By Janina
Thinking about launching your own app in 2025? 📱
I've been working in app development for 3 years now – I launched my own investor-backed product startup and now I help my customers, like other startups and small companies, bring their app ideas to life. So, I've learned a few things about what works (and what doesn't). One of the most important things is choosing the right development partner. If you cannot decide on the right app development team, ask yourself these three questions:
❓Are they offering actual custom development or just dressing up a template? I've seen agencies – some of them crazy expensive – that basically just recycle the same old code. You end up paying a fortune for something that's not really built for your business.
❓Do they truly care to understand your business and your users? I've seen discount providers from overseas try to convince me of their services without understanding the local nuances. While my team at Fishtail Product Lab works internationally as well, we offer local clients a local product lead (for our German clients, that’s me, hello! 👋).
❓Do they have experience and references that are really relevant to you? It’s experience and references from customers just like you. I’ve heard stories (and unfortunately seen some cases myself) of freelancers disappearing mid-project, or not having the right experience to handle the complexities of a production app.
You want your app to be a long-term commitment, not just a one-time coding project. You need a partner who sees it the same way. (Edit: Now that I read it, this last line kinda sounds like dating advice 😁)