As phones get slimmer, screens get larger and operating systems get smoother, our technological advancements are getting more and more obvious and in our faces. So why not keep up with the times, check out the best apps for entrepreneurs? Ever heard the phrase, “There’s an app for that!”. Well, it does ring true seeing as there’s an app for almost everything today. So why not let these mobile applications make our lives simpler. And who more than today’s busy entrepreneur needs some simplicity in his/her everyday, seemingly topsy-turvy regimen?
So let’s go check out 25+ super useful mobile apps for today’s entrepreneur:
1) 9gag
Compatibility: iOS, Android, WindowsEntrepreneurs are people too! Not just serious workaholics, okay? On that note, let’s kick off this list with some hilarity. The 9gag app is for busy-nessmen stuck in traffic heading from one meeting to another, in need of a good laugh. 9gag will supply you with the funniest collections of memes, gifs, videos and more that you can share on all kinds of platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp, email etc. You even have the option to be part of discussions with the 9gag community, make some fellow Forever Alone entrepreneur friends worldwide.
2) Adobe Connect
Compatibility: iOS, AndroidThe Adobe Connect mobile app gets almost all your desktop capabilities onto your mobile device giving you the option to drive collaboration and hold training sessions straight from your phone.
Additionally, Adobe Connect users can host, join, and share in Adobe Connect meetings, webinars anywhere and at any time. Its features include the ability to have slides and animation for presentations, enable or disable a participant’s ability to broadcast their cameras and audio, accept or deny request from entering meetings and more.
3) Adobe Reader
Compatibility: iOS, Android, WindowsMost important business emails come in the PDF format and for opening them easily, with just a tap; we give you the Adobe Reader app. This app is available in various languages and it lets you can easily edit and organize your documents, print and share files, electronically sign documents and fill out forms, leave comments in the PDF file and much more. So if you’re an entrepreneur who checks his/her mail on the go (basically every entrepreneur out there) this app is a must have.
4) Asana
Compatibility: iOS, Android, WindowsWhen you hot shot entrepreneurs take an impromptu vacation to the Bahamas and need to still check on your team, make sure they’re on their toes, the Asana app will come in handy.
It enables you to monitor and add to your team’s work without having to deal with 50 (probably grammatically wrong) update emails. You can create, prioritize and assign tasks on-the-go, add due dates recurring tasks, attach files and images to your tasks (even straight from Dropbox).
5) Coursera
Compatibility: iOS, Android, WindowsThe clever entrepreneurs don’t stop the studying process after acquiring degrees from fancy institutions. They keep at it. Coursera is for the ever-learning or ever willing-to-learn entrepreneur who might find it helpful to enroll him or herself in a course on Statistics and Data Analysis or even Literature.
The app enables you to browse through over 600 courses covering 20 subject areas. You can enroll yourself, learn from top notch instructors, stream lectures online or download them for offline viewing.
6) Dropbox
Compatibility: iOS, Android, WindowsThe Dropbox app might as well be called Convenience 101. In case you already didn’t know (Gasp. Now that you do, you’ll love me) this app allows you to put all your pictures, videos, documents, important spreadsheets, billing information, and receipts into a box, the Dropbox that you can access from anywhere that has internet, which is everywhere! Every time you put something into Dropbox it automatically saves this data on all your computers and even the main website! You essentially have all the important information you need right with you.
7) Evernote
Compatibility: iOS, Android, WindowsThis one’s for all them busy entrepreneurs (read: all entrepreneurs. Ever) with a hundred things to be done and a few more lined up, with ideas that pop at the most unexpected of moments and with no organized place to put it all! With the Evernote app you can prioritize your to-do list, draft agendas, takes notes, manage expenses, save reservations and tickets during trips and more. Plus, you can access these details anywhere you go because your Evernote ID will be password protected.
8) FBReader
Compatibility: iOS, AndroidYou can’t expect an entrepreneur to lug ‘A Game of Thrones’ around with him from meeting to meeting now, can you? So how else is he supposed to keep up with who George R. R. Martin is killing next?
