The recent bankruptcy of Builder.ai, a startup once valued at $1.2 billion and backed by Microsoft, is a wake-up call for the tech world. Their promise was huge: an AI named “Natasha” that could build apps automatically. The reality? Hundreds of engineers in India and Ukraine were quietly doing the coding behind the scenes while the company marketed it as full-blown AI automation.

They claimed $220 million in revenue for 2024. Actual number? Around $55 million. That gap isn’t just a miss, it’s a misrepresentation. Eventually, a major creditor seized $37 million from their accounts, and with only $5 million left, Builder.ai had no runway to survive.

It’s unfortunate. But it’s also familiar.

In our own journey at Cubix, we’ve seen this happen multiple times. Teams get caught up in chasing valuations instead of building sustainable tech. Builder.ai isn’t the first startup to overstate its tech and underdeliver and won’t be the last.

Here’s the thing. AI is real. It’s powerful. It’s changing how we work. But it’s not magic. It’s not a replacement for skilled engineers. What we’re seeing work best is when AI supports developers, not pretends to be them.

Right now, AI can automate repetitive parts of the development cycle, help with code suggestions, or even assist in quality assurance. But the architecture, the logic, the creativity, the problem-solving, that’s still very human.

At Cubix, a leading custom AI solutions company, we’re leaning into this balance. Our best engineers use AI tools intelligently, not blindly, to build smarter, faster systems. While AI accelerates the process, the vision, experience, and judgment still come from people. That’s what makes our AI-driven solutions truly effective.

Builder.ai’s failure also highlights something just as important: transparency. Overpromising on your tech might work short-term for PR or funding rounds, but sooner or later, the truth catches up. Today, everything is out in the open. Bad PR, fake revenue, inflated claims don’t stay buried.

They also reportedly engaged in “round-tripping” by trading fake invoices with another company to inflate revenue. Read more on Bloomberg. That move alone shook a lot of investor confidence in the no-code and low-code space.

This should be a learning moment for everyone building tech products today, startups, founders, investors, even clients. Let’s stop selling AI as a silver bullet. Let’s build smarter. Use AI for what it’s good at, and rely on your people to do what only they can.

One of my favorite quotes from Steve Jobs sums this up well:

“Technology is nothing. What’s important is that you have faith in people, that they’re basically good and smart, and if you give them tools, they’ll do wonderful things with them.”

Let’s give our people the right tools including AI and let them build real, valuable software that lasts.

As Salman Lakhani, CEO of Cubix, I want to personally address a serious issue that has come to my attention. Recently, fraudsters have exploited my name and our company’s reputation to orchestrate elaborate scams, seriously impacting individuals and tarnishing the trust we’ve built with you.

In my detailed account on the Cubix blog, I’ve shared specific examples where scammers mimicked our website and concocted fake programs to deceive people. From a bogus referral program that cost an unsuspecting victim significant financial loss to fake communications from what seemed like credible sources, these scammers are cunning and deceptive.

It’s crucial to verify any suspicious communication by directly contacting official sources and being wary of unsolicited requests involving money. I urge everyone to read the comprehensive guide we’ve compiled to protect yourself and your loved ones from these malicious schemes. For more detailed insights and preventive measures, please visit our blog post.

Let’s stand together against fraud. Your vigilance is our top priority.

Read the full article on our blog.

This personal appeal aims to connect directly with readers, encouraging them to be alert and informed about these fraudulent activities.

Would you ever call someone over to your home without first establishing a minimum level of trust?

Like a lot of people, I exercise caution. Hiring people for my business is no different. I treat candidates well, but I am cautious when I take them on as my employees.

Before you let a person in, you must have some idea of their temperament. I always feel the need to trust the individual I hire. I know it’s going to be a gamble, as it’s difficult to predict how your latest hire may turn out. However, I try to make an informed decision.

Over time, I feel I have become better at hiring, especially since I applied Warren Buffett’s rules to decide whether a person is a good fit for my business. To get right to it, Buffett suggests three main areas you should always assess when hiring anyone — integrity, intelligence and energy.

Buffett says — and I believe — you can’t have an individual register high in two of these areas and low in one. So I look for the best results in all three areas. Let’s take a look at what could happen if a candidate lacks in any one of these areas:

* High Energy + High Intelligence — Integrity = Smart and fast with work but could cheat you.

* High Intelligence + Integrity — Energy = Low initiative and low value.

* High Energy + Integrity — Intelligence = Hardworking but unable to solve problems or form visions.

For each component, you need to ask at least one question that allows the applicant to respond.

Integrity

Here’s the recommended approach, and I rarely wander too far from this. That’s because it works for me pretty well.

Ask a question that elicits a response based on moral reasoning. It can give you a good understanding of how the candidate’s mental cogs work. You can cite any situation particularly pertaining to moral reasoning related to your work or your workspace.

