Could I make £2 million by age 22 by creating several big hit software applications for the iPhone that...?

[William M]

I have just turned 18, and I had a dream that by the time I turned 22 years old I had made £2 million, and I like the idea of becoming an iPhone applications entrepreneur. Could I do this if I created big hit iPhone applications that lots of people wanted to buy?

[SimonC]

Yes you could - in theory.

But do you have ideas that no-one else has thought of and the skills to create the applications? Even if you do, are you sure that the iPhopne will still be relevant in 4 years time? The people who make money from technology usually do it by anticipating what will be needed in the future (or even creating the future), and not jumping onto an existing bandwagon.

[Greywolf]

SimonC is absolutely right - but don't be discouraged! Any program you write today for the iPhone will probably run on the next iPhone. And if it doesn't, you still have a headstart in experience, skill, ideas, and momentum - this will mean that you are ready to rock-n-roll the moment the next iPhone or smartphone or net book or whatever hits the streets.

So start writing now - there's not a moment to be lost!

[avatar790]

4 factors you should consider... rights to software + code, turnover before idea is cloned (i.e copyright issues), potential negative outcome (it crashing all the time, or messing up the phone) and re-investment to push yourself to either next product or market hole.

start with the application, research and bug test throughout process and make sure your contract with iphone sales is solid before even raising the idea - you do this by developing 2 great applications. first 1 is throw away to test app system, that'll give you idea of revenue steam and how they might wrestle your money away from you, second is your million squid app that you'll keep all the profits too due to your previous experience.

chose which you want to plug then cross platform them, travelling them to facebook, beboo, myspace - you get the idea. thus increasing the customer base and going down the popular adverts for money route commonly used at end-of-use part of the application.

if you remembered the mobile phone ringtone revolution, when jamster was created as a subscription (ripping of the user, by selling 10 ringtones instead of the 1 they want to buy). well that started with a young chap like yourself who invented the 'crazy frog ringtone', now hes definitely got more than 2 million.

in short its POSSIBLE, but you'll find about 4 -10 million other people with the exact same idea "spin an app with no work involved, no business experience, no programming ability and sale it for a small mountain of money".