There’s a gold rush on, and it doesn’t require a pan. Instead, you’ll need an iPhone, iPad, iPod or Android. Creating smartphone software applications can reap anywhere from a few extra bucks to multi-millions. With a growing number of how-to courses available in New York classrooms and online, it’s become an increasingly popular part-time endeavor. Here are five local individuals who created apps on the side — and their words of advice for jumping into the biz.
Emma Assin, 30, Ditmas Park, Brooklyn
Day Job: Flash developer
Apps: Hello Animals! (free/99 cents for Pro version), I’m Random (free), Am I DRUNK? (free), Notify Me NYC (free), Kegel Kat (free/99 cents for “full-up” version) (all Android except Hello Animals, which is also available for iOS)
The Take: $300
Assin downloaded Android apps for her 3-year-old son to play with, but thought their production values were subpar, even for a preschooler. “So I thought I would make something good for him that I would like to look at, too,” she recalls. Employed at boutique digital marketing agency Rokkan, Assin put to use her programming and computer animation know-how and created Hello Animals!, an adorable virtual flash-card app displaying animals and the sounds they make. Launched in March 2011, it’s been downloaded more than 3,000 times. Several other apps followed, including the prize-winning Notify Me NYC for the MTA’s AppQuest competition, and most recently, Kegel Kat, which assists with, and sends reminders to do, your kegel exercises. She’s pocketed $300 so far, partly from selling ads on the free versions. “It’s so much fun to be able to do this as a sideline,” she says.
Her Advice: “You’ve got to have a basic level of programming knowledge . . . You can have your ideas and art, but it’s not simple to do.”
Edward Highfield, 35, Manhattan
Day Job: senior project manager at TheaterMania.com
App: ZenGo ($1.99, iOS)
The Take: $3,500
An amateur shutterbug and filmmaker, Highfield was looking for a way to contribute to his wife’s wellness company, Majestic Living. He took an intensive hands-on iPhone Boot Camp course (iphonebootcampnyc.com), used online resources and tools, and ultimately combined his love for Zen and photography with ZenGo, an inspirational-quotes app featuring his elegant images. Highfield, who’s made $3,500 since the February 2010 launch, continues to update the app with new photos and quotes. His wife, for one, appreciates the effort. “She went on my computer at some point and took some of the images and made a calendar as a birthday present,” he says. “I now have my own personal ZenGo calendar.”
His Advice: “Look into the new technologies out there that are allowing people like myself to do it from scratch without hiring anybody. A lot of what you need to know you can learn online. Apple has a great set of tutorials to get up and running.”
Liz Oliner, 46, Montclair, NJ
Day Job: illustrator
Apps: Shabbat Blessings ($1.99); A Little Nosh (free) (iOS)
The Take: $650
A mother of three, Oliner noticed her 11-year-old daughter struggling to learn Hebrew for her bat mitzvah. Experienced with the Mac operating system and able to provide her own graphics, she decided to create Shabbat Blessings, a line-by-line learning tool that can be used anywhere for even just a few minutes at a time. Besides receiving weekly sales figures from Apple — she’s made $650 so far — Oliner is able to keep track of where Shabbat Blessings is being downloaded and used, which extends well beyond her daughter’s iPad. “As far away as Japan!” she says. “It’s really cool when you realize your small idea, that you thought was important, someone else across the world finds important and interesting, too.”
Her Advice: “Apps are all about small, one-focus concepts. Nail your concept down really specifically and present it in a clear, graphic manner.”
Orian Livnat, 33, Carroll Gardens
Day Job: mortgage specialist
Apps: Legendary Wars (99 cents), Monster Wars (99 cents) (both iOS)
The Take: $1 million
When his father’s aerospace company went under, Livnat, a mortgage specialist with a marketing degree and a longtime love of video games, set up the despondent 50-something with a Mac and worked on developing a prototype for an epic fantasy-game app he and two friends conceived. Launched in January 2011, Legendary Wars was named MacWorld’s Game App of the Year and, together with follow-up Monster Wars, hit $1 million in sales in April. A family affair, the app features a story co-written by Livnat’s sister, a law librarian, and was tested by his brother, who attends med school. “And my mom is like our biggest champion,” he adds.
His Advice: “Find something you understand and are passionate about, and really research the market before jumping in.”
Geoff Warren-Boulton, 29, Cobble Hill
Day Job: marketing
Apps: Oldify (free), Baldify (99 cents), Fatify (free) (iOS)
The Take: “five figures”
Arriving early on the scene, Warren-Boulton was working for Appular, an iPhone app marketing and publishing company, when he got the itch to create one himself. Launched in December 2011, his trio of interactive, animated facial modification apps — Oldify, Fatify and Baldify — have proven to be smash hits. They’ve racked up almost 7 million downloads, revenue in the five digits (he won’t disclose a specific figure), top rankings on international sales charts (Apple makes it easy to localize an app’s language overseas), and turned his own company, Apptly (http://appt.ly), into a booming full-time career. “Someone applied Fatify to their cat,” he shares, amused. “They made the cat fat, and since you can position the mouth anywhere, it was yawning and burping and things.”
His Advice: “If making an entertainment app, incorporate the user. Something like Talking Tom Cat, which repeats what you say back, or you upload a photo and we apply an effect to it. They’re universally fun.”