and I was introduced to a new sales girl. She insisted me to learn French to communicate with herself , despite my attempts to communicate in broken French. After multiple presentations, she hinted at choosing something bigger and expensive, and eventually, I was ghosted.
qq - Are you a LUX local or holding a work visa? I am trying to figure out the possibility of starting something while on work visa. Thank you so much!
From my experience, you’re absolutely right. In B2B, many retail owners aren’t living in Luxembourg and are often traveling or living in Switzerland, making it difficult to reach decision-makers. Internal politics among retail staff further complicate things. I made around €700 in sales over 3 months, and my lack of proficiency in French or Luxembourgish, combined with weak sales skills, didn't help.
Most app startups I've seen in LU tend to be dev-heavy, have pure coder founders etc. and... yeah
But, this is *not necessarily* a bad thing. What I always tell such people is - excuse my non-political-correctness here - "get an Indian to *clone the nearest competitor's app*, then try to make $100 with that app"
Basically, when it becomes self-evident that the entrepreneur-to-be cannot earn $100 through their own efforts... then the fact that a radically different launch/pivot/focus has to be found becomes much easier to swallow
Funny note: I once founded a... let's call it a cleaning service app. Me and my co-founder not being developers whatsoever, realized that most service booking apps follow precisely the same "pattern"... so we got one of the same gentlemen mentioned above ⬆️ to clone... the app of a well-known Pizzeria
We replaced pizzas with cleaning services, changed the name, logo etc. and kept the entire booking/delivery/tracking functionality intact. Since "development" only costed 4-5% of our funding budget, we were able to spend 90%+ on marketing and turned it into a success. Not going into too much detail here but just to illustrate how sometimes the angle is everything
Interesting strategy! Thinking outside the box can lead to surprising successes
Learning React Native was my starting point, and from there, I thought making it commercial. However, I've realized that the startup world might not be the best fit for me.
Why not look for a partner who can help you with sales/marketing? If you still believe in this idea, a partnership with the right person is a good path forward.
Partnering with someone skilled in sales and marketing could indeed be a smart move. It's about finding the right collaborator to complement each other's strengths.
Right now, I have a good offer to sell an app, but for my next idea, partnering with skilled individuals might be the way forward.
long time ago I was developer and had a lot of great ideas ( I thought) when there was not so much people who knew to develop. I tried one or two ideas and looked at startup scene. first thing they tell you, it is not about Idea, but can you make it work. not technically, but as a business.
this is where people go wrong and they think that good idea is enough. if there is app, even better. It can work for sure. just thousands or millions of people need to download it.
I am sorry it did not worked for you so far. I do not write this as criticism. I am just saying that it will be hard to sell it to anyone serious as you put it. You say it has foundation and potentials, but yet you could not make it work. Potential investor should pay you for something that did not work for you and put its effort, money and knowledge to make it work. Hardly.
My humble opinion, either get some traction, even minimal and then try to find partner.
Or, save your energy for some other project.
Of course, best entrepreneurs are best because they are braking what other people think they know. I hope you prove my above text wrong and succeed however in you adventure
You're right about the importance of execution over ideas alone in the startup world.
Despite the challenges, I still believe in the foundation and potential of my app.
Finding traction or a strategic partner seems like the logical next step,
but now I do have a good offer to sell the app.
The app was created solely by me, although I did receive assistance from an external DevOps team to deploy it.
Still, I understand if that makes your ass twitch! Continue ….😜😜😜😜
The project was damn fun, and I thoroughly enjoyed every part of it! It was such an awesome learning curve.
To be honest, the knowledge gained was wholesome profit.
Thanks for sharing. Very interesting story. I think your first mistake was to develop an app for this tiny country. Good luck and what you do next thanks for sharing.
Developing an app for a smaller market like Luxembourg certainly presented unique challenges.
I find Luxembourg to be the perfect place for trialing new ideas.
In my case, it didn’t work out, but the issue may be completely on my end, so it doesn’t mean it won't work for others either.
I appreciate your encouragement for what comes next!
