AnySticker - Interview with the developer of a fantastic app

Did you have any prior development or coding experience?

Yes, I started making apps seven years ago, when I was 16. My first big project was a 'YouTube' music player called 'onetune.fm' which is still running. The most successful app I made is a local student app called 'Bestande' that is used by over 10,000 students at the university in Zurich I graduated from.

What was the most challenging aspect of developing mobile app?

The app uses an integration with 'Instagram' which is very new and not many people are using it. To get it to work and make the best out of its limitations was challenging. Other than that, it was a routine job for me and I made the app and all the marketing material in less than a week!

_{Jonny Burger}

Jonny Burger is a JavaScript programmer and freelancer from Zurich. His goal is to become independent and grow his several apps so that he works on them full-time!

Name a few of your favorite apps and reason you love them.

I like 'Instagram' a lot because it is fun to use and because it is a really well engineered product in a simplistic UI. That's the app that inspired 'AnySticker'! I also like 'Bear', a note taking app for iOS and Mac very much. I also use 'Tweetbot' and 'Spotify' every day and although they are not that impressive nowadays engineering-wise, they were really cutting-edge when I started using them 5 years ago.

How long have you been working on this app?

I spent only about 4 days building it. The idea I had just the day before. 'React Native' really helped me a lot building it quickly. After that I only had to wait for Apple to approve it, and during that I was making some promo material. Unfortunately my app was rejected 6 times and it took another week until I could announce it, which drove me crazy!

What need of the user did you have in mind when developing this app?

Although I am not very popular, I love posting to 'Instagram Stories'. I felt that the tools available to design your story were a bit limited though, so I wanted to create an app that gives the user more options but also makes it look like it's a feature straight from 'Instagram'. I wanted to make it so that when you post a sticker using 'AnySticker', people think: "Wow, how did they do this?".

In what way do you think your app is better than similar apps on the market? Please describe in detail what innovation you think you bring and what you are proud of in your app.

I have not analyzed the market too much, but I think 'AnySticker' is the only app that lets you design custom stickers and post them on 'Instagram Stories'. I think 'Instagram' has added this feature pretty recently. There are apps that let you share to 'Instagram Stories', but then it's a solid background. With 'AnySticker', you can post stickers on top of your own footage!

What are your future plans and expected features of the coming new versions of this app?

In the next version, I want to add more types of stickers. I have a few fun ideas, like loudness sticker, Wi-Fi speed sticker, integrations with other apps like 'Strava' where you could then post a sticker of your run, etc. If that goes well, I'll do even more different stickers. I think there are almost endless possibilities.

Assuming new users of your app are reading this page. What do you want to ask them to do (contact you about X, Share the app, etc.)?

I'm very happy if you use the app and post stickers using 'AnySticker'! There's nothing special I would like to ask you to do. If you want, you can follow @anysticker.app on 'Instagram' where I will post when there is an update.