Brad Weber, CEO and President of InspiringApps, joined the podcast to discuss turning the corner on employee turnover. Employee turnover is an important and often overlooked aspect of running a business, especially in competitive industries like tech. And every time there’s turnover, there’s cost—even in the best scenarios. In an inspiring discussion with Kendra, Brad shares his unique approach to keeping employees happy and turnover low.
Watch the Full Interview
Quote From the Interview
“Foundational for us is definitely respect and support for one another on our team. And that goes a surprisingly long way. And it’s also not as common as I would have thought that it is, but that’s really important to us. Everybody on the team is absolutely respected for their contribution, and we want to help them grow in the ways that make sense for them—whether that’s technically or or to pick up non-technical skills that are important to them. We do all of that over the course of their career at InspiringApps.”
—Brad Weber
About Kendra Prospero
Kendra Prospero is the CEO and Founder of Turning the Corner, LLC. For over a decade, Kendra’s career has been all about creating healthier and more rewarding work environments. She helps people connect to work they love, while transforming workplace culture to retain top talent, increase productivity, and build confident leaders. She has served hundreds of clients in revamping their corporate cultures, revitalizing their recruiting and helping them retain their people. Her clients include Google, Infusionsoft, Ricoh USA, Project Management Institute, Galvanize, Boomtown, SurveyGizmo, and SHRM Colorado.
About Brad Weber
Brad Weber has more than 25 years of software development experience. Brad received his MBA from the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado and spent several years with Accenture before striking off on his own adventures, including the successful founding of four different technology companies. With a passion for software artisanship, Brad founded InspiringApps to build a team that could tackle larger app development challenges than he was able to handle on his own. His leadership creates an environment where the most innovative digital products continue to come to life.
About InspiringApps
App development that makes an impact. InspiringApps builds digital products that help companies impact their employees, customers, and communities. Yes, we build web, mobile, and custom apps, but what we offer is something above and beyond that. What we offer is inspiration. Our award-winning work has included 200+ apps since the dawn of the iPhone. Our core values: integrity, respect, commitment, inclusivity, and empathy. Our guarantee: finish line, every time, for every project. Get in touch at hello@InspiringApps.com.
In a previous post, Designing Apps for Different Generations, we looked broadly at how your generation influences your relationship to technology throughout your lifetime. Each generation has shared experiences during their formative years that help to shape collective values. These values, in turn, influence motivations, preferences, and expectations regarding technology. As you develop products aimed at this generation, understanding these values can provide insights to consider when designing for Gen Alpha.
Gen Alpha Background
If you can bet on any generation making big waves, it’s Generation Alpha. Born in the 21st century from 2010-2025, they’re the largest generation and most likely to live the longest. Gen Alphas are also predicted to be the most educated and wealthiest generation of all time.
Born into a global pandemic, this generation has become increasingly immersed in technology and digital experiences. As a result, Gen Alphas seek authentic communication and connection more than ever. Unlike their Millennial parents, Gen Alphas frequent platforms like TikTok, Instagram Live, Houseparty, Clubhouse, and similar platforms. AI is part of their daily lives, and they frequently use technologies like Siri and Alexa (among others) from an early age. Due to shorter attention spans in our increasingly digitalized world, short, easily digestible content is imperative.
Creativity and innovation are common themes among this brilliant and up-and-coming generation. This demographic has a tremendous amount of earning potential. They like to think out of the box, are incredibly technologically savvy, and value the importance of social causes. They tend to place a high value on climate change and inclusivity. Gen Alpha is a passionate group that desires to help others and improve the world around them.
Gen Alpha & Technology
Generation Alpha is immersed in a world of technology. According to McCrindle, Gen Alpha has more screen time than previous generations. The pandemic has only intensified technology use. With few places to go, Gen Alpha kids turned to their screens to combat their inner loneliness.
One must design with authentic influence to bridge the gap between digital technology and the human experience. Gen Alpha is tired of the manufactured experience and is looking for a genuine connection that speaks to them personally. They tend to have short attention spans and are interested in fast-paced, easily-consumable media content. Due to the plethora of information available to this modern generation, Gen Alpha believes strongly in the power of data and is greatly influenced by it.
Gen Alphas are enthusiastic about documenting and sharing their own content and like interacting with others digitally. Influencers can profoundly impact their purchasing decisions. Gen Alphas want customizable, meaningful digital experiences that bring them value and uplift their daily life.
Considerations When Designing for Gen Alpha
Authentic Influence
Niche content creators greatly influence Generation Alpha. That said, this generation is bombarded with influencers and advertisements. We can expect Gen Alpha to distrust brands that seem phony or don’t have their best interests at heart. Similarly, they will likely reject traditional forms of marketing much as their Millennial parents did.
Authentic influence is critical for gaining the trust of Generation Alpha. Gen Alphas are looking for genuine connections with brands that align with their values. Raw, real-life experiences, humanized messaging, and value-based technology will be best received best by Gen Alphas. In short—less curated experiences and more authenticity. Having concentrated human-centric features will dramatically shape the Gen Alpha’s user experience.
Return on User Experience
Gen Alphas invest in experiences that enrich their lives and, in turn, have high expectations for all elements of their experience. The level of transparency of taking the customer on the journey from start to finish will significantly benefit this generation. They want an immersive experience with the entire process demonstrated to them, not just a cherry-picked, glamorous experience. Leveraging interactive marketing tactics such as user-generated content allows the user to be part of an experience.
