Mobile App Business Plan Template [Updated 2024]

/ 256269 0

Mobile App Business Plan

If you have a mobile app startup or want to expand your current mobile app business, you clearly need a business plan.

The following mobile app business plan template and example give you the key elements to include in a winning plan.

You can download the Mobile App business plan template (including a full, customizable financial model) to your computer here.

 

Mobile App Business Plan Example

I. Executive Summary

Business Overview

[Company Name], headquartered at [insert location here] is a creative mobile application that helps you find restaurants, culinary events and other cool foodie gatherings. It’s a unique guide based on recommendations from chefs and sommeliers. Recommendations range from special occasion restaurants to neighborhood dive bars to high-end farmer’s markets.

Products and Services

[Company Name]will offer a wide variety of insider recommendations from the food industry’s most trustworthy chefs, sommeliers, writers, restauranteurs, bartenders and food artisans. Recommendation include:

  • Restaurants
  • Bars
  • Grocery Stores
  • Farmer’s Markets
  • Meat and Seafood Shops
  • Delis
  • Bakeries
  • Coffee
  • Recipes

Customer Focus

[Company Name] will primarily target smartphone savvy people and those who enjoy food & wine. The demographics of these customers are as follows:

  • Aged 18-29
  • Average income of $54,700
  • 28.9% married
  • 39.6% in Mgt./Professional occupations

Management Team

[Company Name]is led by [Founder’s Name] who has been in the mobile application business for 10 years. While [Founder] has never run a mobile application himself, he was previously director of strategic development for mobile app company devoted to food. As such [Founder] has an in-depth knowledge of the business as well as the needs of foodies, including the operations side (e.g., running day-to-day operations) and the business management side (e.g., staffing, marketing, etc.).

Success Factors

[Company Name] is uniquely qualified to succeed for the following reasons:

  • There is currently no food app devoted to foodiess and their specific interests and needs. In addition, we have surveyed publishers of appropriate content and received extremely positive feedback saying that they explicitly want to sell their work through our business when launched.
  • The management team has a track record of success in the mobile applications and food business.
  • The mobile applications business is a proven business and has succeeded throughout the world.
  • Market trends,such as the growth in smartphone users and mobile app downloads prove very favorable to [Company Name]

Financial Highlights

[Company Name is seeking a total funding of $1.25 million to launch its business. The capital will be used for include further app development, marketing collateral, website development and working capital.

Specifically, these funds will be used as follows:

App Development$240,000
Online & Offline Marketing$570,000
Headcount$150,000
Operating Expenses$135,000
Working Capital Cushion$150,000
TOTAL INITIAL FUNDING$1,245,000

Top line projections over the next five years are as follows:

Year 1Year 2Year 3Year 4Year 5
Total Revenues$5,402 $24,436 $90,504 $416,920 $1,370,767
Total Direct Cost($810)($3,665)($13,576)($62,538)($205,615)
Gross profit$4,592 $20,771 $76,928 $354,382 $1,165,152
Gross Profit Margin (%)85%85%85%85%85%
Total Operating Expenses($537,150)($964,983)($1,349,453)($1,606,790)($1,733,423)
EBITDA($532,558)($944,212)($1,272,524)($1,252,408)($568,271)
Depreciation$0$0($5,000)($5,000)($5,000)
Amortization & Impairment$0$0$0$0$0
EBIT($532,558)($944,212)($1,277,524)($1,257,408)($573,271)
Pretax Income($532,558)($944,212)($1,277,524)($1,257,408)($573,271)
Income Tax Expense$0$0$0$0$0
Net Income($532,558)($944,212)($1,277,524)($1,257,408)($573,271)
Net profit (%)-9858%-3864%-1412%-302%-42%

 

II. Company Overview

You can download the Mobile App business plan template (including a full, customizable financial model) to your computer here.

Who is [Company Name]?

[Company Name], headquartered at [insert location here] is a creative mobile application that helps you find restaurants, culinary events and other cool foodie gatherings. It’s a unique guide based on eating, drinking and other recommendations from chefs and sommeliers. Recommendations range from special occasion restaurants to neighborhood dive bars to high-end farmer’s markets.

[Company Name]will offer a wide variety of insider recommendations from the food industry’s most trustworthy chefs, sommeliers, writers, restauranteurs, bartenders and food artisans. Recommendation include:

  • Restaurants
  • Bars
  • Grocery Stores
  • Farmer’s Markets
  • Meat and Seafood Shops
  • Delis
  • Bakeries
  • Coffee

[Company Name]is led by [Founder’s Name] who has been in the mobile application business for 10 years. While [Founder] has never run a mobile application himself, he was previously director of strategic development for mobile app company devoted to food. As such [Founder] has an in-depth knowledge of the business as well as the needs of foodies, including the operations side (e.g., running day-to-day operations) and the business management side (e.g., staffing, marketing, etc.).