Here’s an example:

You ask your candidate how they would react/respond if a fellow employee vandalized company property in their presence. You can ask further questions to help them answer the initial question:

* Would you report such an individual without saying anything to them directly?

* Would you caution/warn them?

* Would you discourage them and not pursue the matter?

* Would you ignore the matter as “none of your business”?

Energy

The answers to this can be intriguing. I find this process most helpful as it reveals credibility.

Try to initiate a discussion about a topic that you would expect a candidate to be passionate about. Make sure this is something within the parameters of the position they have applied for. They should be able to talk about a particular area of their field with ease.

Intelligence

Their ability to dig deeper into the discussion can reflect the willingness to indulge in a practical exercise then and there. That’s what you need in an energetic person. However, don’t delve into things too far, as theoretical responses should tell you enough.

Ask candidates about a time they failed. Probing for the cause of that failure and what they think could have been done differently (based on that experience) to ensure a different result can get the candidate thinking.

The Making Of A Beast

I dig a little deeper sometimes with some mildly penetrating questions. The idea is to see how far the candidate has come after that failure and whether they’ve applied (or can apply) any reasoning in view of that failure. Offering some level of reasoning can point to their intelligence level, and that’s the thing I look forward to.

We are delighted to have an employee who becomes a part of our success, but there is plenty of work before you reach that point. It starts with what I call “feeding the beast.”

Within this process, when you start working on a person with the right ingredients, there is always an element of risk. If it doesn’t work and they let you down in some way, that’s something you have to take on your chest. However, if it does work, it’s an incredible high for you and the person you invest in.

A Suitable Environment To Train And Nurture Your Beast

I am brave about proceeding through a rigorous process that will shape my beast.

Steve Jobs once related a story from his childhood that left quite an impression on him. He talked about an old man in his neighborhood who all the children feared, but Jobs would frequently talk to him. The man once called young Jobs over and showed him this old machine that he filled with a few ordinary stones, some water and some grit powder. The man then proceeded to switch the machine on, and it rattled loudly. He then told Jobs to come back the next day.

The following day, the old man pulled out the stones from the grinder, and to Jobs’ amazement, those crude-looking stones were now beautifully polished ornaments. That was because of the constant process of rigorous grinding against each other over a period.

Analogically, Jobs believed this happens to people in a rigorous work environment. They go through day-to-day scenarios wherein they face challenges, disagree, debate and argue over the details and concepts at work. In the end, the best ideas should win anyway, but the personality formation process at work is crucial.

Personality formation is what I am emphasizing here — employees’ development as people and skilled leaders. That’s why I throw my people challenges that they can think about, brainstorm and have idea clashes over with the ability to come to the best conclusion.

Formidable personalities are often formed through a grinding process, wherein they learn how to tackle every challenging situation to emerge more adept and, hopefully, a real beast in their field.

Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?

Originally published at https://www.forbes.com.

Read our latest article for updated statistics and detailed mobile app costs, as per your required platform, features, and more!

Today app-focused products are a norm for a number of reasons. Application development is not a choice; it’s a necessity for fast-forward businesses who continuously want to be present online for their customers.

More and more businesses are considering to develop professional apps for business escalation. The first question that comes in every mind while considering mobile app development is how much does the app development cost.

Your app cost estimation largely depends on a number of factors including your development team, app’s design, features, platform, functions, complexities, and technologies being used in the development process.

Factors that determine app development cost

Development team

Your app development cost largely depends on the development team you choose. The team sizes may vary as per your app requirements. Based on the proficiency your project demands, you may select from the several options including a freelancer, offshore development team, or an agency like Cubix. Moreover, your app development process will need a basic or extended team, again depends on the project requirements.

The basic team consists of a project manager, a UI/UX designer, at least two programs, and a quality assurance engineer. In case, if a backend infrastructure is required to develop an API, then a backend developer will also be added in the team.

In case of complex application development, you may need an extended team which will include An admin panel designer, 2–4 Android or iOS developers (per platform) backend developer and above mentioned members of the basic team.

Freelancers or in-house developers are relatively affordable and is a good option for the small-scale app, but if you are considering a large-scale business app, then you should consider hiring an app development firm.

App design

The first step in estimating your app’s cost is its design. The design of your app determines the technologies, platform, social media, and other needed technological stack. When it comes to deciding the application design, you must consider your app type.

Typically, there are two broad types of mobile applications simple apps and complex apps, depending on the model you select, your app’s cost will be determined.

Simple apps

Simple apps cost less because it includes less complicated features, one or two functions, no backend infrastructure, involves fewer software libraries and few specific APIs.

Complex apps

The development cost of a complex application is quite high because it uses multiple services and functions. Such applications entail strong backend infrastructure, link other software libraries, services and require continuous updates and added features as the ongoing support. Hence, the more functionality your app provides, the more it will cost to develop.