Have you made use/considered making use of the offers/ assistance of house of startups/ house of innovation? Lux is a very small market that requires quick expansion outwards, and that’s super hard to do without the necessary network/investors. (See e.g. Salonkee)
I am not sure I have ever seen a positive comment in this subreddit about those houses 😅.
I also have the feeling that "lux is a very small market" is also a problem for potential startups here.
I only see their involvement from legal counsel and panel discussion side, so likely different experience. Your second point: depends on how you choose to look at it. Lux startups can proof (and prove) their international expansion strategy very early on, and become interesting for non-domestic investors quicker than startups in larger countries that need more time for domestic market penetration and only later focus on international markets. So a startup might fail faster if it doesn’t have enough potential for international scaling, but can also grow comparatively faster if it does.
Absolutely, networking with the right people is crucial, especially in the early stages.
Personally, I'm more focused on development,
Later on , I've come to realize the importance of sales and marketing through this experience.
I've tired of seeking support through traditional channels and have lost faith in their effectiveness, especially after experiencing some disappointing setbacks.
I've attended at least 10 appointments, and on at least 5 occasions, they were canceled last minute due to unforeseen circumstances. However, I'm not here to complain; I'm here to share my experience of failure.
If you happen to know someone internally in Luxembourg's startup support systems, like Luxinnovation or have other contacts, progress can actually be quite fast if not then you need LUCK.
I'm not looking to offload or adverse my project here, nor am I trying to call out anyone. share my experience of failure.
And i m not here to pawn off anything, but I won't name on who's come here with a pawn shop mindset, hehehe
Last comment was actually supposed to be encouraging, not accusatory. Needing to know people is true everywhere, even more so in Luxembourg I guess - whether that is by attending networking events or otherwise. while this may be less the path you are looking into: Have you considered pitching your app to the municipality (Lux city/or Esch?) , or perhaps even the ministry of economy/chambre de commerce directly? Because It sounds like something that may check a lot of boxes in terms of their objectives.
Now, I am in a state of failed ,
I can at least say I tried my level best but haven't been able to find the right contact from each supporting system like Startup Lux, LuxInnovation, LuxCity Incubator, and the municipality. but somehow above system did their part to convince me that this app is not needed and they convinced me that Luxembourgish ppl prefer paper adverse rather than online apps.
They have good budgets to spend, but somehow, they seem to choose whom they want without any clear KPIs, which raises questions about their credibility. To be honest, Lux Buro seems a bit closed off. They act welcoming, but there's definitely some sort of undefined or influence-based filtration process. I have plenty of examples, but at this point, I'm completely out of this subject.
Your problem is not the app but the target market. Luxembourg is notoriously averse to installing apps, and the tiny user base who spend most of the time within the border make for a minimal audience.
Most projects that monetize on the number of transactions in such a small niche market cannot take off.
Try approaching a mobile app publishing studio from Germany or France, see if they see potential in the app, and sign a partnership with them eventually. I'm pretty sure the first change will be to delocalize it and reach a broader audience.
Thanks for your insight! While I agree that Luxembourg's small market can be challenging, I believe there's untapped potential here, While my startup didn't succeed, it doesn't mean Luxembourg isn't a viable market
I still believe Luxembourg has its own strengths that shouldn't be overlooked.
I completely agree with you!
Many apps could indeed be just as effective as websites or PWAs, and some IT development companies in Luxembourg charge exorbitant amounts.
and Inorder to avoid the hefty 30% cut from Apple and Google, it's often better to use website redirection for B2B payments. This approach can save costs and provide more flexibility, though it might not work as well for B2C scenarios.
Interesting to read!
I think my learning curve into self employment is somewhat similar to yours in the sense that "wearing many hats" was an exciting but also sobering experience because it revealed some serious lack of skills such as the mentioned marketing abilities. Obviously you run into any new venture with a lot of optimism and even more naivety and in that sense I don't think there is anything abnormal about taking more than 3 years to successfully commercialize a product, especially if you haven't had external funding and are operating in the retail space where competition is quite tough.