Here’s a formula to constantly improve a Gen Alpha’s user experience:
1. Observe.
Develop a thorough understanding of your customer journeys and pinpoint what matters most to them along the way.
2. Evaluate.
Collect operational data and derive meaningful results with a key performance indicator framework.
3. Act.
Use those insights to improve your app to fit the user’s preferences and desires. A rule-based action engine can help expedite and automate the process.
Connected to Social Issues
Generation Alpha cares deeply about social issues. Causes like climate change, diversity and inclusion, fair representation, acceptance, and sustainability will be at the forefront of their value system. They’ll be seeking out brands and technologies that combat social issues. With that in mind, be transparent about your mission, impact, and what you do to solve it.
Brands looking to engage with this audience must embody and foster inclusive and accepting environments. As the most diverse generation, brands can build trust by representing their consumers authentically.
Here are some questions to consider when designing for Gen Alpha:
What are the demographic and psychographics of the country?
How can you reduce our imprint on the environment and create a more sustainable solution?
Where are there additional opportunities for broader representation?
Concluding Thoughts on Designing for Gen Alpha
Taking Gen Alphas’ background, needs, and technological preferences into account will help broaden your app’s reach and market potential.
If you have questions or concerns about designing for Gen Alpha—or any other generation—we would be happy to consult with you free of charge. Get in touch with us today!
Interesting factoids about the Orion spacecraft and the Artemis missions.
Interactive trivia to test users’ knowledge about Orion.
An interactive timeline showcasing Orion’s development and the Artemis I mission milestones with relevant events and information.
A video library of content related to Orion and Artemis.
Callisto integration enabling users to send messages to Orion during its Artemis I flight to the Moon.
Callisto: Send Messages to the Moon & Beyond
One of the payloads flying on the Artemis I mission is Callisto—a unique system powered by AI, voice, and video conferencing technology. Callisto is space-grade technology that provides a virtual connection to people and information back on Earth. Sending a message to outer space is just within reach. Anyone can send a personal message to Callisto through the Explore Orion app.
Ready for Launch
What does the future hold for space-grade technology? The InspiringApps team is honored to help build the tech tools to help get us there. We’re eager to blaze the path for launching emerging technology. We’re working with the leading pioneers in this world and beyond. Wherever the future is moving, we invite you to join us.
Built In determines the winners of Best Places to Work based on an algorithm using company data about compensation and benefits. To reflect the benefits candidates are searching for more frequently on Built In, the program also weighs criteria like remote and flexible work opportunities, programs for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and other people-first cultural offerings.
“It’s my honor to congratulate this year’s Best Places to Work winners,” says Sheridan Orr, Chief Marketing Officer at Built In. “These exemplary companies understand their people are their most valuable asset, and they’ve stepped up to meet the modern professional’s new expectations, including the desire to work for companies that deliver purpose, growth and inclusion. These winners set the stage for a human-centered future of work, and we can’t wait to see that future unfold.”
About Built In
Built In is creating the largest platform for technology professionals globally. Monthly, millions of the industry’s most in-demand professionals visit the site from across the world. They rely on our platform to stay ahead of tech trends and news, learn skills to accelerate their careers, and find opportunities at companies whose values they share. Built In also serves 2,000 customers, innovative companies ranging from startups to those in the Fortune 500. By putting their stories in front of our uniquely engaged audience, we help them hire otherwise hard-to-reach tech professionals.
About Built In’s Best Places to Work
Built In’s esteemed Best Places to Work Awards, now in its fifth year, honor companies across numerous categories: 100 Best Places to Work, 50 Best Startup Places to Work, 100 Best Midsize Places to Work, 100 Best Large Places to Work, and Editor’s Choice: 100 Best Hybrid Places to Work. The program honors companies—remote, hybrid, and in-office—with the best total rewards packages across the US and in the following tech hubs: Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Colorado, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington DC.
About InspiringApps
App development that makes an impact. InspiringApps builds digital products that help companies impact their employees, customers, and communities. Yes, we build web, mobile, and custom apps, but what we offer is something above and beyond that. What we offer is inspiration. Our award-winning work has included 200+ apps since the dawn of the iPhone. Our core values: integrity, respect, commitment, inclusivity, and empathy. Our guarantee: finish line, every time, for every project.
Boulder, CO—In the latest article from Built In Colorado, InspiringApps’ Director of Operations, Stacy Griffin, joins other leaders in sharing their career journeys, the lessons they’ve learned, and their advice for other women.
Describe your career journey and current role.
My career journey spans over 20 years in technology, project management, and people management. I started out as a developer at IBM and then moved into a developer lead role, which is when I began managing projects. From there, I pivoted to a formal project management role, which involved interacting with the business, gathering requirements, and managing technical project delivery. I eventually joined InspiringApps as a project manager, applying those same skills.
Recently, I was promoted to director of operations, a new strategic role. I manage people and projects as a member of the leadership team. I’m also involved more on the sales side. My job requires managing a team of developers and overseeing client engagements and project lifecycle and delivery. It requires a lot of communication with clients and developers, both of whom have distinct working styles. To set expectations, I draw from years of experience in listening and applying empathy. I also have a master’s in computer science, which gives me aptitude and credibility with technical audiences.
What advice do you have for other women who manage tech teams or aspire to?