App features & functionalities

Again, all the associated features and functionalities of your app are the cost defining factors for the development process.

Apart from integrating the general features, your other chosen features will be considered as additional and will be included in the technical specifications of the app.

For example: employing third-party integrations, libraries and frameworks will be vital for improved app functionality and faster navigation.

However, some features can be added later, depending on the application’s requirement. Such features may include geolocation services, payment gateway, social media sharing, and others. These features can be added for some apps but for restaurant and cab booking apps such features are vital.

Similarly, if your app does not contain a huge amount of data, then the back-end development is not an essential feature.

Back-end development is commonly used to exchange data between the mobile application and the database.

Moreover, if you will integrate in-app purchase facility to your app, then the cost of your development will be increased due to the design complexity.

Platform

Selecting your app’s platform requires a lot of analysis. It’s a critical decision that could shift your development cost. An affordable way to run your app on multiple platforms is a hybrid development model.

The hybrid development model is a cost-effective way; in this model, your app’s language is written in the cross-platform language, e.g., HTML 5 or JavaScript. The only snag with a hybrid app is that certain device features, including GPS location services and camera functions, may not work in the app.

On the other hand, Natively written apps can utilize all aspects of the devices and operating systems. For example, an iOS application will be written in Swift (Apple’s programming language). Similarly, native apps for Android devices written in Java.

Keep in mind that releasing native apps across all major mobile operating systems will cost you more because major platforms require different programming languages.

Your development process becomes extremely complicated when your software design requires native functionality, but you only have a budget to release the app on a single platform. Always carefully consider platform options that best suit your target audience.

Complexities

Your App’s complexity is also a significant factor in determining the development cost. Up to this point, you comprehend the specific factor of app development cost, including its platform, design, features, and functions. Now, you need to identify your app’s complexity level.

Maybe your app’s back-end systems will not support your app functionality, you can find it through testing your app feasibility. The test can be done by accessing public data by sourcing APIs.

An app will require a diverse set of requirements depending on its platform and devices. At this point, your development team will figure out if your app functionality is not useful or they may need some more additions that ultimately results in a higher cost.

Development timeframe

The timeframe is an important consideration when it comes to estimating the cost of your app development process. The time limit of your app development varies depending on the app’s complexity, scale, APIs, and other technologies required to power your app.

The development time of your app will directly affect your cost in two scenarios. The first is the specific project deadline. Project deadline ultimately increases your cost because it involves various resources to finish the project on time. The more the resources assigned to your project, the more cost you have to pay.

The second scenario is a longer development timeline. Some apps are protracted; therefore, take time to be completed. Professional developers save time by following the agile approach to development.

Through the quick and efficient approach, developers timely deliver snapshots of the development progress to update client and take feedback.

The quick client communication and feedback help developers to speed up the project that also results in lowering the overall project cost. A number of features and technologies influence app development cost; you have to determine what is best for your budget.

At Cubix, we have the vision to extend your business experience with apps that fit in your budget. If you are looking to start your app development process, then let’s talk to us.

Salman Lakhani is the Founder & CEO of Cubix, Inc. He has over 19 years of experience in software development, creative and strategic operations.

If you want to read more about me, kindly visit my Linkedin page.

If you enjoyed this article, feel free to hit that applaud button below 👏🏻 to help others find it!

I am Salman Lakhani, the Founder and CEO of Cubix. have been hiring people for over two decades now. I can confidently say that I have hired more than 500 people in three different countries and for various positions. There is only one simple rule I follow when selecting candidates. I make sure that I am not the smarter one in the room. It must always be the candidate and not me!

With years and years of experience in the field, I have gained sufficient knowledge and developed different expertise. You would wonder if it’s fair to expect the candidates to be better than me. Well, here’s the catch. My team brings incredible ideas to the table, outshine me every day, and teach me new things. During an interview, I look for confidence, intellect, and the willingness to learn. But above all, I look for people who are better than me at writing code and everything else.

If I am the smarter one in the room, I will dictate, and my team would follow. If I am the dumb one, my team will show me how it is done better, and their creative juices will flow like a river.

Hiring the right people in your company is the secret to success. I no longer write code or work on designs. I have hired top-notch resources to do that for me, and they make me proud every day. But hiring such people who add infinite value to the company is the real challenge. I learned over time that hiring people who met my expectations and had the skills I needed was a recipe for disaster. What I needed in my company were people who surprised me with their talent and made me feel dumb. That’s when my company was going to learn and grow. Bring in people who are better than you so that you can deliver better things to your clients!

I understand that it’s not easy to get comfortable with the idea of hiring people who are better than you. You might feel that they would impose their knowledge and ideas on you and rebel. But in my company, that’s what I am looking for. People who can challenge us, teach us new and better ways to do things, and increase our knowledge. Each of our resources has taught me and their peers things that we didn’t know. Hence, I am in love with my team for the value it brings to my company.