It was apparent to [Founder’s Name] that an unserved market need existed for the product. Furthermore, after surveying publishers of content, this theory was proven.

[Company Name]’s History

After surveying publishers of mobile applications, chefs, restauranteurs and sommeliers, [Founder’s Name] incorporated [Company Name] as an S-Corporation on [date of incorporation].

[Founder’s Name] has selected a technology director with project management experience in the development of mobile applications.

Since incorporation, the company has achieved the following milestones:

  • Developed the company’s name, logo and placeholder website located at www…
  • Determined the list of products to be offered
  • Determined equipment and development requirements
  • Identified three potential mobile application development companies and solicited proposals from them
    [Company Name]’s Products

Recommendation include:

  • Restaurants
  • Bars
  • Grocery Stores
  • Farmer’s Markets
  • Meat and Seafood Shops
  • Delis
  • Bakeries
  • Coffee

Below is [Company Name]’s initial product list. As you can see all items are classified under the following main categories:

  1. Recommendations- Includes the following categories: Restaurants, Bars, Grocery Stores, Farmer’s Markets, Meat and Seafood Shops, Delis, Bakeries and Coffee
  1. Industry News – Includes press releases, news articles and announcements
  1. Recipes – includes industry insiders’ top recipes
  1. Original Content – Articles and blog for [Company Name]

Technology Platform

[Company Name] will be built for iPhone and Android. Its modern, flat design has been optimized for iOS7. Other features include:

  • Powerful resting API
  • Security
  • Full social network capabilities
  • Push notifications
  • Real-time chat, sharing map location and voice messaging

 

III. Industry Analysis

[Company Name]directly or indirectly competes with all mobile applications. Direct competition will come from companies offering free and paid mobile applications,similar to [Company Name].

IndustryStatistics& Trends
The following industry size facts and statistics bode well for [Company Name].

  • The smartphone app development industry in the U.S. will reach an estimated $9.7 billion in revenues this year.
  • Industry developers have capitalized on the smartphone’s rise over the last five years and quickly produced gaming, entertainment, productivity, and social apps to support U.S. consumers’ increasingly smartphone-centric lifestyles. This year, an estimated 138.8 billion app downloads worlwide will take place. Today, the Apple App Store (iOS) offers over 1.2 million apps, while Google Play (Android) houses over 1 million.
  • Free downloads are expected to account for 95.5% of total downloads. According to Gartner, in-app purchases are expected to account for 48.2% of total mobile app store revenue Revenue from advertising is also expected to increase significantly.
  • Key drivers include: Number of Mobile Devices, % Services Conducted Online, and E-Commerce Activity.

 

IV.Customer Analysis

You can download the Mobile App business plan template (including a full, customizable financial model) to your computer here.

[Company Name] will primarily target smartphone savvy people in two primary age groups: 18-29 and 30-49.

The largest share of mobile app industry revenue is generated from consumers between 18 and 29. Consumers in this age group tend to be the most technologically savvy, have the highest smartphone penetration rate and have the greatest comfort purchasing online.

Consumers aged 30 to 49 are estimated to represent 45% of the market. A growing segment,more lifestyle, tools and productivity apps are being developed to cater to this market, as it typically has significantly higher income than consumers age 18 to 29.

mobile-app1

 

V.Competitive Analysis

Direct & Indirect Competitors

The following are expected to be the key competitors for [Company Name] due to their current brand and resources:

Tastemade

Tastemade is an app for the food lover who also loves to travel. Through a network of “Tastemakers” in 22 cities around the world, Tastemade offers short, one or two minute videos showcasing the coolest places for food lovers. You can also use the app to make your own videos during your travels and creates lists of the places you’ve been and want to see.

Local Eats

Local Eats doesn’t list every restaurant possible. Instead, it focuses on the best of the bunch with editors considering ratings from magazines, newspapers, and dining sites to work out what should be suggested. Its curated list manner means you don’t have to work your way through the poor restaurants to get to the good. The app focuses on local restaurants too rather than including national chains.

Restaurant Finder

Restaurant Finder doesn’t stop at covering the USA and Canada, with plenty of restaurants to find across Europe, as well as Australia, Brazil, Malaysia, and other countries. In each case, it’s easy to find places near your location, plus there are extensive reviews for them all, ensuring you can always find somewhere tasty to eat locally. It’ll even give you the heads up on nearby grocery stores if there aren’t any convenient restaurants or bars near.

Competitive Advantage

[Company Name] enjoys several advantages over its competitors. These advantages include:

  • Niche Market Focus:By serving the niche market of foodies, [Company Name] will be able to focus its products and content on the needs of these customers more so than larger, entrenched competitors.
  • Relationships: [Founder’s Name] and the technology director know many of the best programmers and mobile application development companies. As such, it will be relatively easy for us to build the app’s functionality.