I have two pieces of advice for women who aspire to manage tech teams. First, find a role model. Look for mentors, ask questions and try to learn from the people around you. Secondly, avoid imposter syndrome. You should feel comfortable in your own skin. Remember that you’ve earned your seat at the table.
What’s one important lesson you’ve learned in your time as a leader, and how has that made you a better manager?
I’ve learned that there’s no single right way to manage people. Having the courage to manage in a way that’s comfortable and authentic to my personality allows me to lean into my strengths and improve in areas where I need to grow.
It’s also important to know that treating people with autonomy and respect builds trust. People appreciate it when you’re honest and open. I’m not a micromanager, and I naturally take the role of supporting people. I’ve learned to combine open dialog with frequent check-ins. Bringing my authentic self to work makes me a better manager.
No style is better than the other; it’s dependent on the company and the employees hired. For instance, if your staff prefers lifestyle-based culture (flexible work or other perks) over performance-based culture (raises and promotions for a job well done), the employees may stay dissatisfied and leave to find a company culture that suits their preference.
In InspiringApps’ infancy, the personalities of the relatively few people involved drove our culture. But as the company grew, we were careful to emphasize the characteristics that fostered a positive work environment and eliminated any contrary to what we’ve come to value—empathy, inclusion, and personal growth for our employees.
Why do your employees need an intentional company culture?
A recent survey found that 79% of employees who left their jobs did so because of a lack of appreciation, and 50% said they were more motivated by appreciation than money. This sounds like a job for company culture!
In an ideal world, company culture and performance should work in tandem. Employees who are happy with their jobs have higher satisfaction rates. However, lousy work culture can hurt employees, bringing high turnover rates, burnout, and subpar work.
Creating an intentional company culture requires consistency and time. There is no shortcut.
Intentional company culture benefits from open minds. Influential leaders seek to:
Understand what employees appreciate and what causes them pain.
Hear employees’ suggestions for improvement.
Follow through with promised changes.
Repeat the above frequently.
Intentional company culture requires commitment from everyone—especially the leadership team. InspiringApps understands this fundamental truth. An InspiringApps employee explains it best:
How To Develop & Maintain a Great Company Culture
Engaged employees are critical for business success. Experience is the best teacher, and we’ve learned plenty of lessons regarding things that keep our employees a happy part of the team. We built our culture slowly and methodically, and we’re proud to celebrate strong retention, with over 40% of our staff staying with us for more than five years.
Among all the lessons we’ve learned, the following best practices stand apart from the rest:
Promote from within.
Offer excellent benefits.
Be inclusive.
Communicate consistently.
In the following sections, we discuss each best practice in detail and share our experiences to help every company develop and maintain a great culture.
Promote From Within
Today’s employees are looking for a company with opportunities for career advancement and appreciate roles with a clear path to growth and promotions, as they give them personal goals to work towards.
Along the employee journey, InspiringApps offers professional development opportunities that help our team members stay on top of their skills, expand their capabilities, and incorporate new and developing interests. By doing so, our employees can have long tenures at InspiringApps, while remaining competitive. At the same time, we can hire the best candidates for our growing positions right from our own team.
As the InspiringApps client roster scaled, so did our team. We promoted long-time employees into our development team lead roles, recognizing their wisdom and honoring their commitment to our team through their tenure.
Offer Excellent Benefits
Many startups, including InspiringApps, may be resource-constrained in the early days. Health and retirement benefits are expensive, so we focused first on benefits that didn’t require a direct cash outlay. Establishing a two-day-per-week remote work policy over a decade ago, accommodating part-time employees, and offering flexible work hours were all low-cost ways to treat our team with respect.
As InspiringApps matured, we also added more traditional benefits. In addition to a 401(k) plan with match, profit sharing, and a generous and flexible PTO policy, we recently increased the company’s health premium contribution from 50% to 100% and added company-paid vision, dental, disability, and employee assistance (EAP).
Be Inclusive
Inclusivity is a mandate kept top-of-mind in the projects and clients we take on and the staff we hire and promote. In a historically homogenous industry like tech, inclusivity can be a challenge. Through intentional recruiting and a focus on providing opportunities for traditionally underrepresented groups to join the field, InspiringApps is working to build a more diverse team that better reflects the communities we serve.
Promoting women in tech is one way we’ve made strides in our company. At InspiringApps, women make up 40% of our leadership team and more than a third of our employees, which is 20% more than the US average.
Promoting diversity and inclusion provides various perspectives, which is essential for the challenges we’re addressing in our consumer apps. We consider it a competitive advantage as we continue to innovate for our clients.
Additionally, we’ve made a concentrated effort over time to welcome new employees. Years ago, that welcome included a team lunch on Pearl Street. Since our team has grown, that lunch is now digital—and the efforts to be inclusive extend much further than that. Communication and connection are ingrained into the way we set up projects, make progress on initiatives, and more.
Communicate Consistently
Secrecy and unexplained decision-making from leaders lead to unengaged employees. Transparency is the answer. About 85% of employees are most motivated when they know what’s happening and why.
Open and frequent communication, including standups and all-hands meetings, project or team demos, company newsletters, and social media, encourages employees to gain trust in leadership. When you share company goals regularly, your employees will feel confident in knowing the direction they’re working. The more your employees see open communication from leaders and are encouraged to participate in decision-making, the better communicators they’ll be with your clients, modeling positive communication behaviors in everything they do.