For that we have the FBReader which is a multiplatform ebook reader that supports a wide range of ebook formats, is ad free, customizable and provides access to well known network libraries so that our book geek entrepreneur can find his next read. An ebook reader even eliminates the need for carrying around an extra gadget, like the Kindle.
9) Flipboard
Compatibility: iOS, Android, WindowsFlipboard works as your own personalized magazine to help you stay caught up on all the latest news and gossip from around the world, based on your areas of interest. You can add specific blogs and major publications of your choice that you enjoy reading and then get updates from only these.
Flipboard offers you the ability to search for just about anything at a finger’s touch in a pleasant magazine like format. You can even save your favourite articles to form your own collection.
10) Focus@Will
Compatibility: iOS, AndroidThe mind tends to wander. It’s natural but not too beneficial when you have an important project at hand and you’re trying to focus but just can’t seem to! Don’t worry, entrepreneurs. There’s an app for that! Focus@Will is a mobile app that not only aids you in tuning out distractions but also helps you focus on your work. The app is known to increase your attention span up to a whopping 400% while making sure you stay productive.
11) Free Wifi Finder
Compatibility: iOS, AndroidFor all the workaholics that need to be connected via the internet 24/7, you’ll find the Free Wifi Finder mobile app pretty useful. So if you’re sitting in a quaint cafe (I say ‘quaint’ because it’s probably the only kind of cafe that won’t have wifi) on your Mac and need to send out a few 50 mails, this app will help you locate where you need to be to be able to click send on all those drafts. ( Note: This app doesn’t have its own official website. Download it for iOS and Android)
12) FreshBooks
Compatibility: iOS, AndroidFreshBooks is a cloud based accounting software service that is designed for businesses that need to send out invoices to clients and get paid for their hard work. Among other things, this mobile app helps you organize your expenses and track time. And yes, we know you entrepreneurs are already pretty good at the accounting business but this streamlines the process and just makes the whole ordeal simpler. TechCrunch even added FreshBooks to the “Top 10 Best Free Apps” list.
13) Google Analytics
Compatibility: iOS, Android, WindowsThe Google Analytics app gives you easy access to your important customer details, including real time visitor reports and ability to view behaviors, conversions and more, across all your relevant portals like ads and videos, websites, social tools, tablets and smartphones at anytime and anywhere. Google Analytics basically helps you be informed as to whether your website needs to up its content this week or if you’re doing just fine.
14) IFTTT
Compatibility: iOS, AndroidIFTTT stands for If This Then That. This gift of high intellect is a service that enables you to create connections as per your convenience. This is called a “Trigger” and That is called an “Action” and together they make up a “Recipe”. For example, when your marketing team publishes an article (This), you can create a Recipe where, the moment this article is published, its update goes up on all of your company’s social media forums (That). Download away, entrepreneurs! And… You’re welcome.
15) LinkedIn
Compatibility: iOS, Android, WindowsWell, you obviously know what LinkedIn is. And if you’ve got yourself a LinkedIn profile, then you obviously know how important this business oriented social networking service is. Which is why you need to have the LinkedIn mobile app handy. It allows you make your crucial connections with various professional networks, read the latest updates, edit or change your profile information, view and save your recommended jobs and keep up with the groups that you are a part of.
16) Lookout
Compatibility: iOS, AndroidIn a day full of meetings, conference calls, scolding juniors, appeasing clients, apologizing to the spouse for something or the other, could you even dare to blame the busy entrepreneur for leaving his/her phone unattended or forgetting it in a cab? To rid you of another hassle, we recommend the Lookout mobile app. With your registered email address you can locate your phone, access your backed up data and devices, all by logging into Lookout.com, anytime and anywhere.
17) Lumosity
Compatibility: iOS, Android, WindowsFor all the wise entrepreneurs who are looking to constantly exercise their brain muscle and stay ever capable of making sharp decisions, you have the great Lumosity app. It has been designed by neuroscientists to train your memory, attention and basically sharpen your core cognitive abilities. So instead of slashing fruits or crushing candy, download an app that will help you stay on top of all things brainy, while having just as much fun if not more! Lumosity is clearly one of the best free productivity apps.