 

VI.Marketing Plan

You can download the Mobile App business plan template (including a full, customizable financial model) to your computer here.

The Marketing Plan describes the type of brand [Company Name] seeks to create and the Company’s planned promotions and pricing strategies.

The [Company Name] Brand

The [Company Name] brand will focus on the Company’s unique value proposition:

  • Offering a wide variety of food-focused material for app users
  • Making the experience of dining and cooking fun and easy
  • Providing excellent customer service, with dedicated customer service representatives

Promotions Strategy

The Company’s promotions strategy to reach the target market of foodies includes:

Public Relations

We will contact food magazines, food sections of newspapers, and television stations and send them a press release describing the opening and unique value proposition of [Company Name].

Search Engine Optimization

The Company will develop its website in such a manner as to direct as much traffic from search engines as possible. The original website designer will use knowledge of search engine optimization to orient the website’s content towards this end and begin a program of link exchange to move up the search engine rankings (particularly Google). Ongoing search engine optimization of this type will be executed by an experienced SEO firm contracted on a monthly basis.

Pay-Per Click Advertising

Additionally, [Company Name] will use highly-focused, specific keywords to draw traffic to its website through text pay-per click advertising on Google Adwords and banner ads on other appropriate websites (brokered by Google or another ad placement company). Advertisements will be targeted at potential clients who will find our content-rich site to be a valid resource and applicable to their interests, rather than an interruption or distraction.

Email Marketing

[Company Name] willpublish a monthly email newsletter to tell customers about trends in food and offer other articles and columns of interest to customers. Email addresses will be gathered from users who opt-in when using the website and the email newsletters will support the brand of the site as an expert in food-related recommendations. In addition, emails presenting exciting new offers or products may be sent as often as once a week to customers who have opted-in to keep them informed of the latest information on the website.

Print Advertising

[Company Name] will initially advertise in food magazines and newspaper food sections in order to gain awareness.

Pricing Strategy

[Company Name] pricing will be appropriate for the marketplace. That is, they will be priced similar to other mobile applications with similar offerings.

 

VII.Operations Plan

Functional Roles

In order to execute on [Company Name]’s business model, the Company needs to perform many functions including the following:

Administrative Functions

  • General &administrative functions including legal, marketing, bookkeeping, etc.
  • Sourcing suppliers of content and managing supplier relations
  • Hiring and training staff

Mobile Application Functions

  • Developing additional application features
  • Application maintenance, updates, and bug-fixing
  • Ongoing search engine optimization

Service Functions

  • Customer service
  • Writing and producing content for the application

Milestones

[Company Name] expects to achieve the following milestones in the following [] months:

DateMilestone
[Date 1]Finalize mobile application development contract
[Date 2]Complete prototype design of mobile application
[Date 3]Hire and train initial staff
[Date 4]Launch [Company Name]mobile application
[Date 5]Reach break-even

 

VIII. Management Team

You can download the Mobile App business plan template (including a full, customizable financial model) to your computer here.

Management Team Members

[Company Name]is led by [Founder’s Name] who has been in the mobile application business for 10 years. While [Founder] has never run anmobile application himself, he was director of strategic development for an mobile application. As such [Founder] has an in-depth knowledge of the mobile application business as well as the needs of foodies, including the operations side (e.g., running day-to-day operations) and the business management side (e.g., staffing, marketing, etc).

[Founder] graduated from the University of ABC where he majored in Business.

The technology director, [Tech Director Name], has 15 years of web development management experience. He has experience managing mobile applicationdevelopments. He received an MBA in Business Information Systems from XYZ College.

Hiring Plan

In order to launch the store, we need to hire the following personnel:

  • Sourcing Assistants (2 – responsible for finding content and making deals with content providers)
  • Customer Service Representatives (2– responsible for fielding emails and calls from customers about potential, current, and past orders).
  • Part-Time Bookkeeper (1 – will manage accounts payable, create statements, and execute other administrative functions)

At a future date, the following staff will be added:

  • Programmer (1 – to be hired in the second year of operation, will work under the technology director implementing new developments and bug fixes in the website. Before this time, programming services will be on a contract basis).

 

IX. Financial Plan

Revenue and Cost Drivers

[Company Name]’s revenues will come from the sale of upgraded mobile application offerings, business listing fees and in-app advertisements.

The major costs for the company will be cost of goods sold (license fees and royalties to suppliers, internet connection fees, etc) and salaries of the staff. In the initial years, the company’s marketing spend will be high, as it establishes itself in the market.