And when you finally find people who are better than you, nurture their talent and skills. These are the real keepers. With an open mind, listen to what your team has to say and remember that they are better than you at their work.

Hiring people who are smarter than you means that the work can be confidently delegated over time. Then focus on the important stuff — growing your business and hiring more A players.

I am going to hire a hundred more people in the times to come, and every time, I will hire someone who has something to teach me. So, do you think you have something to teach me and my team? You are my next hire if you have something exciting to offer to my company!

Let’s connect?

Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.

The last couple of years have been all about mobile apps and smartphone-dependent businesses. Uber is one example that brought a revolution in the business world with the concept of ride-sharing and on-demand delivery. There was no looking back. We’ve witnessed apps for anything and everything, be it ordering food in the middle of the night or getting bills paid. Business apps are quite a success, and nowadays it seems that everyone is planning to automate an otherwise manual business model. But having a fascinating app idea that surprises the audience is not enough; a well-crafted business plan is what adds value to the idea. I have come across several ambitious adults with some mind-blowing ideas but I have rarely met people who know how to go about their idea.

You need a clear business plan, not water vapors.

Dreaming about how the world will love your app is one thing. Knowing your target market inside out, understanding the process of product development, evaluating pricing models and interpreting growth dynamics is another. Some people think they can create a mini version of a business and compete with industry leaders and with budget constraints.

Unrealistic expectations lead to failures and downfalls. Aspiring to be like Google or Facebook is great, but these companies are billion-dollar companies, grown over time with the best talent from across the globe. Most of us have limited budgets and resources — we can’t be Google overnight. Whenever I interact with entrepreneurs with great app ideas but no business plan, I ask them to do some homework before jumping on the bandwagon. This is what I tell them.

Identify everyone involved, from developers to end users.

For starters, think about the app users. Don’t make assumptions regarding your target audience; instead, research, and find out who might be interested in using the app. It is crucial to know whether people are familiar with the business model or if it will be the first time they will hear of such a thing. The business plan, development and marketing are different for users who are first-time users and those who are using an alternative app already. Explicitly write down why the users would use the app, and analyze how comfortable they are with the current solution in the market. Do the potential users prefer credit card payments, direct debit transfers or any other payment method? I want entrepreneurs to be clear about their goals. Some target thousands of users; some target a million. Clear and concise key performance indicators are essential to monitor and improve performance.

At this point, the company’s stakeholders must be identified. Know who will look after the budgets, marketing, sales, app updates, user retention and so on. Identify people who will take care of app testing, updates, changes and other elements. It will help you in understanding the scope and challenges of your app idea and bring you into reality.

Also, make plans according to your budget. It’s OK to have a budget of $10,000, but you shouldn’t expect to produce a customized app like you could for a budget upward of $100,000. Some people want an Uber-like app for $5,000. Illogical plans and expectations will be nothing but demotivating.

Know your product as if you built it yourself.

You should be the mastermind of your app. You must know the app like nobody else. You should know everything that happens on the app.

Your mobile app should not be just another business idea. It should be your brainchild and require all your attention and commitment. I have seen business owners worry about profits and sales, but care deeply about their product. I have come across people who didn’t know of the problems faced by their customers because they never used the app or website. If you don’t use the app like a user, you won’t know whether you are delivering the app experience you think you are. I think it’s a shame when people first hear about problems from the users. I believe you must be the first one pointing the bugs. You must have answers to anything and everything when it comes to your app.

Focus on generating profits from day one.

A great app idea does not mean great revenues. Before you invest your heart, soul and money into your app, evaluate the profit-generating avenues. Will your app earn from advertisements, paid app versions or by selling something? Also, when will you start making profits? Most apps presell but fail to deliver the promised products. Some apps receive half payments and make plans but end up facing cashback and reimbursements.

I suggest building a minimum viable product (MVP) before launching a high-end, full-fledged product. An MVP is a basic version of the app, with just enough features to attract the audience. It helps attract users, gain feedback and improve the app. Also, you get the money to continue with your project. Don’t wait to launch the app in all its glory.

An excellent app idea does not mean an excellent business opportunity. You’ll know it when you follow the abovementioned steps.

Originally published at https://www.forbes.com.

When we think about software or tech outsourcing the most common destinations that come to mind are Colombia, Russia, India, Philippines, China, Mexico and many others. These locations are considered great for outsourcing but over-crowding is not only hurting the quality but also diminishing the value that business are able to realize. As most businesses do not have the multi-million dollars budgets to spend with vendors, so they find themselves working with the lower tier vendors who remain limited in their ability to hire and retain exceptional talent.

As the result of these rising challenges and limitations, multiple alternate offshore locations have emerged who are not just producing great results but also becoming great success stories. One of these locations is Pakistan.