Technology is your ally when it comes to employee engagement. Offering a Slack channel or other internal chat features, an employee app, or an intranet site where employees can share and talk directly to leaders can inspire a transparent culture.
The Value of Culture
InspiringApps nurtures a culture of respect, empathy, and inclusivity. Our commitment to culture is exemplified by an official Great Places to Work ® Certification™. But that recognition is only a small window into the little things that our team is doing every day to reinforce the culture we’ve been nurturing for years.
Our culture is one of our most valuable assets. It defines our expectations for the way we treat one another. Beyond making InspiringApps a pleasant place to work, our culture is evident in our client relationships and in the apps we create.
Building award-winning apps starts with a language that’s foreign to many of us: code. For more than 15 years, our app development team has built easy-to-use iOS, Android, and web applications serving over 100 companies in a dozen industries. See our work.
There’s a lot to get done to keep businesses running smoothly, and B2B apps can offer a variety of efficiencies. You can use internal-facing, custom B2B apps to optimize your business processes—for example, internal corporate procedures, employee communication, or workflow automation.
Mobile app developers customize apps to match your company’s unique systems, processes, tools, and functions. Custom app development can incorporate complex data systems, making it effortless to manage high-volume data and perform numerous functions all in one app.
The right app can help eliminate redundant work and tasks, so you can focus on more important things like developing new products or improving existing ones, making it easier to achieve better outcomes for your business.
Generate Revenue
Wondering how to make your business more successful? Put it on mobile. The app industry has accrued billions of dollars in the last decade. According to a Business of Apps data report, Android and iOS app revenue amounted to $133 billion in 2021—a 19% (year-on-year) increase from 2020.
People everywhere use their mobile devices (smartphones or tablets) more than home computers. The convenience of mobile apps makes it easier for customers to find, purchase, and retrieve your products and services on demand. Not only will your ongoing customers be privy to the app, but chances are that many others will learn about your business, significantly boosting your sales.
We collaborated with Artifact Uprising to craft an award-winning app that sends photos from phone to print in a matter of minutes. In only its second year, the app generated 16% of the company’s revenue—an exceptional return on investment. The Artifact Uprising mobile app is a case study of software development success.
Solve a Problem
Intuitive companies can anticipate their customers’ needs and provide the right tools to overcome common challenges. Our app developers thrive on solving problems, assisting the end user, and providing intelligent digital solutions for our clients. Mobile apps can simplify complexities and provide innovative solutions to meet each customer’s needs.
For instance, Fidelity National Financial, an InspiringApps client, recognized a big problem of compromised security during real-estate transactions. There were large amounts of money put at risk during the transactions. To solve this problem, we created inHere, a transformative fintech app that streamlines these processes and keeps it all secure.
Apply Business Intelligence
You can get actionable data insights from your customers to better serve them through mobile apps. Big data has been a hot topic in the tech industry, and for good reason. Integrated with AI and analytics, big data keeps your business one step ahead and significantly smarter.
Consider Spark Your Channel, a powerful marketing platform created in collaboration with InspiringApps. The app enables prominent technology vendors to arm their channel partners with tools to manage marketing campaigns with automated personalized content, analytics, and modern prospecting best practices. Using business intelligence and analytics, Spark Your Channel created more engagement and higher customer conversion rates.
Enable Digital Interactions
Apps can be companions to physical entities, increasing user engagement and enjoyment. Often, the mobile app serves as the pipeline between gathering the data and processing it online. Fitbit is an excellent example of enabling digital interactions through app development—the app is a part of the fitness experience and helps track and gather valuable data.
Enabling digital interactions involves anticipating user touchpoints and meeting their needs across multiple devices or channels. Mobile apps that own their user’s digital experience in an end-to-end fashion will find loyal customers that keep on coming back.
Innovate
Staying up to date with emerging technology trends is essential for business growth and success. It also helps build brand recognition and loyalty when users trust you’re ahead of the curve. The next brilliant innovation may be just around the corner, and when you can see ahead, the results can be out of this world.
Our latest project, the Explore Orion app, is an excellent example of app innovation. With the Artemis missions, Orion will take humanity back to the Moon—and the Explore Orion app lets users hop on board. For the first time, anyone can send messages to space using the Explore Orion app, designed and built by InspiringApps.
Make an Impact
Mobile apps can inspire remarkable change in how we interact with the world. They can improve people’s quality of life and create interconnected communities from the inside out.
Making an impact isn’t limited to social change. Apps can transform financial futures, help keep us healthy, improve mindfulness, and connect us to the resources we need—from ride-sharing to education.
One of the most rewarding aspects of app development is the ripple effect a mobile app can have. For example, with the Cancer Exercise app, we helped craft customized exercises for cancer survivors to improve their quality of life. The Cancer Exercise app is the first mobile exercise app for iOS designed explicitly for cancer survivors of all ages, regardless of their level of physical condition, types and stages of cancer, and types of treatment—and even those who have won the fight and find themselves years beyond treatment.
Apps like these profoundly impact and inspire our team, clients, communities, and the world at large.
What’s Next on the Horizon
Mobile application development is a rapidly evolving field that’s still going strong after years of evolution. The top reasons to develop a mobile app also reveal the benefits your app can offer:
Improving customer satisfaction
Expanding your customer base
Solving a problem
Generating revenue
Standing out from the competition
Applying business intelligence
Evolving with emerging technological trends
Making an impact to benefit others
Inspiration is an aha moment—a flickering idea that takes hold and grows into an instrument of change. An experienced app developer can help to guide your mobile app project from ideation over the horizon. Making an innovative app with impact is within reach.
