Independent app Survival anxiety: Finding a way out or being bought

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Mao Regaling, who has been pioneering, has recently plunged into a new project. But the "new project" seems to be a red sea to outsiders.

As a partner in the information technology company, Mao Regaling is now in charge of a mobile app called "Where is the plug". From the name can be seen, this is a real-time traffic conditions can be queried to help users travel mobile phone app.

"What's the future?" The map can not see the road, it is also worth a separate application? Most people who hear this idea throw a similar question, and regaling himself has been asked many times by a variety of familiar or unfamiliar people.

He usually throws a rhetorical question, the mobile phone system has the ability to check the weather, not so many people with ink weather?

However, this does not answer all the questions. In fact, even if the ink weather so after years of accumulation, with hundreds of millions of users of the application, but also face the next step out of the question.

A period of time ago the industry came out Ali buy ink weather rumors, which reflects the survival of independent app anxiety. In addition to the recent hot mobile phone game has become the mobile internet industry "Gao Shuai", most mobile phone applications, especially the application of tool classes are difficult to cash out.

According to a survey conducted by the media, more than 60% of application developers say they face a big challenge in terms of profitability, while 57% of developers say there are also difficulties in the promotion process. The promotion cost is high, turns to be difficult, this has been long, the massive individual developer survives difficultly.

And now coincides with Tencent, Baidu, Alibaba Rush in the mobile internet to complete the layout, for those who have a certain number of users of the app, to find a giant as a patron is a choice.

However, as an "ideal" entrepreneur, not everyone is willing to be the big money in the bag. Many people are still exploring the next step of the new way, such as having hundreds of millions of users of the United States Mito planning to enter the "Beauty mobile phone" market. Mao Regaling also said "where to plug" Such applications is only their first step, the future of the task will be diverted to the car after service.

For the future road, Ink Weather founder and CEO Tech to reporters, after years of operation, the entire team for their products have a deeper feelings, cohesion of the team's efforts. He still hope that through their own efforts to make the product stronger and bigger.

At the same time Tech also did not rule out the future and the possibility of cooperation between the Giants, "each team's own situation is different, I believe that we will take stock of the decision to adapt to their own development path." ”

The leader's liquidity pressure

Since the advent of Apple's App store in 2008, countless developers and venture capitalists have poured into the gold mine. Subsequently, the development of the Android App Store also brought a bigger stage and more investment to the developers.

However, after so many years of development, most of the applications, especially the application of tools, including application stores, photo tools, contacts, desktop tools and so on. Many applications have gained tens of millions of or even billions of users, becoming an important gateway to the mobile end.

But those who have emerged from the first round of competition are now facing even greater pressure to cash in.

A venture capital senior to the reporter analysis, at present these applications have digested most of the China mobile market outbreak of dividends, the number of users to a very high level, resulting in a huge operation, maintenance cost pressure. "The rate of burning money is getting faster, there is no steady cash income, and it is becoming more difficult to maintain, relying entirely on capital market financing." ”

In addition, from an investment perspective, most of these applications have been merged into a-round, or even B-round financing. "To refinance, but also need to look at income, earnings and other data, can not be used to become the application of the current, it will be difficult to successfully finance." ”

Internal costs and external financing environment, are in the inverted application of cash. So, everyone started a commercial attempt.

In Hangzhou, "Digging wealth" is a typical tool class application. The company, set up in 2009, mainly provides clients for cell phone billing, which helps users record their daily details and can sync to the cloud and PC.

According to the reporter understand, the current digging wealth accumulated more than 20 million users. But the company's personnel and operating costs are rising, and even formed a full-time customer service team. As a result, the desire to dig within their own "hematopoietic capacity" is increasingly urgent.

For example, they took the Google affiliate AD on the Web site, but then stopped for the user experience. In the mobile phone application itself, but also because of the fear of affecting the user experience of the relationship, rarely put ads. Now, "Digging money" is still thinking about other ways.

Ink with hundreds of millions of users The weather has also made many attempts at commercialization. According to the reporter understands, the ink weather main attempt direction is the product characteristic and the brand advertisement unifies. According to Tech, at the end of last year, after cooperation with Adidas, has received a number of brand advertisers cooperation requests.

"The more users grow, the greater the pressure to become cash." "This is an investor's assessment of the current app situation. But for now, most of the change attempts are based on advertising, and for individual developers, mobile internet advertising may allow you to earn enough to sustain. But for the team, the current advertising is not a reliable way out.

