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How to Build a Billion Dollar App: Discover the secrets of the most successful entrepreneurs of our time Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

4.6 out of 5 stars 820 ratings

The ultimate guide to building an app-based business - now revised and updated

Apps have changed the way we communicate, shop, play, interact and travel, and their phenomenal popularity has presented possibly the biggest business opportunity in history.

In How to Build a Billion Dollar App, serial tech entrepreneur George Berkowski gives you exclusive access to the secrets behind the success of the select group of apps that have achieved billion-dollar success.

Berkowski draws exclusively on the inside stories of the billion-dollar app club members, including Instagram, Whatsapp, Snapchat, Candy Crush and Uber, to provide all the information you need to create your own spectacularly successful mobile business. He guides you through each step, from an idea scribbled on the back of an envelope through to finding a cofounder, building a team and attracting (and keeping) millions of users, all the way through to juggling the pressures of being CEO of a billion-dollar company (and still staying ahead of the competition).

If you've ever dreamed of quitting your nine-to-five job to launch your own company, or if you're a gifted developer, a seasoned entrepreneur or just intrigued by mobile technology, How to Build a Billion Dollar App will show you what it really takes to create your own billion-dollar mobile business.

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Previous slide of product details
  1. Listening Length
    12 hours and 5 minutes
  2. Author
    George Berkowski
  3. Narrator
    Christopher Ragland
  4. Audible release date
    April 6, 2017
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Little, Brown Audio
  7. ASIN
    B01N4WQRQA
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
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Product details

Listening Length 12 hours and 5 minutes
Author George Berkowski
Narrator Christopher Ragland
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date April 06, 2017
Publisher Little, Brown Audio
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B01N4WQRQA
Best Sellers Rank #33,488 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#216 in Entrepreneurship (Audible Books & Originals)
#318 in Entrepreneurship (Books)

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
820 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book very informative, with one review noting how the author analyzes opportunities in an intelligent manner and provides unique insights into analytically-driven strategies. Moreover, the book is considered essential reading for appreneurs, with one customer describing it as the most detailed book ever written on the subject. Additionally, customers find the book entertaining.

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42 customers mention "Information quality"42 positive0 negative

Customers find the book very informative, based on relevant experiences and successes, with practical advice and guidance throughout.

"...things, you have a good chance of building a successful and spectacular business. George Berkowski hit a home run with this book...." Read more

"...and provides real world examples of how similar people achieved success..." Read more

"...but the insights and very pragmatic recommendations for entrepreneurs and app developers are still very useful and interesting...." Read more

"...The author analyzes opportunities in a very intelligent manner (love the effective use of data in the book) and then lays out the decision points to..." Read more

40 customers mention "Readability"37 positive3 negative

Customers find the book highly readable and essential for appreneurs, with one customer noting it's the most detailed book they've encountered.

"Pretty good book. This is the book for you if you want to launch an app and turn it into a billion dollar business...." Read more

"...out there ABOUT entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship that are interesting reads but very few that really help you to BECOME a successful entrepreneurs...." Read more

"Great Book! I was introduced to this title by a friend who is a website developer and found out I was looking into developing an App...." Read more

"The book does an excellent job in walking you through the practical steps to building an app-based business...." Read more

5 customers mention "Entertainment value"5 positive0 negative

Customers find the book entertaining, with one mentioning its engaging style and noting it's never a waste of time.

"...I love reading Michael Lewis books because they are entertaining, informative and provide an in depth look into commonly known financial events that..." Read more

"...the perfect blend of well-connected concepts and examples written in a fun, approachable style...." Read more

"...It's extremely informative AND entertaining!..." Read more

"...Learned a lot from this book! Never a waste of your precious time and hard earned money. Keep up the good work Mr. Berkowsky;" Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Wade Danielson
    5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible book for multiple levels of App Builders
    Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    George really wanted for the reader to have a view from the inside of both the experienced entrepreneur and first time entrepreneur. He recounts the stories of a lot of people he knows and the businesses they’ve gone through. Then he spends some time talking about mobile genetics and why is it that mobile presents the most exciting opportunities now. At the end of the first part he goes into what makes an idea a billion dollar idea. George takes the reader through a variety of different frameworks like the human universals and how the apps actually tap in to these universals.
    The second part of the book is called The Journey and that’s where George explains the different steps of building a billion dollar app and how a variety of different companies have done it such as Instagram, Snapchat and others. He analyzes how they went through the step by step growth. After that he talks about the ten million dollar app and the key idea is achieving what’s called product market fit and thats where he thinks a lot of apps trip up. It gets into the practicalities, the exercises and operational bits that you need in order to achieve product market fit.
    Step three is about the hundred million dollar app and not very many companies get to this realm. This is about how to not only earn revenue but also profit. If you make it through that step the author takes you through the five hundred million dollar app stage which is scaling your business. It’s taking something that is profitable and how to sink some deep roots and make it work internationally.
    The last section of the book is about the billion dollar app. A huge part of this section is advice from billion dollar CEO’s and how to manage this kind of organization on a billion dollar scale. The message I want to communicate is it’s about the passion, building a great company and adding value. If you can get the perfect intersection of all these things, you have a good chance of building a successful and spectacular business.

