As part of SIU's Saluki App Competition currently underway, successful app developer Mike Philip, CEO of
Rovertown.com, engages in some Q&A and offers to help out competitors with
one-on-one meetings.
Mike Philip is the CEO of Rovertown.com, where 1.4 million college students have enrolled and downloaded the app to access to the RoverTown.com Student Discount Program at more than 68 colleges and universities. Mike and his team developed their app over several years while enrolled as students themselves at Southern Illinois University.
Q: RoverTown has come a long way and has overcome a lot of
obstacles. What were a couple of your
biggest challenges early on, and how did you overcome them?
A: When my partners
and I first started Rover we envisioned renting a party limo and driving up and
down the Carbondale strip after the first week of sales. You know, reward our sales employees. The limo will need to have the Rover logo on
it. Should we use magnets or custom
vinyl? Who cares, we will just pay the
limo company to figure that out. After
all, money will be falling out of our pockets after 5 days of sales.
Four years later, I’m pretty sure I haven’t ridden in a limo
once. In fact, the harsh reality,
according to one Harvard Business Professor, is that 95% of all startups fail.
The biggest challenge you will face as a student
entrepreneur is ignorance. Luckily, the
fix is easy. Talk to as many people as
possible. Tell them what you are doing
and ask for advice. Don’t be afraid that
they will steal your idea. People are
busy (and lazy). The benefit of speaking
to people and correcting your ignorance will outweigh the slim chance that
someone might steal your idea. Ideas are nothing without execution.
Q: RoverTown has been very successful in building a strong
following on Facebook and other social media outlets. How important has this been to your business?
A: Social Media is an important tool for building a
following around your business. As our
company has grown from one city (Carbondale) to 68 it has been a challenge to
consolidate our social media into one voice.
My suggestion is to build a strong local following and use that as a
fire for a national roll out.
In your app, build social into the core utility of your
app. For example, rather than “click
here to share with your friends.” Do something like “share with your friends to
reap the benefits of my app.” How you accomplish this is up to you to figure
out.
Q: A lot of aspiring app creators have problems finding
developers/programmers. What advice
would you have for them?
A: Creating the right
team is crucial. You need to have the
right mix of personalities and skills to effectively move your company
forward. A programmer, graphic designer,
and a sales person would be my minimum recommendation.
If you are having trouble finding a partner to fill any of
these 3 positions, learn how to do it yourself.
I have had to teach myself how to do just about every position within
our company. You don’t need to be an
expert, just figure out how to get it done.
Then eventually you will find a specialist to come in and do it really
well (and fix everything you screwed up!).
Don’t waste time thinking “if I only had...”
Q: Once you have your app developed and working, what would
you say are the most important things to consider in order to ensure a
successful rollout?
A: Determine who your users are and where they hang
out. Get out there and tell them all
about it. You don’t need to spend a
bunch of money on advertising. Be
creative.
Q: What is the one thing that you can recommend to any
aspiring entrepreneur?
A: Focus. As your
business grows, ideas and opportunities will start coming your way. You will want to grab them all and run with
them. The right thing to do is to stay
focused and do one thing really well.
Don’t start a new project until you have completely dominated your
current focus.
Thanks to Mike for his app endeavor insight! Mike has offered to arrange one-hour meetings
with individual Saluki App Competition teams to go over their idea, give them
pointers, and serve as their "entrepreneur-in-residence." This is a great opportunity for teams to work
with an existing local business who can show them the ropes. All you have to do is make your submission to
the Saluki App Competition at http://siu.launcht.com - do it now! Deadline March 29, 2013.
Questions about the Saluki App Competition? Contact Amy McMorrow Hunter, techtran@siu.edu, (618) 453-4556.
©2013 SIU Board of Trustees
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