Brandon has built three apps, one that helps to save dogs, another to find where you parked and another to help people build their own iPhone app from scratch. Source: Supplied
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THEY'RE young, they're rich, and they're taking the technology world by storm. Meet some of the world's most successful entrepreneurs, of which teen prodigy app developer Brandon Cowell is the first. And vote for your chance to win $1000 and a BlackBerry 10 phone.
IF you are like the 99 per cent of busy shop-goers who have ever forgotten where you parked the car or overstayed your welcome at the parking meter, then you should know the name Brandon Cowan.
The tech teen prodigy was just 16 and in Year 11 at high school in NSW when he created and co-developed the famed iParkedHere iPhone app, which helps users remember exactly where they parked their car and warns them when their parking time has run out.
Now 19, Cowan has owned Crazy Dog Apps for just over two years, and says this is just the beginning.
"My app ideas come from real-world problems with poor or no solutions already available," he says.
"First I identify a problem and then I come up with an app idea that solves the problem.
"For example, I have a bad memory and never remember where I park my car - so I made iParkedHere, an app that remembers where you parked.
"Another example is a few years ago when I noticed that there were no apps available that let anyone in Australia easily find a pet to adopt. So I made PetRescue for iPhone."
He says Crazy Dog Apps began when he had two app ideas and was quoted $70,000 by a local development company to produce one of them.
"After hearing this rip-off quote and having over 30 other app ideas just two months later, I was very determined to turn my ideas into reality," Cowan says.
"A family friend who had been in the IT industry for over 30 years liked my ideas and we co-founded Crazy Dog Apps together.
"I remember saying to him - why do we even need a website, who is going to look at it. I've now had over 20,000 visitors on my website, without spending thousands of dollars in search engine advertising like my competitors do."
Currently working on an exciting new app for an international gaming company, Cowan says he has no regrets making Crazy Dog Apps his priority, even throughout the HSC.
"I always try to focus my efforts on what is more fun and productive and for me, building a business was more fun - and arguably more productive - than school work," the Masada College alumni says.
"It seemed logical to spend more time creating great apps instead of creating great essays. With this being said, I did spend some of my time memorizing essays and doing maths and I ended up with an ATAR over 90."
But things don't always come so easily, and Cowan says a lot of hard work and dedication is crucial.
"App development isn't simply about having ‘a good idea' and turning it into an app," he warns.
"It's about refining your ideas and moving forward with one that is actually worth turning into an app. People forget that there are hundreds of thousands of apps on the App Store and each of them were made from ‘a good idea'. Your idea must be exceptional and a no-brainer, not just ‘a good idea' that you think will be cool if it was turned into an app."
He also says Australians do not have to be tech savvy Aussies to launch their own app, and has even designed an app to help you do it.
"I am very passionate about sharing my knowledge and turning ideas into reality," he says. "Due to this, I created App Making Guide which is an iPhone and iPad app that will show anyone how to turn their idea into an app without programming.
"Crazy Dog Apps is just the start for me, and in the near future, I will be launching my new business, Advertising Done Right, where I will be taking on some of the bigger players in the online advertising industry.
"There is a ridiculous amount of detail, dedication and perfection needed for my new business to succeed but I think I have what it takes - we'll find out in the next 12 months!"
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