    George Berkowski hit a home run with this book. We had the opportunity to interview him on this book so if you would like more information you can check out The Entrepreneurs Library episode 37.
    5 people found this helpful
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  • Hamish
    5.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not for me
    Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Pretty good book. This is the book for you if you want to launch an app and turn it into a billion dollar business. It covers all sorts of apps (social media, games, services, etc.) and provides real world examples of how similar people achieved success (including the author himself, who helped launched Hailo, a cab hailing service).

    That being said, the book was TOO big picture for me. I’m going to leave my rating at five stars, because it’s clearly titled with its goal of helping you reach a billion dollar valuation for your app, but I was looking for a simple guide on how to launch a small gaming app company on the side as a weekend hobby, generating a reasonable goal of $10-$50 a day in ad revenue. I wanted a book that would help me with some factors I overlooked in terms of business, like marketing or the beta testing process or growing your user base. This book definitely does that, but then includes a dozen more topics that I’ll never use, like how to secure seed funding or how to hire a quality business partner. Interesting stuff, but information I will probably never need.

    Overall - good for those of you that want to aim high and start the next Facebook or Uber. If reaching a billion dollars is an unrealistic goal to you, look elsewhere for a more focused book.
    46 people found this helpful
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  • Regis
    4.0 out of 5 stars Dated but still very insightful
    Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Most or all the examples in this book are dated (which in itself tells a lot, since it was written as recently as 2014!) but the insights and very pragmatic recommendations for entrepreneurs and app developers are still very useful and interesting. It goes beyond superficial bragging and self-indulgence and deepens into key points at each phase for a tech startup. For most, it seemed to me a candid and honest discussion of Berkowski's own experience at Hailo, as well as a well-thought of compilation of the victories and failures of other highly-regarded techcos at the time of writing.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Bill Aulet
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent New Guide for Mobile Apps Development and Marketing - Explains Big Picture but Give Rigorous but Practical Advice
    Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    There are lots of books out there ABOUT entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship that are interesting reads but very few that really help you to BECOME a successful entrepreneurs. This is one of those rare books that takes on the challenge of doing the latter and doing it well.
    The author analyzes opportunities in a very intelligent manner (love the effective use of data in the book) and then lays out the decision points to frame the problem/opportunity and decision tools to resolve the decision point. Once this is done, he then goes through and gives very specific recommendations and resources that make this book much more concrete than other books. It gives the reader/student/aspiring entrepreneur a clear pathway to optimize the chance of success for his new app. It is very well done from seeing the big picture to giving the reader the next step they should take -- and why.
    I was a bit dismissive of "apps" when they first came out but now it is clear they are the future as the world moves from desktop computers to mobile apps and this is an invaluable tool to help the next generation in their "gold rush" for billion apps -- or to just have a super positive impact on the world. Don't be fooled by the gold and billion dollars clickbait on the front, these lessons can help you if you are a social entrepreneur, corporate entrepreneur or really any type of entrepreneur involved in the mobile space.
    18 people found this helpful
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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars good
    Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2025
    Verified Purchase
    good
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  • Matthew Menego
    5.0 out of 5 stars Start slow but great content
    Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    The first two parts were subpar. But after when he get's into the investors and ways to grow and get started were facts I was looking for and needed. However the book is a little older so I do fear if things have changed slightly with the business world.
    One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Paolo Martines
    5.0 out of 5 stars Se avete a che fare con le app leggetelo
    Reviewed in Italy on December 14, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Lui ha lavorato su Hailo, app che mette insieme domanda e offerta tra taxi e utenti. Importante leggerlo per chi come me lavora sul prodotto digitale con ottimi spunti di lavoro.
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  • AMZ
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great read
    Reviewed in India on July 4, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    This is the most comprehensive approach to launch an app. If you do really have an app with good product market fit, this book will take you off to a different stratosphere altogether.

    Thanks George Berkowski!
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  • The Financial Confidence Coach
    5.0 out of 5 stars Informative and inspiring read
    Reviewed in Canada on March 29, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    A comprehensive guide to building a successful app-based business. The author, George Berkowski, provides practical and actionable advice on how to develop an app and how to build a business around it. The book offers a step-by-step approach and covers all aspects of building a successful app, from idea generation to marketing and scaling. The writing style is engaging and the examples provided are insightful. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in developing an app or building a business around an existing one.
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  • Rafael
    1.0 out of 5 stars Outdated not relevant its a waste of time and money. His book should be called how to ask for money
    Reviewed in Mexico on August 21, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Really bad book
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  • Wilfried Andexer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great and informative book
    Reviewed in Germany on August 30, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Really a must read for all start ups (not only app focused) as it gives many insight into Marketing, Product management, fund raising etc. The title might be a little misleading but George is actually only telling his story (and he did build a billion dollar app) and sharing his experience.
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