There can’t be too many people out there who were not in shock, awe, or amazement when Facebook recently announced that they had acquired Instagram, the photo-sharing smartphone app for $1billion. 

Apps are big business and whilst it may be every app developer’s dream to make their fortune in the manner that the Instagram founders have, the reality is that overnight millionaire status only comes to a small percentage of developers. And whilst it may not promise millions, helping developers make money from their apps is something that this week’s Startup Of The Week is aiming to do.

Apptopia is a new online marketplace which helps to broker the sale of mobile Apps.
A developer can list their app on Apptopia and then allow potential buyers to bid for it, much in the same manner as listing an item on ebay for example. App listings also include information on ratings, reviews and numbers of downloads etc.

When a buyer bids for the app. they are not only bidding for the app itself, but also its’ coding, its’ customer base and all revenue. The actual “brokering” of the exchange is all handled via Apptopia who take a 15% commission on each sale.

Although it is still early days, we think Apptopia will become an invaluable sales resource for developers and also an excellent resource for investors or for non techies who want to get in on the mobile technology scene.

If you liked this, why not take a peek at some Startups Of The Week we have featured previously.