Building a successful new app business is no small feat. It requires a clear understanding of the target market and competitive landscape, a well-defined value proposition, adaptability, the human and financial capital required for implementation, and the capacity to execute the build. Additionally, some would argue that you also need just a hint of luck in hopes that your idea catches on enough to catalyze viral demand.

While there are inherent uncertainties associated with entrepreneurial experimentation, there are tangible things that you can do as an entrepreneur in an attempt to control entrepreneurial outcomes. Specifically when the success of your new venture is contingent on a seamless mobile app launch, it is critical to do all that you can to prevent business failure leading up to and following your mobile app launch. Here are twenty quick tips to help you set your app based venture up for success and mitigate the risks associated with entrepreneurial experimentation.

When ideating:

1. Identify a problem that you are eager to tackle.
2. Once you identify the problem you are setting out to solve, engage in several immersive brainstorming sessions to explore all possible solutions.
3. Narrow down to 2–3 solutions that you feel are most promising, and run them by individuals whom you feel would benefit from the solution.
4. Choose what you believe to be the optimal solution and FOCUS. At this point, do not continue fluctuating back and forth between different ideas. Pursue the sole idea that you feel is most promising and commit to learning everything possible about the market and target consumer.
5. Brainstorm the human capital requirements necessary to bring your idea to life, and compose your founding team accordingly.

When researching:

1. Identify who else has attempted to solve the same problem that you are trying to solve.
2. Figure out which of those competitors have managed to capture significant market share.
3. Out of those market players, determine how your approach differs from other approaches to entrepreneurial experimentation.
4. Identify the profile of your target consumer and keep this at the forefront of your thinking as you move towards your build.
5. Conduct additional consumer research through a combination of individual interviews, a survey, and focus groups to figure out what consumers are looking for. This will help you to figure out which features to prioritize when thinking about what to build into your MVP.

When building:

1. Leverage your research to inform the roadmap of your build.
2. Begin by clearly mocking up the entirety of the user journey.
3. Don’t try to build too many features at once for the purposes of launching your MVP. Prioritize building the most basic set of features tied to your value proposition.
4. Keep the user interface of your app simple. Make it easy for users to move through the digital journey and make the call to action clear.
5. Limit the quantity of text on the app and focus on making all components of the app visually appealing.

When iterating:

1. Prior to launching, make sure that the app that you have developed works on all types of devices.
2. Continue testing your app even following the product launch.
3. Seek customer feedback throughout the product development process and leverage this feedback to inform the next version of the build.
4. Continue improving the quality of your app to keep users engaged and invested in the next stage of the app’s development. Push out updates regularly to improve the user experience, but not so frequently that it interrupts users’ daily interactions on the app.
5. Leverage built-in tracking capabilities within the app and utilize this user interaction data to adjust the user experience and inform new feature development.

Regardless of the stage of venture development that you are currently in, don’t cut corners or skip steps along the way. In doing so, you would only be doing a disservice to yourself and the progression of your venture. From ideation and research to testing and launch, it is important to stay true to your company’s mission while remaining open to iteration based upon customer and market feedback.