When we tell our clients or prospects about Cubix and its location in Karachi, Pakistan, they are unable to fathom or are curious about how we are able to deliver successful projects continuously leveraging Pakistan as a destination. The overall image conceived by the businesses operating outside Pakistan is not surprising given the negative perception that the media tends to create about Pakistan.

As most of the tech business leaders and entrepreneurs are considered as rational thinkers and when presented with facts, they realize not only the risks are considerably low but outsourcing the business to Pakistan has many advantages. To put it simply, Pakistan is a not only a favorable for tech outsourcing but offers a lot more as compared to other choices available today.

When I was working with different enterprises and entrepreneurs in the US, I witnessed first-hand the problems working with typical outsourcing locations which include inflexibility, rising prices and lack of overall quality improvements. Despite such problems, the working norms of such outsourcing destinations because everyone else is outsourcing to these locations with the notion that other companies can’t be wrong.

The times have changed now. The businesses today are more focused on getting outmost value and are realizing that speed-to-market is of greater importance to their business. Today, it is not about where you are located but whether you can deliver on time, with best quality while staying within the budget. We have different enterprises and businesses are approaching us to understand our strengths operating in Pakistan and how we are leveraging the best minds and human capital to deliver sustainable and continuous value and quality to our clients globally.

Below mentioned are the few facts and figures that highlights why Pakistan is the next tech and software outsourcing destination. The list may come as a surprise to you, but it is one of the major reasons Cubix has been able to offer great services and build substantial client success, building top-of-the-line products for both emerging businesses to the world largest enterprises.

1- Pakistan is world’s sixth most populated country in the globe having 220 million+ citizens, and more than half of its population is below the age of 25.

2- The country is home to more than 20,000 I.T firms, and features 20+ tech incubators.

3- The country is home to almost 10 million English speakers. This is essentially due to the fact that the country was a British colony till 1947.

4- The country is a great source for cheap labor, in fact, it rates even lower than India when it comes to finding top-quality tech workforce at an affordable price.

5- Pakistan is home to the seventh largest city in the world, and great number of students in this beautiful country are preferring a career in I.T.

6- Pakistan has a great plan for top-class I.T parks that have a US$0.5 per square ft /month rental rate.

7- The Government of Pakistan has offered several interesting incentives for the sake of its I.T sector’s development, some of these are:

8- a) Exemption of income tax on I.T exports revenue till June 2021.

9- b) Hundred percent repatriation of profits permitted to I.T firms.

10- c) Hundred percent ownership of equity permitted to the foreign I.T/I.TeS companies doing investment.

11- Contrary to popular beliefs, Pakistan is NOT on the ITAR control (export controlled or embargoed) list of countries.

12- Pakistan’s start-up scene is thriving. Momentum 2018 and 2019 events saw Pakistani startups winning multiple awards There are a number of Start-Up Incubators funded by both private individuals and multinationals (like Google), creating a highly vibrant and innovative ecosystem.

As the times today are rapidly changing, business not only transform through innovation but it is also necessary for them to become efficient. Due to the lack of inflexibility and quality with the traditional outsourcing vendors are forcing businesses to look for other options and is compelling them to partner with “Mode 2” technology partners that are more efficient, productive and agile. As the value equation with “Mode 2” partners is a no-brainer because the opportunity cost of not being able to deliver efficiently, on time while not compromising on quality.

The businesses around the world are recognizing Pakistan as a big tech powerhouse and the next best tech outsourcing destination because of the fact that it is delivering on business demands in terms of quality and value and Pakistan is rapidly becoming the go to option for businesses offshore outsourcing needs.

As an avid reader, I am habitual of reading on various publishing mediums and recently, I read some brilliant thoughts posted by Viqar Islam, Director and CEO of Jaffer Business Systems. Sharing an excerpt from his article here that is:

“It is quite common for me to meet people with 10 years of experience having switched 6 employments and looking for 7th now. Having 5 years and 3–4 jobs. Why would you do this to yourself? You don’t give any chance to yourself to succeed. Before you even get settled into the role, you get frustrated or have an offer which is few thousand bucks better and you quit.”

I vouch for his thoughts and to give my stance a louder voice, I decided to pen down this issue. Let me tell you what I feel about resources who are keen to switch employment more frequently than they change their routes.

The working culture in Pakistan has evolved dramatically during the past few years. People are more focused towards doing a job that they love and they are ready to compromise on the pay scale and other benefits. But, excess of everything is bad and same is the case with this popular term, “Do what you love”.

As the CEO of Cubix, I interview 2 to 3 candidates every week and sometimes the dilemma makes me worried. Every other person has switched 4 to 5 jobs in such a short career span of 5 to 6 years. “Do what you love” is backfiring.

When I inquire why they haven’t been consistent in their career, I enjoy lots of different answers. Some of them aren’t happy with the HR processes of their previous organization, some complain about the office politics but a majority of them see employment hopping as an opportunity to climb up the career ladder fast.