There’s never been a better time to bring your mobile app idea to life, and InspiringApps offers the services you need to succeed now and into the future.
We dedicated ourselves to building apps that functioned exceptionally well in those early years. Fifteen years in, we’re proud that “Finish line every time” is our InspiringApps guarantee.
Better Together: Award-Winning Partnerships
The next several years (2013-2018) marked another period of expansion through incredible client and team collaboration. For everyone at InspiringApps, enterprise app development became a matter of good stewardship.
We built a culture where we could design and develop amazing digital products together, adding design as a core element of our services that makes our development stand out. And in the years that followed, we were honored to be considered an award-winning app development agency on an international scale.
In 2015, the retail merchandising app we created for SmartWool was named the winner of the Tabby Award/Business in the iPad App: Data Access & Collection category. That same year, a sales presentation app that InspiringApps developed in conjunction with Gulfstream Aerospace took second place to Adobe in the iPad App: Marketing & Presentation category. The Tabby Award/Business is the only global competition that recognizes the best enterprise and business apps in the industry.
In 2018, we won two Davey Awards honoring creative work from the best small companies worldwide: a Gold Award for the design and development of the Empath app and a Silver Award for our work on the Artifact Uprising app. InspiringApps was one of 13 companies out of 3,000 nominations that received a Gold Award in the mobile category in the Daveys that year.
By the end of 2018, our team had grown to encompass highly experienced, tenured software developers, designers, and creatives. We’d served over 75 clients, from startups to some of the world’s largest companies like Google and Toyota. We’d delivered over 150 apps for all kinds of smart devices, continuing to inspire how people live, work, and play.
The Pandemic Years: A Rebrand for a New Chapter
It can be hard to think about the pandemic years in a positive light, but embracing challenges is part of what we do every day as developers. As digital transformation accelerated, so did we.
InspringApps had a number of successes beyond 2019. In 2020, while many large enterprises lost personnel, our team grew stronger and larger. We took many steps to create a remote-first culture that served our clients and our team, including forming a leadership team to provide support and hosting open feedback sessions.
We were honored to continue building apps with impact—like the Cancer Excercise app, which was the first mobile exercise app for iOS designed specifically for cancer survivors. The app was nominated for a Best Mobile App Platinum Award in 2020 and won an AVA Digital Gold Award in 2021.
In early 2021, our newly expanded design and marketing teams set out to capture the message and aesthetics of InspiringApps with a purposeful company rebranding. Visualizing the mountains of Boulder, our code, and our core values, we created a new identity and style. Our new logo, website, and messaging reflect not only InspiringApps’ foundation but also our continued focus on a values-based culture.
By the time InspiringApps was celebrating our 14th birthday in September of 2021, we had also achieved another milestone: becoming Great Place To Work Certified™ for the first time in the company’s history.
2022 & Beyond: Deeper Roots Into the Future
InspiringApps has made a concentrated effort to set ourselves up for a bright future. We’ve already experienced major growth, especially in fintech app development. We’ve invested time and talent to prepare our people and processes to support this growth. And as a result, we’re designing and building better-quality products more quickly than ever before.
This year marked the launch of another first for InspiringApps: Explore Orion is designed for uses beyond the confines of planet Earth. In the free app developed by InspiringApps, users can interact with Callisto, the exciting new technology that delivers messages into outer space. Explore Orion encapsulates what we do here at InspiringApps: we work with leading companies to bring their mission to life.
Closer to home, one of the core projects we launched this year was an initiative driven by our employees’ feedback and desire to give back. The new program, IA Commits, provides an affordable option for local organizations, limited-budget, and not-for-profit clients to bring their web and mobile app dreams to life. But in a deeper way, it also aims to change the tech industry’s future by providing transformative career and training opportunities to underrepresented aspiring developers and coders.
In 2022, we also implemented Innovation Day, which allows our team to grow and gain new skills that will serve InspiringApps and our clients well into the future.
Concluding Thoughts
InspiringApps designs and develops custom mobile and web solutions that help people. We’ve helped millions of users with apps that are as easy to use as they are aesthetically pleasing. We help entrepreneurs start businesses around the products we create. We help organizations bring their mission to life.
Growth occurs when we seek to solve problems, make mistakes, and improve along the way. Empathy leads our team to design and build thoughtful products. We’re proud to share all of our unique achievements, especially with our communities, partners, friends, and family—all of whom we want to thank for an incredible history and a continued path to success.
Attract donors through fundraising for your charity.
Help others.
But regardless of these reasons, the most successful nonprofit apps are those that keep the nonprofit organization’s mission at the forefront. If the app is not directly related to the organization’s mission, it’s likely that it will not be used by the organization’s target audience.
For this reason, it’s important to make sure that the app’s purpose is in line with the organization’s goals. Throughout the mobile app development process, keep the mission in mind and make it a priority.
Apps on a Mission: Examples
Volunteer & Donor Apps To Mobilize a Charity
The American Red Cross has a stated mission of “mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors” to respond to disasters, alleviate suffering, and support human rights. In line with this mission, their volunteer app, Volunteer Connection, enables existing volunteers to manage their activity and stay more engaged with the charity through a mobile app.