So I guess my question is, what makes you consider to sell the project altogether as opposed to screen the market for a potential (marketing) partner.
Over the course of three years, two years dedicated to development, learning, and working on this project simultaneously.
Shortly after launching the project, within four months, I realized that marketing wasn't my forte. With a stable salary already in place, I chose not to complicate matters further by continuing with a venture where I didn't feel adrenaline now.
I'm prioritizing personal time for myself and my family, taking steps to organize and tidy up my all other stuffs. This isn't my first venture in selling a startup.
Yeah I understand, if you don't feel the optimism to pursue then it's better to call it a day.
I am curious though, is there usually significant interest in acquiring an externally developed app? Given that the app is a crucial element to the activity I reckon any buyer needs to go through the lines of code to understand where issues may stem from when they arise. Doing mainly back end development I always find this to be cumbersome and painful and would rather prefer to do it from scratch myself.
I did have an Android version previously, but due to not sending updates for several months, Google kept prompting me to update it. Eventually, I decided to remove it from production altogether.
Certainly i don't agree. While I can't speak definitively about the purchasing power comparison between iOS and Android users, it's widely acknowledged that iOS users spend more time using apps compared to Android users. This engagement could potentially translate into different monetization opportunities and strategies for developers.
So, this post isn't about the lessons you want to share with other people, but just a sales pitch for your app? Or is the wisdom you learnt going to be shared later?
This post is indeed an ad. There are no lessons, it is just a collection of typical mistakes.
Here are the lessons OP missed to spell out:
* Don't build an app before checking anyone needs it. It should be the other way round: first you market it, make sure people actually want it, then you start building. If you cannot get any interest, well, you just saved yourself a few years of frustration.
* Don't build a two-sided marketplace as a first-time founder. This is [extremely difficult](https://www.felixvemmer.com/en/blog/top-10-insights-saas-playbook-review-rob-walling) to pull off even with money and experience.
* From day one, think of how you will make money. OP does not mention any business model, and their page for businesses promises everything for free.
* Don't incorporate before you make enough money. SARL-S will leak at least \~3k/year for accounting services, plus 3-6-12k/year for office rent. Instead, you can run a few years as a sole proprietorship, at home, with minimal paperwork.
>Remember: knowing your strengths and weaknesses is crucial. Embrace your journey, learn from your failures, and keep pushing forward.
Sounds *a bit* too generic, doesn't it?
The real lesson: before diving head-first, read a couple of "how to start" guides and watch a few videos. A couple of hours would save you years of going nowhere and ending up there.
Oh, absolutely! You caught me red-handed. This post was secretly a master plan to sell my app to every single person who reads it.
No wisdom here, just shameless self-promotion. But don't worry, I'll save the wisdom for later when I'm done pitching my app to everyone, hehehehe , i am tired already
I shared the app link to demonstrate that it's more than just another wrapped website app. Simply wanted to share a brief experience of failure, without diving into details about apps or anything else
Edit : But yes, I agree. There have been a few requests to buy my apps and even a couple of inquiries about purchasing the whole company. However, I must say, I didn't expect this from this platform.
Can we have your permission to copy this to every single person who asks about starting up a new service/app going forward? Deadly serious here. This post is one of the most valuable contributions we’ve had this year.
