Featured Mobster: Mixology

May 27, 2011 |  Posted By : Laura  In : Developer Community, Featured Mobster

With a passion for the mobile industry and making cocktails, James Murphy and Matt Hillebrand set out to create an app in 2009 that would be better than any other. The Mixology app has served almost 4 million users, been #1 in the lifestyle category of the Apple App Store and provided countless users with the knowledge of creating and re-creating some of the best cocktails out there.

We sat down with Matt Hillebrand and James Murphy this week, founders of Digital Outcrop and developers of Mixology. Check out what they had to say about their experience with Mobclix and mobile app development.

Total Downloads: 3.7 million

Monthly Unique Users: 600,000

1) What inspired you to build the app?
The two of us were tired of working for the man. We wanted to get into the mobile industry, and we enjoy making cocktails, so it was an easy decision. We also saw that the existing cocktail recipe apps in 2009 weren’t very nice or powerful. We knew that we could make a better product, promote the hell out of it, and come out on top.

2) Why does the ad revenue model make sense for you?
About 95% of our downloads are free apps, and with millions of users, we can earn more money with ad revenue than we do from the Apple App Store. Also, we recently created an Android version of Mixology, which will definitely earn some decent ad revenue.

3) Why did you choose Mobclix?
We were using AdMob exclusively for two years, but recently our eCPM dropped significantly, so it was time for a change. We really like the way Mobclix dynamically optimizes ad inventory based on the eCPM we receive from all associated ad networks.

4) What tips do you have for other developers?
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket like we did.