Bechir Arfaoui
Serial app entrepreneur who builds and sells apps (interviewed by Steve P. Young of App Masters)
Where to hear and read about Bechir Arfaoui1 episode or test
Bechir Arfaoui is a serial app entrepreneur who builds and sells apps, and in this interview he explains how he validates ideas. The lesson most worth taking: find apps that already earn money with real search demand, ship a bare-bones iOS version within about a week, and let early users show what to build next.
If you release, you will have the energy and the courage to continue.
(Part 1/3 - 6 Figure App Exit) How to Validate 6-Figure App Ideas
Bechir Arfaoui: the story and the lessons
1How Bechir Arfaoui finds app ideas that already earn
Arfaoui mines app marketplace listings for apps that already make money. Flippa and Acquire.com make sellers show revenue, so filtering to mobile apps gives a shortlist of niches that pay. He filters to iOS because Android users pay much less for apps.
He looks for big sales numbers, though small numbers are fine if the market proves real. "I'm looking for pure apps with big numbers huge sales so I know that there is volume in that particular niche."
He checks the listing's main keyword in Google Keyword Planner. Keyword Planner shows search volume, competition, CPC and bid range. "Instagram story viewer" showed 1 to 10 million searches a month.
Google volume suggests App Store demand. keywordtool.io adds autocomplete, so each longer phrase reads as a problem an app could solve.
He wants huge search volume so a small share still counts. A keyword with about 40,000 searches a month and heavy competition is, in his view, too hard to win a share of.
He uses AppTweak to see the top 10 US App Store results for the keyword. "I need the huge volume so can I can squeeze my part in it."
He checks rival revenue in Sensor Tower before building anything. The top Instagram story saver app, InSave, was making about $50K a month and was run by an indie developer. Sensor Tower is free for this check.
He prefers utility niches with no big brand, where users search for a fix and not a name like Nike.
Arfaoui passes on crowded categories even when the revenue looks good. Chatbot apps all showed $50K or more a month in Sensor Tower and sell for $100K to $200K. He still advises against building one.
"It's currently it's a red ocean. I do not recommend to do a chatbot."
2Arfaoui's rule: ship the smallest version within a week
He builds only the core use case plus a small settings screen. The first version solves one problem, with a settings list for notifications and a review prompt. He says to build it yourself or hire someone on Fiverr, and release within about a week.
Months of coding without a release risk finding the market saturated. Steve P. Young's simplest first app earned $1,000 in its first month from App Store optimization alone.
He releases early to learn Apple's review rules a piece at a time. Early submissions show what Apple rejects, such as non-compliant flows and certain pop-ups, so you fix them as you go.
The alternative is a finished app and "the 50 screen of issues" at the end, which can discourage you into cancelling.
He validates on iOS first and accepts any stack that ships fast. Android users are slower to pay, so he treats iOS releases as projects for validation. Flutter, native or anything else works if you can release quickly.
"Because once you get the money, you can rewrite the app."
He keeps feature-heavy ideas out of version one. Steve describes a client who piled on gamification and extras and still had not launched. Arfaoui's approach is to ship the simplest version, then build on top of it based on testing.
He sells ready-made live apps as a shortcut over templates. Bechir's private group lists apps already live in the App Store with clean code, Apple compliance done, and in-app purchases and push notifications working. Prices run from $1,000 to under $5,000.
The buyer transfers the project and pays the developer. Templates cost about $200 and still need modifying. "You just take an app ready to go."
3How Arfaoui learns from the first users
He adds in-app live chat and answers early users himself. Crisp has iOS and Android SDKs for a chat pop-up. Early users write things like "I don't understand" or "it's expensive", and he calls answering them "babysitting".
Steve changed his own website after chat feedback. "You'll find the best users and the best feedback comes from this chat."
He watches session recordings every day, across regions. Smartlook gives 3,000 free session recordings. They show where users get stuck, broken in-app purchases, slow networks and odd pop-ups that never appear on his own device.
He checks the US, Europe and Asia each day. Without watching, you keep shipping updates while things stay broken. "You need to see it and keep looking at videos every day."
(Part 1/3 - 6 Figure App Exit) How to Validate 6-Figure App Ideas
Shows how to validate an app idea by mining app marketplace listings, keyword volume and competitor revenue, then shipping a minimal version within about a week. Backs it with a toolset (live chat, session recordings) for learning from the first real users.
Arfaoui mines app marketplace listings for apps that already make money. Flippa and Acquire.com make sellers show revenue, so filtering to mobile apps gives a shortlist of niches that pay. He filters to iOS because Android users pay much less for apps.
He looks for big sales numbers, though small numbers are fine if the market proves real. "I'm looking for pure apps with big numbers huge sales so I know that there is volume in that particular niche."
He checks the listing's main keyword in Google Keyword Planner. Keyword Planner shows search volume, competition, CPC and bid range. "Instagram story viewer" showed 1 to 10 million searches a month.
Google volume suggests App Store demand. keywordtool.io adds autocomplete, so each longer phrase reads as a problem an app could solve.
He wants huge search volume so a small share still counts. A keyword with about 40,000 searches a month and heavy competition is, in his view, too hard to win a share of.
He uses AppTweak to see the top 10 US App Store results for the keyword. "I need the huge volume so can I can squeeze my part in it."
He checks rival revenue in Sensor Tower before building anything. The top Instagram story saver app, InSave, was making about $50K a month and was run by an indie developer. Sensor Tower is free for this check.
He prefers utility niches with no big brand, where users search for a fix and not a name like Nike.
Arfaoui passes on crowded categories even when the revenue looks good. Chatbot apps all showed $50K or more a month in Sensor Tower and sell for $100K to $200K. He still advises against building one.
"It's currently it's a red ocean. I do not recommend to do a chatbot."
He builds only the core use case plus a small settings screen. The first version solves one problem, with a settings list for notifications and a review prompt. He says to build it yourself or hire someone on Fiverr, and release within about a week.
Months of coding without a release risk finding the market saturated. Steve P. Young's simplest first app earned $1,000 in its first month from App Store optimization alone.
He releases early to learn Apple's review rules a piece at a time. Early submissions show what Apple rejects, such as non-compliant flows and certain pop-ups, so you fix them as you go.
The alternative is a finished app and "the 50 screen of issues" at the end, which can discourage you into cancelling.
He validates on iOS first and accepts any stack that ships fast. Android users are slower to pay, so he treats iOS releases as projects for validation. Flutter, native or anything else works if you can release quickly.
"Because once you get the money, you can rewrite the app."
He keeps feature-heavy ideas out of version one. Steve describes a client who piled on gamification and extras and still had not launched. Arfaoui's approach is to ship the simplest version, then build on top of it based on testing.
He sells ready-made live apps as a shortcut over templates. Bechir's private group lists apps already live in the App Store with clean code, Apple compliance done, and in-app purchases and push notifications working. Prices run from $1,000 to under $5,000.
The buyer transfers the project and pays the developer. Templates cost about $200 and still need modifying. "You just take an app ready to go."
He adds in-app live chat and answers early users himself. Crisp has iOS and Android SDKs for a chat pop-up. Early users write things like "I don't understand" or "it's expensive", and he calls answering them "babysitting".
Steve changed his own website after chat feedback. "You'll find the best users and the best feedback comes from this chat."
He watches session recordings every day, across regions. Smartlook gives 3,000 free session recordings. They show where users get stuck, broken in-app purchases, slow networks and odd pop-ups that never appear on his own device.
He checks the US, Europe and Asia each day. Without watching, you keep shipping updates while things stay broken. "You need to see it and keep looking at videos every day."