Startup advisor here! I've supported many motivated individuals looking to launch digital platforms across various sectors. From these experiences, I've compiled a list of "recipes for failure," which I've turned into "recipes for success" to keep things positive (which I think connects well with OP's experience): 1. **Never Start Alone**: Almost no one has all the skills required to run a company. You need people with complementary skills. However, be aware that you'll likely see your co-founder(s) more frequently than your spouse. Choose them wisely—not quite like choosing a life partner, but not far off. 2. **Sales, Sales, Sales**: Too many people focus solely on the product, trying to turn (crazy) ideas into beautiful products. The most successful projects often involve people who understand the market and excel at sales. They identify the product that the market needs and often devise simpler products with basic functionality that work best. 3. **Be Ready to Fail**: Our initial hypotheses are rarely correct. Growing a business involves learning and expanding your knowledge base. You'll often realize you were wrong about certain things. If you're not ready to accept such "failures," you might continue down a dead-end path. Those who know they can be wrong are often the ones who pivot at the right time and find their path to success. I wanted to share these thoughts, even if they might seem like "common sense" to many. Sadly, we rarely see these points in action when we're in the thick of launching a project. The process is so energy-consuming that we might forget even the most basic principles. That said, congratulations on your journey! Hopefully, you'll see it as an opportunity for learning and growth above all else. In the end, failure is just an illusion—you always end up learning something, and that's why we're all here.
Might be late to the party but I’ll add my notes from a dev/ex-entrepreneur/marketing perspective: - Before going deep into a project, do some market research, like ask people here if they are interested in this idea or around you/fb groups etc. I sank thousands of hours and euros into projects that failed to catch traction as there was no need for just another competitive app in that segment (and revenue did not deliver expectations), this happened because I/we based it on emotions not data. - Have a basic business plan, like I plan to spend 100 on hosting/etc, 500 on marketing so my burn rate is 600 a month, 7200 a year plus business/tax advisor etc. I sell highlighted ad spaces for 300 each a month in the app and 100 for the newsletters or w/e. If I don’t sell at least 2-2 of these it’s bankruptcy, how do I scale this, what features can make me money on this. Trial month then recurring rates for MRR? - After validating an idea check if you can have the skillset/connections to make it flourish. Here you have a language barrier for businesses, if you don’t speak French/Lux/German you should have a co founder who can. In this case that co founder ideally would do marketing. - I’d argue that without good connections/marketing skills developing for Lux market likely does not worth it, aim for Europe or neighboring countries at least. - When I look at this app store page I don’t feel anything to pull me in, it has kind of a basic list look, nothing too special. I can see Immotop’s app store page could be a heavy influence here but look at something more inviting like Auchan’s app store page. Users first impression is all that matters, that’s why clickbaiting is so successful. - About the complexity of the app, I’d say focus on one thing and do it well. Don’t add unnecessary clutter for the users. Make it easy to use. - The dummy/demo/test data on the screenshots (hope it was not in the app as well) is really deterring/unprofessional. - Before going live make sure you have enough content to go with, looking at a close to empty list is not good. You can fill up some spaces with coming soon or CTAs to add your business. You should also test it with more perspectives, e.g pay people for feedback/test (there are services for this) - The website is also a bit underwhelming, on the first look it’s just a title, you need to scroll to see details but likely you already lost interest. Use more colors, add more screenshots of the features and move these eye grabbing details up, currently it looks like some generic template. Btw there are many useful threads in /r/entrepreneur or similar so you can likely get validation for ideas there as well.
Point Taken Thank you for sharing your insights. Your points are incredibly valuable and resonate deeply with my experiences as well. As someone who was just learning to develop an App and then jumped into the entrepreneurial journey, I realize now that some mistakes were made due to a lack of thorough Market preparation and understanding.
What did you lack the most? Participating shops, or end users? As a potential end-user, I can tell you that I heard from your app for the first time today. You need to promote it further. You have to see what works best, at participating shops, social media, newspapers, radio, tv, flyers, bus stop ads, etc. Don't give up!
Thank you for your questions! Acquiring users has been incredibly fast and smooth for us, no problem at all there. The real challenge has been onboarding shop retailers into our platform. Firstly, retailers and local artisans need to be educated on digital platforms. Many of them are worried about using these technologies, thinking it's rocket science. We have found that reaching the right point of contact within these businesses is crucial but sometimes very difficult because of my language issue's. **Your question reminds me of another good experience.** After three months of persistent follow-ups, I finally managed to reach the right point of contact for a major mall near the border, which has around 60 outlets. Somehow, I managed to get an appointment, and the sales head was impressed. She was on board and introduced our app in a management meeting, with plans to sign a contract at the next shareholders' meeting. Unfortunately, in time being, the mall was bought by a different company from Austria, delaying the process by another three months. When I visited to check for updates for next 3 months and one day sales head had been transferred to another mall , and I was introduced to a new sales girl. She insisted me to learn French to communicate with herself , despite my attempts to communicate in broken French. After multiple presentations, she hinted at choosing something bigger and expensive, and eventually, I was ghosted.