The Blood Donor app is another charity app offered by the American Red Cross. Through the donation app, they can send push notifications alerting the public of blood shortages. It streamlines and enhances the charity’s donation process and user experience, enabling donors to locate nearby blood drives, get notified when their blood is on its way to a patient, earn achievements, and more.
2. Make your app easy to use through thoughtful design.
A key benefit of your nonprofit app is user participation. You can use your app to engage with users who are passionate about your nonprofit organization’s cause. But even for the most important cause or well-known charity, you may lose users if your mobile app is confusing to use or otherwise poorly designed.
For nonprofits, user interface and user experience are essential tools to keep your users engaged and motivated to continue interacting with your cause or charity. Here are a few app design tips to help ensure your mobile app is easy to use.
Put the User First
Is your user a volunteer, supporter, community member, charity champion, or donor? For that user, your app should make complex tasks simpler. During mobile app development, make the user interface and experience as streamlined and straightforward as possible.
Prioritize Accessibility
Accessible to everyone means ensuring that the app is available in multiple languages, as well as taking into consideration users with different abilities. By making the app accessible to all, you’ll ensure that it can be used by the widest possible audience.
Avoid Clutter
Creativity is encouraged, but clarity reigns. Instead of cluttering your mobile application with too many design elements, try to keep it simple and readable.
A central dashboard helps the user stay oriented and motivated. It’s essential to keep it clean and effective. Include critical information here.
Visualize Data
Visually display fundraising or other cause-related metrics that donors, supporters, and volunteers care about, like the money raised, hours donated, or meals packed.
Follow the Leaders
Google and Apple both have interface design resources. Following these best practices ensures you’ve put the proper thought and care into your mobile app development and design.
3. Collect and respond to feedback.
One key to success for any app lies in collecting and responding to user feedback. The benefits and use cases for feedback include:
Determining How To Update Your Nonprofit App: Reviews are a great way to stay in touch with the ongoing desires of your user community. This is especially important for a nonprofit app, as it can help the organization fine-tune its offerings and make improvements.
Marketing Your App: The value of positive reviews is high in influencing how your mobile app ranks in search results on the app stores and in compelling others to take the risk to download your app.
Protecting Your Reputation: Collecting in-app feedback about bugs and usability problems can often help avert negative public posts by allowing you to quickly fix any issues.
Here are some best practices for managing feedback.
Prompt for Reviews
While some users will choose to leave feedback on their own, others benefit from being prompted. To increase the quality of the feedback, request reviews when users have already used and are familiar with your mobile app.
Respond to All Reviews
Remember that users want to be heard. We recommend that you respond to all reviews, no matter how positive or negative they may be.
Represent Your Brand
Responding to reviews is no different than interacting with users through social media, email, and discussion forums. Take care that you are thoughtful in your approach.
Encourage Direct Outreach
Nonprofits can provide a contact number or email address to encourage users to contact them directly and address unique concerns.
4. Keep your app updated.
You’ve developed your nonprofit app and released it to the world. Things are going great, and your charity is seeing the rewards of investing in nonprofit app development. But an outdated app usually isn’t a highly used one. How do you keep a user coming back? App updates are an integral part of the business plan for nonprofit organizations seeking to develop an app.
Here are some factors that may inspire (or require) you to update your nonprofit app.
Features & Improvements
Even after you release your app, the user experience will continue to be the most important place to focus your time. Straightforward apps may hit the nail on the head at launch, but most apps go through a few iterations before they offer the desired experience.
Keep track of your app store rankings, download growth trends, and social signals in online mentions and reviews. In-app analytics can provide insights into how users progress through different locations and features within your app. Monitoring performance also helps to bring to light any issues that could be causing users to abandon your app.
Great app ratings and reviews come from a great user experience. Learn from your users’ feedback, and put that into regular updates with new features and improvements.
Operating System Releases
Many of our clients rightly ask whether an operating system (OS) update will impact the functionality of a native app they built on a previous OS. The answer is, generally, “It might!”
With a new OS release, it’s always wise for mobile app developers to review existing code. This way, you’ll ensure your app will work as well on the user’s mobile device as it did when it was first written.
Before your mobile app is launched, you’ll want to be ready to promote it through traditional and digital channels on the Apple App Store, Google Play, and beyond. While the methods for promoting your mobile app may vary, here are a few tried-and-true marketing strategies to connect people to your cause.
Advertising & Content Marketing
Getting the word out there is essential for nonprofits to ensure that people are aware of and using the app. Applying a tandem advertising and content marketing strategy is an excellent way to succeed here. Go beyond making a great first impression by marketing your nonprofit app to attract, engage, and exceed your users’ expectations.
A Google Ad Grant can equip your nonprofit with up to $10,000 in free search advertising per month. With content marketing, you can make helpful and valuable content for potential users, drawing them to your website through articles, infographics, or videos that help your audience achieve their goals. You can develop content that will attract users to download your app and then use Google Analytics to optimize it for search rankings.
For example, the Charity Miles app is a fundraising app that enables users to earn money for charity whenever they walk, run, or bike. The blog covers topics on employee engagement and success stories to attract potential user groups and sponsors.
Provide a contact form to collect potential users’ email addresses. Invite people to sign up for launch notifications and provide social media sharing tools so fans can begin recommending your app to others. The goal is to build excitement and collect data that will power other elements of your marketing campaign.
App Store Listings
A compelling app store listing is a vital component of marketing your app. App store listings feature your icon, screenshots, and video previews. They appeal to potential users by providing an attractive and informative visual summary of the app’s design and key features.