Lemme tell you my beliefs about hiring. When I hire a tier 2 candidate who has an experience of 2 to 3 years, I gage his eagerness, skills, and achievements. However, when it comes to hiring a senior resource with a career span of over 8 to 10 years, I primarily look for his achievements followed by skills and thirst to perform. My bar of expectations is raised way above and I watch for his talk about each workplace he resumed.

Well, here is my verdict. Switching employment abruptly ruins your reputation as a professional, individual and candidate. Don’t you dare do this to yourself. You are narrowing down your chances to succeed in a long-term. By constantly switching your employment, you aren’t giving yourself enough chances to achieve.

Oh, by the way, these job opportunities may look lucrative and shiny for a short-term but trust me, when it comes to proving yourself in front of a recruiter, the questions get painful and you won’t be able to prove your loyalty, work ethic, and value, even if you worth of diamonds.

After making job moves for twice, think for a long week before getting on a new seat. Invoke yourself with tough questions that are, “Do I have full command over my current job role? Did I expand my JD (Job description) to prove myself for a senior position?

Additionally, a black practice that exists in the corporate world is need based hiring. They’ll hire you on a pay grade that you aren’t worth of and after completion of that project, you’ll be out of that organization in a flash. To counter these offers, you must ask yourself whether you deserve the offered amount or not.

Be honest with yourself and you will get a doable answer. Well, this article is an excerpt from my experience and even if you take away a bit of its essence, I will consider my mentoring goal as accomplished. Best of luck to all the candidates applying anywhere. My best wishes to all of you.

Originally published at Linkedin.com on September 6, 2018.

As the founder of Cubix, a digital product development company, I receive lots of queries in my LinkedIn Inmail regarding how to raise funding for an app. The website of Cubix is always flooded with the same question and I always thought of writing a brief guide on this topic.

With apps booming globally, almost every techpreneur has an app idea in his mind but the problem is as always — lack of funds and as you know, ideas are nothing without execution. Securing a hefty amount of funding for your app is a tedious ask but everything can be made easy by following the right process.

Since I have been building apps for more than a decade, let me guide you people on raising funds for your app even if you don’t have a dime to invest.

Brief

Startups operate in numerous shapes and sizes. Venture Capitals, self-financed or bootstrapped can completely fund them. To build a tech startup, you require cash and how much cash you require depends entirely on the sort of application you might want to create. If you are searching for a primary application with insignificant usefulness focusing on one platform (i.e., iOS/iPhone) a basic MVP could cost as meager as 10k.

On the contrary, if you need a mind-boggling mobile app which depends on a back-end API server, keeps running on both the platforms, iOS, and Android and has a front-end web support, you’ll be needing a cheque of 25k to 100k. However again, the absolute cost depends upon the functionality and list of features that you want to include in the app.

Bootstrap and Self-support

Self-funding, also known as bootstrapping enables you to put your investment in yourself; your thought, your business. It is a simple begin, and you can initiate straight away. Numerous extremely fruitful organizations and startups in the tech industry took off with self-funding and made it big.

If you are excited about bootstrapping, you have to remember one major thing that app-preneurs often miss while budgeting. After that your app is up and running, it needs substantial funding for marketing, and you shouldn’t be spending all of your money on its development. App marketing includes Facebook promotions, Google AdWords, app store optimization, etc.

Companions and Family

Another great choice to keep on the Bootstrap process is to pitch your plan to your close aids, allies, companions, and loved ones because after all, who don’t want to become an entrepreneur?. I’d recommend you should pitch your thought professionally as you want a genuine financial specialist you don’t have any acquaintance with.

Moreover, they don’t need to be briefed about the core functionality and technical aspect of your app. You need to ensure them how they’ ll be making money out of your startup and the duration in which they’ll get their cash back.

While this idea seems too easy to be true, working with friends and family can positively affect your relationship with them. While dealing with this situation, I would suggest you keep your hazards on and maneuver things accordingly.

Individual or Business Bank Loan

This is the option where most of the businesses land into. You can get a personal or business loan from the bank, and the good thing is, you’ll be getting the amount you want along with knowing the markup rate. You should experience the standard structures, Q&A’s and you’ll witness banks toss at your idea.

You can illustrate or depict how your application business will profit pushing ahead. You’ll be needing a statement, a plan and moreover, an attractive polished proposition of your idea so that you can advance with your loan application.

Private Investors

Is your application thought focused at a particular industry? Why not pitch the plan to some high flyers in a suitable business? You might look for the right individual, and he may finance your app for a % stake in your business.

This idea has certain drawbacks attached to it, and one of them is to convince the individual with a solid pitch, approach and a demonstration of how will your business run. To tell the truth, your business model.

Private investors would need a solid plan that would indicate how their money will be invested, in which areas and funnels attached to it. However, it can offer numerous favorable circumstances, for example, industry learning and associations.

