Developer Interview with Ian Knapp from KeyStageFun

Today’s interview is with Ian Knapp from KeyStageFun.  Please visit their website, Facebook and Twitter pages.  Be sure to check out our review of Squeebles Fractions.

Ian, thank you for participating our interview. Please tell us a little about yourself.

I’m a 36 year old Dad of two from the UK. I’ve been developing educational apps for just over 2 years. Our Squeebles range has topped the educational charts in both the UK and Australia for both iPad and iPhone.

How did the idea for your app come about?

When my daughter was first learning her times tables I wanted to find a fun, interactive way of helping her find the learning process more enjoyable than simply reciting tables over and over. I looked in the app store but couldn’t find anything which really grabbed my attention, so I decided to build an app myself. My wife came up with the name, my children helped design some of the characters and it all went from there

And how long was the process from the original idea to the release of the app?

Around 3 or 4 months for the first app we did.

Did you hire a developer or do it yourself?

I did it myself – the artwork and programming were all done by me.

What has been the hardest obstacle you have had to overcome in the development process?

Coming from a background of always working as part of a team to suddenly doing this on my own was a tricky transition in some ways as you have less people to bounce ideas off. My children, their friends and my wife have proven very helpful in that respect. From a technical point of view, supporting lots of different devices and operating systems is a challenge but I use a piece of software called Corona which helps enormously with that, meaning I only have to write my code once and it can be published for several different types of device, specifically iOS, Kindle Fire and other Android devices which are my major target markets. Marketing the apps was also something that was new to me so that’s been a bit of a learning curve – but I like that challenge and have actually found it very satisfying having to do that side of things.

Have you had much support during the development process (from family, peers, Apple Inc.)?

Absolutely – my family have been very supportive. Like I said, my children and my wife came up with some of the Squeebles characters and ideas for the original app we did so it has been very much a family effort.

What are your plans for the future? Will you be developing any more apps?

Absolutely! We have 6 Squeebles apps out now – 5 maths based ones and one spelling app. We have plans to enhance those based on the feedback we’ve had from children and parents from all over the world. We also have a new app due out before Christmas 2012 and ideas for others.

What sort of feedback has your app been receiving so far?

Feedback has been amazing, with most customers rating our apps 5 stars in the app stores and national newspapers in the UK and Australia picking up on the apps and featuring them. E-mails from parents have provided us with a lot of positive feedback and plenty more ideas for developing our apps further. It’s wonderful to hear from parents telling you how your apps have made a real difference with their child learning to spell or learn their tables. We’ve run several competitions to engage children with the characters by having them design new Squeebles and that has generated a lot of interest and great feedback from parents and kids.

And finally, what advice would you give to anyone considering creating their own app?

Spend time planning every detail before you start – you may not stick to your plan 100% but at least if you start with one you know which direction you’re heading in! You need to be passionate about what you’re creating. This passion will show through in your finished app. Avoid trying to monetize your app with in-app purchases and ads – most parents quite rightly don’t want their children bombarded with those sorts of things.

Thank you so much for talking with us today and sharing a bit about your company.  We really appreciated the chance to get to know you!

Squeebles Fractions by KeyStageFun Category: Education, Educational, Games, Kids Requirements: Compatible with all Size: 12.79 MB

$1.99USD

Times Tables: Squeebles Multiplication by KeyStageFun Category: Education, Kids, Educational, Games Requirements: Compatible with all Size: 9 MB

$0.99USD

Squeebles Spelling Test by KeyStageFun Category: Education, Educational, Games, Kids Requirements: Compatible with all Size: 9.94 MB

$1.99USD

Division: Squeebles Times Tables Reversed by KeyStageFun Category: Education, Educational, Kids, Games Requirements: Compatible with all Size: 8.85 MB

$0.99USD

Early Birds: Times Tables Training by KeyStageFun Category: Education, Games, Kids, Educational Requirements: Compatible with all Size: 8.74 MB

$0.99USD

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Alison

Alison, the American iMum is from Illinois. She lives there with her son and husband. In their spare time, they enjoy playing outside, enjoying nature and of course testing apps on their devices. They have a variety of devices including an iPad, iPhone, and an iPod.

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You can email me direct at alison(at)theimums.com