While there are many components to your app store listings, here are the top three items to focus on to create a great one:
Keywords
Knowing and using relevant keywords is imperative—we can’t emphasize it enough. In today’s digital world, all content is filtered before it’s delivered to you. From the Instagram posts you see first to the order of websites a Google search returns, keyword rankings help you find the information and products you want.
Promotional Descriptions
Just like social media captions and website previews, only so much of your description is visible to your potential user when they first arrive on your listing. This promotional description text is your app’s chance to stand apart in a lineup of similar offerings. It should pack a punch and convey your app’s value. You’ll want to be compelling here and include at least one of the keywords you identified.
Multimedia
For highly visual apps, preview and promo videos can enable you to overcome the challenge of articulating in words a concept better seen in action. But any app can benefit from a video by offering potential users a refreshing way to experience features before downloading.
Social Media
Social media is a cornerstone of getting the word out and should be central to your promotional strategy. Here are some best practices to keep in mind:
Start well before app launch by establishing a presence on multiple platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Consider a variety of media, including video and TikTok reels.
Encourage interest, build excitement, and increase engagement with announcements, screenshots, and previews.
Direct traffic to your website and app store listings to attract your target audience and build awareness with potential users.
Email Outreach
Whether you use the nonprofit cloud or a simpler option, email marketing can be a powerful tool for creating brand awareness and keeping your cause top of mind. You can enable fans to join a waiting list or to opt-in to receive immediate announcements on launch day and stay engaged through email marketing. You can also use marketing emails to send users informational tips or promotional offers.
Notably, Salesforce offers 10 user licenses for free to nonprofits, making sophisticated marketing tools available to smaller organizations to do customized email outreach. With the nonprofit success pack, you can use your data to create segmented communications and personalized content for email campaigns.
Targeting your message to your audience helps encourage open rates and click-throughs.
Press Kit
A press kit informs reporters and bloggers about your app. Hit the ground running on launch day by creating a single-file kit that includes everything the press needs to help generate buzz about your app:
Press Release
App Store Icon & Screenshots
Video Demo
App Description
Reviews
About Your Organization
Concluding Thoughts
Make an Impact With Nonprofit App Development
Applying technology in innovative ways can help nonprofits stand out. Working with a mobile app development company can help you make an impact with your nonprofit mission.
Many low-code, no-code DIY development platforms can be used as prototypes to test ideas and gather feedback. If your app is simple and requires little customization, this option may be the right place for you to start.
If you’re looking for an expert who can help you develop a nonprofit app in Denver and Boulder, Austin, or anywhere else, or if you have an app and you need to scale it, we’re here for you. Check out our IA Commits program for more information and to get in touch.
Still, one of the most common questions we receive about the development process is whether we recommend building both iOS and Android versions of an app simultaneously or just one at a time. And if app development for each platform occurs at different times, should iOS development or Android development come first?
When feasible in mobile app development, we recommend picking a single platform to start with rather than developing for both simultaneously. You may not have that luxury if you’re developing an app to release to consumers who all need to have the mobile app at the same time—perhaps in conjunction with a film or other product release.
If it’s possible, though, we think one at a time in the development process is better because it will enable you to learn from your customers on the first platform. Unless a mobile app is extremely simple, it will go through several iterations before it offers the desired experience.
Trying to manage learnings across both iOS devices and Android devices is cumbersome. Instead, the feedback and refinements from the first platform can be leveraged to speed mobile app development on the second platform, saving both time and money in producing across mobile devices.
What factors should we consider in picking an OS?
When advising customers whether to focus on Android development or iOS app development first, we consider these factors to help guide the decision.
Industry & Demographics
You may find an industry bias for operating systems (OS) that affects your project. For instance, we found iOS devices more prevalent in medical applications, while Android app development seems more prevalent in construction.
If you don’t have industry insight, try checking your website’s analytics to determine user platforms. Trends might help decide what type of platform may be best suited.
You can also use sites similar to Mixpanel to discover applications and software that would be more suited to that platform. If one platform is used far more than the other, you know a preference exists and should develop accordingly.
Likewise, depending on the market you are serving, you may also find that age-related differences affect whether you should focus on iOS app development or Android app development first.
Market Share
For app developers who intend to produce mobile applications for the general public and do not know the OS preference of their target audience, these market considerations may provide some guidance:
Android devices have captured most of the global market share for many years. Google provides free, open-source software that manufacturers can install on their smartphone devices. Because of the large number of Android users and the lower cost of Android devices to consumers, Android developers are at an advantage in many markets.
Unquestionably, Android is the world’s most popular smartphone OS. However, Apple has a powerful brand, particularly in the US, where Apple's ecosystem, stable OS, and device durability enable iOS to keep large numbers of active and premium smartphone users.
OS Adoption Rates & Upgrade Complexity
Apple has a remarkable track record of getting iOS users to upgrade to current versions of its OS, whereas Android adoption is much slower:
As of May this year, 89% of users are on the current iOS.
As much as 60% of users keep older versions of Android on their phones.
Apple handles the distribution of its iOS updates exclusively. Developing for and supporting a smaller number of OS versions on Apple devices leads to quicker builds, faster testing, and more straightforward support in the long run for iOS developers.