Being incorporated or finding your own way out?

Since the days are so difficult, find a giant to be a patron, is not a good way out?

Recently, the industry repeatedly out of So-and-so application by Alibaba, Tencent or Baidu, "the Big Three" acquisition of the news. In the mobile internet era, the Giants need to complete the layout in a number of key areas, the frequent acquisition of rumors also for mobile internet entrepreneurs to bring new directions, of course, for VCs have brought a new hope for the exit.

Wehaijun, a partner with Albert Chan, told reporters: "The giant's approach to the acquisition of app application, the entrepreneurial environment is a major positive news." For the entrepreneur, is the opportunity for further development, for investors, is a good exit opportunity for the Giants themselves, reduce the opportunity cost, provide overtaking opportunities. ”

In fact, as a strong product and resources of the Internet giant, the acquisition of small and medium-sized entrepreneurial team app application, mainly for two aspects: first, to rob the user entrance, the second is to incorporate product team.

"In the negotiations with the Titans, the most important chips for apps are the number of users, followed by the application itself." "There are investors to the reporter analysis: such as weather applications, the general user installed after one, not too will be replaced, and every day to see a one or two times, and photo-type applications, may be used once a few days, belong to the weak entrance tools. The two applications have different inlet stickiness and bargaining power.

The CEO of a mobile field headhunting company introduced to the reporter, the giant acquisition also value team quality. Because such an entrepreneurial team, if outstanding, is likely to assume more important responsibilities in the giant system. In the early years, Zhangxiaolong developed Foxmail was acquired by Tencent, and now he led the development of the heyday of the micro-letter, is a good case.

For app applications, the competitive landscape in the niche sector will change after the giant takeover.

The investors said that the acquisition and not be acquired, will completely distinguish between the players are very close to the competitive strength, if the acquisition of the industry first, the players behind may be squeezed. Because the acquisition of the application can be stable funds and the giant's own resources to support.

But because the industry's first name has a very high premium, the Giants may buy the industry's second and third place, by importing resources and cash support, to prop up the application. "Being bought by giants is not entirely a good thing, and different giants have their own product temperament." Some niche applications are likely to remain independent because they have not been acquired, acquiring a loyal group of users. Said the investor.

So, for those who have accumulated a certain amount of resources for the app, now faces a difficult choice, is the giant incorporation, or find another way out?

Boldly looking for an independent outlet

Ink Weather The team's recent focus has been on a feature called "Time-view weather." The so-called time-view weather, is to allow users to take their city's weather picture to share into the app, other users can also through the time view picture to understand the real weather changes in the city to form a universal real-time weather system.

"The weather function is a new feature that we have been researching for a long time, and the main purpose is to meet the growing needs of the users, but also the community." It is very helpful to increase the user's usage time and the user's data mining. Tech told reporters.

In fact, community is one of the ways in which independent apps, especially tool apps, are going. On the one hand can enhance the user stickiness, on the other hand, call user actively participates in UGC (user produces content), perhaps may discover some new business model.

For example, "Digging money" is also trying to build their own community "rich man sinks", through the user's sharing and communication, the future may be the financial products recommended as a profit direction. Overseas accounting and financial application mint is so, it is learned that mint in the premise of not charging users, relying on the user to recommend a variety of financial products, and to the relevant companies to collect commissions, to obtain a good income.

In the search for a future way forward, the United States Mito more bold approach.

According to the United States Mito CEO Wu Xinhong revealed that they will be combined with years of experience in the field of image beautification launched the first "beauty mobile phone" to high-definition self-portraits + automatic beauty features. From an application into the mobile phone field, in the domestic mobile phone market has been so fierce, there is still a chance?

Wu Xinhong said that the United States and Mito will not compete with the domestic brand price, his fancy is "Red Sea of small blue ocean." The revelation comes from Casio's last year's "self-portraits" camera's red. This camera provides a handy frame design that can be automatically beautified for portrait skin and is popular with female users.

So, based on the characteristics of the United States Mito own user group, Wu Xinhong has to do a flagship of the "Beauty mobile phone" idea. Wu Xinhong said, now do independent app threshold is higher, the team's entrepreneurial, executive power, resources and so have higher requirements.

In his view, the United States Mito mobile phone to other apps do not have much to learn from the significance of each application also according to their own characteristics, to find the next direction.