Learnings from London: How to build a billion dollar app

We are eight weeks away from our flagship event, #mtpcon London! What’s more, it’s 10 years old this year, with the first-ever #mtpcon happening in October 2012.

Our London stage has played host to an exceptional group of product speakers over the past decade, so each week in the run-up to this year’s event, we’ll bring you the most exciting moments from #mtpcon London in years gone by.

This week we turn our attention to #mtpcon London 2013 where George Berkowski, former Head of Product at hit startup Hailo, led a session on the main stage to inspire us on how feasible it is to build a billion-dollar app!

The state of apps consumption

In 2013, George explained how there are still six feature phones for every smartphone in the market and as prices come down that means a lot more people using smartphones and using apps. They will also be the first experience with the Internet for many in countries with little fixed broadband. Since 2013, the experiences that mobile users receive through app creation have transformed exponentially, with 90% of adults having a smartphone, and 95% of those using their devices daily.

With a reported 37 billion apps being installed by customers in the first quarter of 2022, there is considerably more noise in the market than in 2013, however, it makes it even more imperative for us as product managers to be ambitious and have that billion-dollar ambition that George explains in his talk. Throughout his keynote, George showcases 8 apps with billion-dollar valuations, including Uber, Snapchat, Square, Angry Birds/Rovio, Flipboard and Hailo and highlights what made them so successful. He provides some insights on being innovative with app creation, “it’s about making things easier and more efficient for the customer” George says.

George closed by saying to attendees to "keep the dream alive and chase those opportunities." As product managers, we all have the ability to build a billion-dollar app, so he urges us to pursue that journey and focus on that outcome.

Check out another amazing talk from #mtpcon London 2013: Beyond usable – mapping emotion to experience.

#mtpcon London is back this October (13th & 14th) and celebrating its 10th anniversary! Join us for our tried and tested hybrid conference format, for two full days of product inspiration (plus a day of optional pre-conference workshops!). Find out more here.