Google only gives direct updates to its products, like the Pixel series. Other manufacturers like Samsung must first get the update from Google and optimize it for Android devices before they can send it to Android users. Some mobile carriers also go through updates before distribution, too. Android developers may have to deliver more app fixes as a result.
Speed & Ease of Development & Publishing
Speed and ease of development and publishing are not as cut and dry in terms of pros and cons. Android pros include:
The Android platform enables a more flexible development environment. Because Windows, Mac OS, and Linux all support Java—which Android relies on—Android developers can build Android apps on various machines.
Google Play allows developers to publish multiple versions of the same app (alpha and beta) to ensure developers can test the app live, fix bugs, and launch it to a broader audience.
However, developing and maintaining apps is generally more time-consuming for Android than for iOS:
Whereas iOS developers build for a limited type of device (iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch), Android accessibility to a wide range of devices means more devices to test and support.
Google has become less lenient and more time-consuming towards apps that developers want to post on Google Play, narrowing the line between ease of publishing on Google Play vs. the App Store. And through TestFlight, Apple does support previewing versions of an app with up to a thousand beta testers before releasing it for wide distribution in the Apple App Store.
Development Cost & Profit Opportunities
Cost and profit will vary depending on the type and complexity of the app you’re developing; still, Android apps are generally more expensive to create than iOS apps are for iPhones. Overall, Android users tend to favor free apps and spend less on in-app purchases than iOS users, which can lead to higher sources of profit on iOS, not accounting for market differences.
Should we develop for iOS or Android first?
If you’ve considered all the above factors, and neither platform is the clear winner, we’d recommend starting with iOS for a US-focused app. Our reasons are speed to market, lower development cost, and revenue generation potential.
Please contact us if you’d like to discuss your particular situation or have other questions on this topic. We’d love to hear from you.
InspiringApps recently celebrated its 15th birthday. Over the years, its leaders have rolled out various initiatives to boost employee engagement and retention. Listening to employee feedback is a big part of that. For example, team feedback as a result of last year’s Great Place to Work survey created IA Commits, pairing inspiring not-for-profit clients with developers who can use a hand-up early in their software career.
“InspiringApps wouldn’t be what it is today without our amazing people,” said Brad Weber, CEO and President of InspiringApps. “InspiringApps is better because of the people who work here. We are all passionate about our craft and united in our goal to make a real difference in the world.”
According to Great Place to Work research, job seekers are 4.5 times more likely to find a great boss at a Certified great workplace. Additionally, employees at Certified workplaces are 93% more likely to look forward to coming to work and are twice as likely to be paid fairly, earn a fair share of the company’s profits, and have a fair chance at promotion.
“Great Place to Work Certification™ isn’t something that comes easily—it takes ongoing dedication to the employee experience,” said Sarah Lewis-Kulin, Vice President of Global Recognition at Great Place to Work. “It’s the only official recognition determined by employees’ real-time reports of their company culture. Earning this designation means that InspiringApps is one of the best companies to work for in the country.”
About InspiringApps
App development that makes an impact. InspiringApps builds digital products that help companies impact their employees, customers, and communities. Yes, we build web, mobile, and custom apps, but what we offer is something above and beyond that. What we offer is inspiration. Our award-winning work has included 200+ apps since the dawn of the iPhone. Our core values: integrity, respect, commitment, inclusivity, and empathy. Our guarantee: finish line, every time, for every project.
About Great Place to Work® Certification™
Great Place to Work® Certification™ is the most definitive “employer-of-choice” recognition that companies aspire to achieve. It is the only recognition based entirely on what employees report about their workplace experience—specifically, how consistently they experience a high-trust workplace. Great Place to Work Certification is recognized worldwide by employees and employers alike and is the global benchmark for identifying and recognizing outstanding employee experience. Every year, more than 10,000 companies across 60 countries apply to get Great Place to Work-Certified.
About Great Place to Work®
Great Place to Work® is the global authority on workplace culture. Since 1992, they have surveyed more than 100 million employees worldwide and used those deep insights to define what makes a great workplace: trust. Their employee survey platform empowers leaders with the feedback, real-time reporting, and insights they need to make data-driven people decisions. Everything they do is driven by the mission to build a better world by helping every organization become a great place to work For All™. Learn more at greatplacetowork.com and on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
InspiringApps’ Value Proposition: Boasting a portfolio of more than 200 apps developed, InspiringApps helps brands design and develop mobile, web, and customer apps and software solutions. Engineers come to InspiringApps for the diversity of clients, collaborative team atmosphere, and attractive benefits package. Engineers build things from the ground up, nimbly and efficiently, and build products that scale to handle thousands of daily users. InspiringApps benefits and perks stand up against any size company. Our employees feel valued because of the compensation packages we provide.
How We Collaborate: At InspiringApps, we have fine-tuned our tooling and process to provide straightforward means for collaboration. We work 100% remotely, but that doesn’t mean we work alone. Our transition into a remote workforce spanning time zones has been smooth. It has allowed us to attract top engineers no matter where they live. Who we work with makes all the difference, so our teams care deeply about who we hire. We take who we hire very seriously and are even more serious about retaining those people once they are at InspiringApps.
What Retention Means To Us: We know there is always room for improvement, and we get excited when we have the opportunity to try something new. Open discussion and team feedback around new ideas or initiatives are encouraged. Our annual Great Place to Work survey enables engineers to voice their opinions anonymously. We use the data we collect to make improvements. Engineers enjoy the variety of work we offer at InspiringApps and our dedication to improving.