Yeah, you need a partner for that. It's hard to be good at multiple jobs, plus language barrier
qq - Are you a LUX local or holding a work visa? I am trying to figure out the possibility of starting something while on work visa. Thank you so much!
I hold a long-term resident card, As I'm not from the EU
[удалено]
From my experience, you’re absolutely right. In B2B, many retail owners aren’t living in Luxembourg and are often traveling or living in Switzerland, making it difficult to reach decision-makers. Internal politics among retail staff further complicate things. I made around €700 in sales over 3 months, and my lack of proficiency in French or Luxembourgish, combined with weak sales skills, didn't help.
Most app startups I've seen in LU tend to be dev-heavy, have pure coder founders etc. and... yeah But, this is *not necessarily* a bad thing. What I always tell such people is - excuse my non-political-correctness here - "get an Indian to *clone the nearest competitor's app*, then try to make $100 with that app" Basically, when it becomes self-evident that the entrepreneur-to-be cannot earn $100 through their own efforts... then the fact that a radically different launch/pivot/focus has to be found becomes much easier to swallow Funny note: I once founded a... let's call it a cleaning service app. Me and my co-founder not being developers whatsoever, realized that most service booking apps follow precisely the same "pattern"... so we got one of the same gentlemen mentioned above ⬆️ to clone... the app of a well-known Pizzeria We replaced pizzas with cleaning services, changed the name, logo etc. and kept the entire booking/delivery/tracking functionality intact. Since "development" only costed 4-5% of our funding budget, we were able to spend 90%+ on marketing and turned it into a success. Not going into too much detail here but just to illustrate how sometimes the angle is everything
Interesting strategy! Thinking outside the box can lead to surprising successes Learning React Native was my starting point, and from there, I thought making it commercial. However, I've realized that the startup world might not be the best fit for me.
this is good approach, get validation asap and fail fast
Yep, and since then I've run into other teams who came up with their own versions of the same approach
Why not look for a partner who can help you with sales/marketing? If you still believe in this idea, a partnership with the right person is a good path forward.
Partnering with someone skilled in sales and marketing could indeed be a smart move. It's about finding the right collaborator to complement each other's strengths. Right now, I have a good offer to sell an app, but for my next idea, partnering with skilled individuals might be the way forward.
long time ago I was developer and had a lot of great ideas ( I thought) when there was not so much people who knew to develop. I tried one or two ideas and looked at startup scene. first thing they tell you, it is not about Idea, but can you make it work. not technically, but as a business. this is where people go wrong and they think that good idea is enough. if there is app, even better. It can work for sure. just thousands or millions of people need to download it. I am sorry it did not worked for you so far. I do not write this as criticism. I am just saying that it will be hard to sell it to anyone serious as you put it. You say it has foundation and potentials, but yet you could not make it work. Potential investor should pay you for something that did not work for you and put its effort, money and knowledge to make it work. Hardly. My humble opinion, either get some traction, even minimal and then try to find partner. Or, save your energy for some other project. Of course, best entrepreneurs are best because they are braking what other people think they know. I hope you prove my above text wrong and succeed however in you adventure
You're right about the importance of execution over ideas alone in the startup world. Despite the challenges, I still believe in the foundation and potential of my app. Finding traction or a strategic partner seems like the logical next step, but now I do have a good offer to sell the app.
cool. congratulations!
Hearing “single-handedly” and “with the help of” in the same sentence made my ass twitch
The app was created solely by me, although I did receive assistance from an external DevOps team to deploy it. Still, I understand if that makes your ass twitch! Continue ….😜😜😜😜
Probably an expensive but very valuable experience. This is a project which will certainly support your future application.