Funding (VC firms)

A Lot of favorite startups picked the course of going to VCs and undoubtedly, they scaled up globally due to their pick. Think Uber, Airbnb, Facebook, LinkedIn. The VC course requires significant investment. You will require a genuinely spontaneous pitch and be prepared to have your thought formed into how the VC firm observes the quickest course to progress and a profit for their interest to invest in you and your thought.

This is your fastest route to easy street, however not every person gets financed here, and even if you bag the investment, there is still no assurance of achievement, but this is an excellent begin if you can get VC at a beginning time that is willing for the ride. This must be uplifting news for you as it’s the first sign of your idea having the potential of making it big globally.

Moreover, don’t think the other way round. If you didn’t make it to a VC initially, you could still get the funding later, and there’s no rocket science in it. If you buy my opinion, the best practice is to fund your startup by yourself first and when it seems like the show has to be taken to the next level, find a VC that will put its belief in you. After all, who knows you might be the next big thing in the industry same as MailChimp or SnapChat.

Outsource it

If you need to build your app immediately and don’t have any room to delay or schedule to figure out how to code it yourself, there is another approach to do that. App engineers are always on the hunt to get hands-on experience of developing unique app ideas. They could be there on the web or at an online platform.

In this case, if you are thinking of how you’ll approach the right app engineer or a team of appropriate app developers, there are heaps of options available. Scan LinkedIn and get an app developer on board by viewing his projects, accomplishments, and achievements. Look for company portfolios and if you can relate with any of them, ping that agency.

Similarly, expand your search by approaching companions for suggestions. If you are another college drop-out in the making, ask a teacher in the software engineering department for a proposal. This approach may also save some cash for you as your idea will get on floors as a case study or degree project just like Facebook happened for Mark Zuckerberg.

Freelancing is another option to opt for and trust me; it has done wonders for people. Elance, People Per Hour, Fiverr, Upwork and various other online platforms are there to help you find the right app developer for your app idea. The authenticity of these platforms is proven, and with the latest IPO of Upwork, these platforms are bound to live up to your expectations.

Whomever you employ, take a brief look at their past work, approach them for precedents of their abilities, and converse with them about your vision by wireframing and see their thoughts for how to make it a reality.

Ensure that you have an agreement or contract in writing before you begin. This may cover all possible and unavoidable situations for example, what may occur in case of a deficient task or what would be the course if they opt out from your idea in the middle. Oh, and don’t forget to get an NDA signed so that your app idea stays safely only with you. Additionally, you can discuss iOS versus Android apps to get insights about the competency and vision of the potential candidate.

Pick a drag and drop app

Another approach to making your application without figuring out how to code is to utilize a program that will compose the code for you. These sorts of “simplified” apps or online portals make it simple for anybody to assemble a fundamental application and are effectively discovered on the web such as MobileRoadie, AppyPie, GoodBarber, etc.

The advantages of going down this course to make your application are that, similarly, as with hiring a consultant, you don’t need to figure out how to code — at the same time, you can be more in charge innovatively. You don’t need to pay another person to compose the code. The management and app building process may cost cash, but that’s okay, this is the part of the app development game.

A major downside of this technique is that you are restricted to what the program offers, which means you may not get precisely the same level of innovative opportunity or capacity to redo your app and apparently, it isn’t a perfect alternative of an app built with customized coding.

Make your app yourself

Obviously, the most effective and genuine approach to ensure your complete control and responsibility of your app is to develop the app by yourself. Also, it might be less demanding than you might suspect to get the right stuff that you have to get it going. You can figure out how to code in a conventional school, on the web, or with a more particular vivid boot camp.

The definite advantage of this course is you will learn abilities that will stay with you forever, and they will keep on serving you in refreshing your application or scaling it up later on. You’ll be solely responsible for your success, vision and cash flow of your app.

However, this course will likely cost you more cash than the choices, yet it will be in a phase of a limited number of installments. You’ll become the captain of your ship, and by this way, you’ll be learning and investing in building your app at the same time.

The Next Move

Now that you are well aware of how to get funding for your app, it is about time that I let you know about the post app development measures that are necessary to keep your app up and running successfully.

App development — A risky business

Launching an app isn’t easy. In fact, it is tedious, exhaustive and will drain your mind in terms of creating spellbinding strategies. Thinking the other way, it takes a hefty amount of dedication, money, right frame of mind and hard work to make an app a success.

While building an app could be the best decision of your life, it can turn sour in no time too, and this is why you need to know the app business inside out before stepping in the soil for the first time. To narrow down the struggle, ask yourself three questions:

1. How much can you wait for your app to become a success?
2. How much money do you have to invest in your post app marketing?
3. If your startup fails miserably, what would you feel?

What value does your app create?

