Thriving Business Environment for Entrepreneurs With the Right Approach

The founders of iPhone application development company Abvio – Steve Kusmer and Kevin Wallace – are not inexperienced entrepreneurs. They’re baby boomers who first met in 1983. Kusmer brought Wallace onboard his first new company startup in 1998. That company was sold in 2005. Not long thereafter, the pair went looking for a new business opportunity together.

They stuck with what they know: developing products that are accepted by a loyal market of consumers. They also share a mutual interest in fitness. They started their corporation to tackle the vast possibilities of apps for the popular iPhone market. The rich features of the device seemed ideal for applications designed to monitor exercise routines for runners, cyclists, and walkers.

After a two year developmental stage, Abvio launched a suite of applications in 2009 – Runmeter, Cyclemeter, and Walkmeter. All three apps are in the top thirty selling Health and Fitness applications in the iTunes App Store. Recently, Abvio has more than 120,000 users in a single month. The apps track user excursions and generate progress graphs, which can export to Google Maps for 3-D views of a trip.

Abvio is thriving because of following the right approach when it was a new business. First, the founders decided upon a price for each app of $4.99 with no free versions. In addition, Kusmer and Wallace stuck with a narrow focus on an iPhone only app instead of developing versions for other platforms. This permitted them to implement improvements more quickly, which is an important aspect of the reputation for Abvio apps.

Abvio was financed entirely by capital of the founders. They kept costs low by developing the product themselves. They initially hired only a freelance public relations consultant to generate publicity using social media and a blog when the products were launched. More consultants have been utilized as the business has grown.

Abvio stays focused on satisfying consumers rather than outside investors. The lean operating approach and attention to product details resulted in wide acceptance of Abvio’s apps. The innovation hasn’t stopped. New features are planned to later this year.