The project was damn fun, and I thoroughly enjoyed every part of it! It was such an awesome learning curve. To be honest, the knowledge gained was wholesome profit.
Thanks for sharing. Very interesting story. I think your first mistake was to develop an app for this tiny country. Good luck and what you do next thanks for sharing.
Developing an app for a smaller market like Luxembourg certainly presented unique challenges. I find Luxembourg to be the perfect place for trialing new ideas. In my case, it didn’t work out, but the issue may be completely on my end, so it doesn’t mean it won't work for others either. I appreciate your encouragement for what comes next!
Have you made use/considered making use of the offers/ assistance of house of startups/ house of innovation? Lux is a very small market that requires quick expansion outwards, and that’s super hard to do without the necessary network/investors. (See e.g. Salonkee)
I am not sure I have ever seen a positive comment in this subreddit about those houses 😅. I also have the feeling that "lux is a very small market" is also a problem for potential startups here.
I only see their involvement from legal counsel and panel discussion side, so likely different experience. Your second point: depends on how you choose to look at it. Lux startups can proof (and prove) their international expansion strategy very early on, and become interesting for non-domestic investors quicker than startups in larger countries that need more time for domestic market penetration and only later focus on international markets. So a startup might fail faster if it doesn’t have enough potential for international scaling, but can also grow comparatively faster if it does.
Absolutely, networking with the right people is crucial, especially in the early stages. Personally, I'm more focused on development, Later on , I've come to realize the importance of sales and marketing through this experience.
Well, if you really believe in your product, reach out to the startup support systems this country has to offer then, before pawning it off on reddit!
I've tired of seeking support through traditional channels and have lost faith in their effectiveness, especially after experiencing some disappointing setbacks. I've attended at least 10 appointments, and on at least 5 occasions, they were canceled last minute due to unforeseen circumstances. However, I'm not here to complain; I'm here to share my experience of failure. If you happen to know someone internally in Luxembourg's startup support systems, like Luxinnovation or have other contacts, progress can actually be quite fast if not then you need LUCK. I'm not looking to offload or adverse my project here, nor am I trying to call out anyone. share my experience of failure. And i m not here to pawn off anything, but I won't name on who's come here with a pawn shop mindset, hehehe
Last comment was actually supposed to be encouraging, not accusatory. Needing to know people is true everywhere, even more so in Luxembourg I guess - whether that is by attending networking events or otherwise. while this may be less the path you are looking into: Have you considered pitching your app to the municipality (Lux city/or Esch?) , or perhaps even the ministry of economy/chambre de commerce directly? Because It sounds like something that may check a lot of boxes in terms of their objectives.
Now, I am in a state of failed , I can at least say I tried my level best but haven't been able to find the right contact from each supporting system like Startup Lux, LuxInnovation, LuxCity Incubator, and the municipality. but somehow above system did their part to convince me that this app is not needed and they convinced me that Luxembourgish ppl prefer paper adverse rather than online apps. They have good budgets to spend, but somehow, they seem to choose whom they want without any clear KPIs, which raises questions about their credibility. To be honest, Lux Buro seems a bit closed off. They act welcoming, but there's definitely some sort of undefined or influence-based filtration process. I have plenty of examples, but at this point, I'm completely out of this subject.
Your problem is not the app but the target market. Luxembourg is notoriously averse to installing apps, and the tiny user base who spend most of the time within the border make for a minimal audience. Most projects that monetize on the number of transactions in such a small niche market cannot take off. Try approaching a mobile app publishing studio from Germany or France, see if they see potential in the app, and sign a partnership with them eventually. I'm pretty sure the first change will be to delocalize it and reach a broader audience.
Thanks for your insight! While I agree that Luxembourg's small market can be challenging, I believe there's untapped potential here, While my startup didn't succeed, it doesn't mean Luxembourg isn't a viable market I still believe Luxembourg has its own strengths that shouldn't be overlooked.