Capital Requirements and Use of Funds

[Company Name is seeking a total funding of $1.25 million to launch its business. The capital will be used for include further app development, marketing collateral, website development and working capital.

Specifically, these funds will be used as follows:

App Development$240,000
Online & Offline Marketing$570,000
Salaries$150,000
Operating Expenses$135,000
Working Capital$150,000
TOTAL INITIAL FUNDING$1,245,000

Key Assumptions & Forecasts

Below please find the key assumptions that went into the financial forecast.

Average New Downloads per MonthAnnual New DownloadsAnnual Active App Users
Year 1140,4051,684,857842,428
Year 21,489,94317,879,3219,782,089
Year 33,317,81139,813,72729,688,953
Year 45,224,92762,699,12361,038,514
Year 56,547,00878,564,095100,320,562

5 Year Annual Income Statement

Year 1Year 2Year 3Year 4Year 5
Revenues
Product/Service A$151,200 $333,396 $367,569 $405,245 $446,783
Product/Service B$100,800 $222,264 $245,046 $270,163 $297,855
Total Revenues$252,000 $555,660 $612,615 $675,408 $744,638
Expenses & Costs
Cost of goods sold$57,960 $122,245 $122,523 $128,328 $134,035
Lease$60,000 $61,500 $63,038 $64,613 $66,229
Marketing$20,000 $25,000 $25,000 $25,000 $25,000
Salaries$133,890 $204,030 $224,943 $236,190 $248,000
Other Expenses$3,500 $4,000 $4,500 $5,000 $5,500
Total Expenses & Costs$271,850 $412,775 $435,504 $454,131 $473,263
EBITDA($19,850)$142,885 $177,112 $221,277 $271,374
Depreciation$36,960 $36,960 $36,960 $36,960 $36,960
EBIT($56,810)$105,925 $140,152 $184,317 $234,414
Interest$23,621 $20,668 $17,716 $14,763 $11,810
PRETAX INCOME($80,431)$85,257 $122,436 $169,554 $222,604
Net Operating Loss($80,431)($80,431)$0$0$0
Income Tax Expense$0$1,689 $42,853 $59,344 $77,911
NET INCOME($80,431)$83,568 $79,583 $110,210 $144,693
Net Profit Margin (%)-15.00%13.00%16.30%19.40%

5 Year Annual Balance Sheet

Year 1Year 2Year 3Year 4Year 5
ASSETS
Cash$16,710 $90,188 $158,957 $258,570 $392,389
Accounts receivable$0$0$0$0$0
Inventory$21,000 $23,153 $25,526 $28,142 $31,027
Total Current Assets$37,710 $113,340 $184,482 $286,712 $423,416
Fixed assets$246,450 $246,450 $246,450 $246,450 $246,450
Depreciation$36,960 $73,920 $110,880 $147,840 $184,800
Net fixed assets$209,490 $172,530 $135,570 $98,610 $61,650
TOTAL ASSETS$247,200 $285,870 $320,052 $385,322 $485,066
LIABILITIES & EQUITY
Debt$317,971 $272,546 $227,122 $181,698 $136,273
Accounts payable$9,660 $10,187 $10,210 $10,694 $11,170
Total Liabilities$327,631 $282,733 $237,332 $192,391 $147,443
Share Capital$0$0$0$0$0
Retained earnings($80,431)$3,137 $82,720 $192,930 $337,623
Total Equity($80,431)$3,137 $82,720 $192,930 $337,623
TOTAL LIABILITIES & EQUITY$247,200 $285,870 $320,052 $385,322 $485,066

5 Year Annual Cash Flow Statement

Year 1Year 2Year 3Year 4Year 5
CASH FLOW FROM OPERATIONS
Net Income (Loss)($80,431)$83,568 $79,583 $110,210 $144,693
Change in working capital($11,340)($1,625)($2,350)($2,133)($2,409)
Depreciation$36,960 $36,960 $36,960 $36,960 $36,960
Net Cash Flow from Operations($54,811)$118,902 $114,193 $145,037 $179,244
CASH FLOW FROM INVESTMENTS
Investment($246,450)$0$0$0$0
Net Cash Flow from Investments($246,450)$0$0$0$0
CASH FLOW FROM FINANCING
Cash from equity$0$0$0$0$0
Cash from debt$317,971 ($45,424)($45,424)($45,424)($45,424)
Net Cash Flow from Financing$317,971 ($45,424)($45,424)($45,424)($45,424)
SUMMARY
Net Cash Flow$16,710 $73,478 $68,769 $99,613 $133,819
Cash at Beginning of Period$0$16,710 $90,188 $158,957 $258,570
Cash at End of Period$16,710 $90,188 $158,957 $258,570 $392,389

You can download the Mobile App business plan template (including a full, customizable financial model) to your computer here.