App Stores have over two million apps, and it is quite challenging to get your app discoverable between these millions of apps. Your app should have a USP so that it sells in the presence of numerous other apps. Follow these questions to derive your app’s differentiating point:

1. Does your app offer any unique feature?
2. Is your app a pain-point solver?
3. How does your app stand out among other apps of the same niche?

The plan is

Your app is a product, and the statement should convince you to build a business plan for it. Come up with a plan that starts from the lows and gets to highs of an app.

Marketing your app the right way is the key and to come up with the right strategy, you need to define your post app marketing activities point by point. Think for post app ideas and get them validated by conveying them to your potential customers or prospects.

Hit the trigger

Aligned with your app idea and done with your post app collateral? It’s time to launch your app with all of your tools on board. Be it strategy, product development, pre or post-marketing, etc.

Take your app idea to the next level by making it available for users so that it gets scrutinized and the feedback from the users will give you a clear idea of how can you turn your app into an addictive ingredient of your users live.

Originally published at www.cubix.co on November 8, 2018.

10 Years ago

Rewind my life to 10 years and there I was, thinking about a company that builds digital products. At that time, I just had two jobs on my resume and the rest became history.

Now that I look back, I couldn’t even imagine the struggle I had from writing code all day long to founding a company with 150+ employees. There in between, I had dream, I made heaps of blunders and received a lot of help from different people.

What I learned….

The hardest part for me was to give up all the control I had. I thought everything at the beginning was important. Though, we can’t be good at everything. As I grow older, I realized that it’s important to give up things with our own consent or else, a person won’t excel and people related to him will suffer big time.

Hire C position people around you and get yourself reviewed at 360 degree after every 6 months. Obviously, one cannot correct everything about himself. Focus on fixing 3 to 4 things each year and tell your company and employees about it, it will build immense trust.

With the passage of time, you will realize that your time is either burned in meetings or in progressive discussions but practically, there isn’t any real progress. However, you are working. Your part is to help people by conducting meetings and discussions. Don’t feel like its non-productive. Embrace the mentorship and let it be fun for you.

Find inspiring mentors: Find someone who could become your source of motivation at your lows and keeps your feet on the ground in your highs. Most likely, they might have been a CEO or founder at some point of time or someone from your family members, so they could relate with your mental and emotional state. My wife, my mom and my past bosses were my continuous source of inspiration. But here is a catch — they wont give you a script, they will be there to guide you through your thick and thins.

Your mantra of life: Build a team that can work effortlessly even in your absence. In the long run, practicing this will make you less stressed. You must empower others and whenever you feel like losing it all, ask yourself what motivates you? $$, ego or power?

With power comes responsibility: Trust me, being at the top is lonely and majority of CEOs feel the same. You can’t be authentic and vulnerable as you would like. Find other CEOs and founders who will stick to you for casual dinners and open discussions. With whom you can share your problems and never hesitate from giving or getting a hug during tough times. It makes a lot of difference, trust me.

Take on tough and critical decisions by facing them head to head and never avoid or evade them. Avoiding confrontation slows down the company and work relationships are tend to go grey making your position and focus shaky. However, never attack people, shoot at the problems.

If decisions aren’t coming from you, your pleasant relationship with employees may turn sour and they would even dislike you for not taking the ownership. “I am sorry, I screwed it up” are powerful words that might not fix the issue but sense of guilt often heals the bitter part.

Your job would become 10% talking and 90% listening: Initially, I was bad at practicing this and had to work harder at not poking my nose in people’s affair. After spending half a decade, I found the solution that was to write all the things down during a meeting. It made me more focused, a better listener and more observant of things that are shown to me in the meeting.

With the growth of organization, your intuition about the market and customers will grow at pace. Despite of empowering others, keep them in the circle of accountability. Your decisions should be made by following the facts and proofs rather than considering discussions and opinions. A tip here is, spend time with your employees to learn from them and to know the issues of grassroot level.

As you grow more, finding the truth becomes harder and it would prove to be one of the most important contribution from your side for the company. Dwell the truth before making a decision and make it a part of the company culture. I did this by continuously asking people about the ground reality or actual facts. Everyone is accountable and answerable in Cubix Inc, including myself.

Never let your mood ruin the meeting: Maybe, the meeting would be devastative but keep calm and know that people sitting in front of you might not have the context and may be, they feel stressed or excited to meet you.

Never focus on weaknesses when you can build strengths: It’s always bothered me that CEOs spend efforts in fixing their own weaknesses. I think a more logical approach is to build out strengths and find team members whose strengths complement your own weaknesses.

The verdict

Well, keep improving by working really hard. You can always plan a better future and it’s no use of crying over spilt milk (past). Don’t you ever give up, because when you take hard turns, great decisions, you always get to know about the values and principle you stand for and this makes your struggle worth it.

That’s all for today! If you want to read more about me, kindly visit my Linkedin page.

About Cubix

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Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com on August 9, 2018.