Make a New Year’s Resolution to Build an App with LaunchThisYear

Kira M. Newman Jan 1, 2013 Tweet

As 2013 begins, LaunchThisYear launches today with resources for app developers looking to build an app in the next 12 months.

“The goal is to break down those barriers to make it seem not so daunting to create a mobile app,” says founder Mikael Cho. “Leveling that playing field and giving that opportunity to more people who want to be innovative … that was the goal behind LaunchThisYear.”

Cho and his team from ooomf, a site to help apps get discovered, had the idea for LaunchThisYear when they realized many of their developers had never made an app before. Here are some of the resources it provides:

Education. LaunchThisYear will help developers with their panoply of tasks, starting with the first: figuring out what problem you’re trying to solve. Developers can also expect to learn how to design an icon, how to pick an app store category, and how to write descriptions. The site plans to focus on specific, actionable lessons; for example, it might instruct you to look up two competing apps and write down their keywords.

And the learning will continue after your app gets published, when the challenge of finding users really hits home. As of March, Apple was receiving almost 4,000 app submissions per day, and standing out among the crowd is no easy task.

Tools. LaunchThisYear will also provide links to helpful tools, like SEO optimizers and landing page creators.

Schedule. While the minimal goal is to, obviously, launch this year, the site will also guide developers in estimating a timeline. Cho says it should take around a month for a prototype, and two to three months for a first version. Once you select a date, LaunchThisYear will hit you with weekly milestones to accomplish.

If you sign up now, yours might just be one of the tens of thousands of apps published in March.

To get early access, use the code “techcocktail.”