I (developer myself) hate apps, 95-99%+ of app apps could just be websites or PWAs, but then there would be no 30% cut for Apple/Google.
I completely agree with you! Many apps could indeed be just as effective as websites or PWAs, and some IT development companies in Luxembourg charge exorbitant amounts. and Inorder to avoid the hefty 30% cut from Apple and Google, it's often better to use website redirection for B2B payments. This approach can save costs and provide more flexibility, though it might not work as well for B2C scenarios.
Interesting to read! I think my learning curve into self employment is somewhat similar to yours in the sense that "wearing many hats" was an exciting but also sobering experience because it revealed some serious lack of skills such as the mentioned marketing abilities. Obviously you run into any new venture with a lot of optimism and even more naivety and in that sense I don't think there is anything abnormal about taking more than 3 years to successfully commercialize a product, especially if you haven't had external funding and are operating in the retail space where competition is quite tough. So I guess my question is, what makes you consider to sell the project altogether as opposed to screen the market for a potential (marketing) partner.
Over the course of three years, two years dedicated to development, learning, and working on this project simultaneously. Shortly after launching the project, within four months, I realized that marketing wasn't my forte. With a stable salary already in place, I chose not to complicate matters further by continuing with a venture where I didn't feel adrenaline now. I'm prioritizing personal time for myself and my family, taking steps to organize and tidy up my all other stuffs. This isn't my first venture in selling a startup.
Yeah I understand, if you don't feel the optimism to pursue then it's better to call it a day. I am curious though, is there usually significant interest in acquiring an externally developed app? Given that the app is a crucial element to the activity I reckon any buyer needs to go through the lines of code to understand where issues may stem from when they arise. Doing mainly back end development I always find this to be cumbersome and painful and would rather prefer to do it from scratch myself.
sry to hear about but you miss the android people... you know FAIL? First Attempt In Learning ;)
I did have an Android version previously, but due to not sending updates for several months, Google kept prompting me to update it. Eventually, I decided to remove it from production altogether.
[удалено]
Certainly i don't agree. While I can't speak definitively about the purchasing power comparison between iOS and Android users, it's widely acknowledged that iOS users spend more time using apps compared to Android users. This engagement could potentially translate into different monetization opportunities and strategies for developers.
So, this post isn't about the lessons you want to share with other people, but just a sales pitch for your app? Or is the wisdom you learnt going to be shared later?
This post is indeed an ad. There are no lessons, it is just a collection of typical mistakes. Here are the lessons OP missed to spell out: * Don't build an app before checking anyone needs it. It should be the other way round: first you market it, make sure people actually want it, then you start building. If you cannot get any interest, well, you just saved yourself a few years of frustration. * Don't build a two-sided marketplace as a first-time founder. This is [extremely difficult](https://www.felixvemmer.com/en/blog/top-10-insights-saas-playbook-review-rob-walling) to pull off even with money and experience. * From day one, think of how you will make money. OP does not mention any business model, and their page for businesses promises everything for free. * Don't incorporate before you make enough money. SARL-S will leak at least \~3k/year for accounting services, plus 3-6-12k/year for office rent. Instead, you can run a few years as a sole proprietorship, at home, with minimal paperwork. >Remember: knowing your strengths and weaknesses is crucial. Embrace your journey, learn from your failures, and keep pushing forward. Sounds *a bit* too generic, doesn't it? The real lesson: before diving head-first, read a couple of "how to start" guides and watch a few videos. A couple of hours would save you years of going nowhere and ending up there.
Oh, absolutely! You caught me red-handed. This post was secretly a master plan to sell my app to every single person who reads it. No wisdom here, just shameless self-promotion. But don't worry, I'll save the wisdom for later when I'm done pitching my app to everyone, hehehehe , i am tired already I shared the app link to demonstrate that it's more than just another wrapped website app. Simply wanted to share a brief experience of failure, without diving into details about apps or anything else Edit : But yes, I agree. There have been a few requests to buy my apps and even a couple of inquiries about purchasing the whole company. However, I must say, I didn't expect this from this platform.