18) Perch
Compatibility: iOS, AndroidTo stay on top you got to keep a tab on your competition. The Perch mobile app enables you to have a sneaky bird’s eye view on the online presence of your competitors, it’s evidently one of the best apps for entrepreneurs looking to stay ahead of things at all times. It gives you the ability to check on the reviews, social posts and promotions of you and your competition all in one place; therefore you can form a comparison and see where you need to up your game. The Perch app was even a finalist at the Silicon Valley Business App Awards (2013)
19) Pocket
Compatibility: iOS, AndroidImagine that you come across an interesting article in your Twitter feed (or any other website for that matter) that you must read, but can’t at the moment, seeing as your chatty colleague has just begun reciting her reasons as to why her Android phone definitely beats the new iPhone 6’s operating system. Not to worry! You can hear about the great Android v/s iOS argument AND read the cool article with the Pocket app. It allows you to save and view articles/news and blog posts/videos for later with the option of offline reading on any mobile device.
20) Skype
Compatibility: iOS, Android, WindowsWell, not everybody has the means to drop by the UAE for a conference meeting and then manage to catch breakfast with kids the next morning. For those that are getting there, you have the Skype mobile app. With this communication tool entrepreneurs can hold and attend multi person video conferences, share and edit important files and merely have discussions with team members and utilize the convenient option to share screens. And for the entrepreneurs that DO have the means to travel far away for just a meeting, Skype helps you connect with your significant other.
21) Skyscanner
Compatibility: iOS, Android, WindowsConstantly needing to book outstation flights? Be it for a conference or a much needed mini vacation, Skyscanner is one of the best apps for entrepreneurs that live out of a suitcase. It gives you comparisons of millions of flights across airlines so you can book what suits you and your budget best.
This travel app works independently and shows available flights as well as pricing, both direct from airlines and via travel agents. Also known as the world’s top flight comparison app, Skyscanner will find you the results you need within seconds.
22) StackExchange
Compatibility: iOS, AndroidStack Exchange is a network of over 100 question and answer communities on topics ranging from software programming to cooking, photography, and gaming and almost everything else under the sun. Entrepreneurs can have all their doubts cleared in one place by the top relevant people in question.
This is the official app for all StackExchange sites, including Stack Overflow, Super User, Server Fault, Ask Ubuntu and Arqade. And especially for entrepreneurs stuck with technical glitches and queries, Stack Overflow could be just the resource you need. For the rest that know how to solve tech issues, you can share your knowledge.
23) Tiny Flashlight
Compatibility: AndroidYes, the iOS phones already have an inbuilt flashlight, so this app only rings useful for people with phones of other operating systems. For when electricity fails on you or you’re stuck in the middle of nowhere at 11:45pm with a flat tire on a road with no streetlights, is when the Tiny Flashlight app will come in handy.
24) TripAdvisor
Compatibility: iOS, Android, WindowsFor those with a handful of outstation conferences to go to every couple of months, the TripAdvisor app could prove pretty handy. Plan your trips wisely with finding the lowest air fares, best hotels and places to eat. What’s more, the app gives you candid reviews from past customers of everything about a place, from its restaurants to sightseeing destinations and pictures, so you can be prepared. The app even has a “Near Me Now” option where you can find eating places and other required things around you.
25) Uber
Compatibility: iOS, Android, WindowsIt’s 4:45am and you’re stranded at the airport with no ride to take you home. Fret not when Uber is here to help! The Uber app gives you your very own private driver and ride within minutes of your request. It’s an on-demand service, so no hassle of making reservations or having to wait in taxi lines. You have the option to pay with Google Wallet, PayPal or your credit card at the end of which you get an email receipt when you reach your destination.
26) VSCO CAM
Compatibility: iOS, Android, WindowsVSCO CAM is for editing pictures on the move. The app not only makes for efficient editing, you can organize and filter your images, view the data of your pictures very easily including its geo location, date etc. Additionally, it enables you to share your images via the VSCO Grid and Facebook, Twitter and all other social networking portals. You can also reference the tutorial, interviews and more that are available on the VSCO Journal.
27) Zomato
Compatibility: iOS, Android, WindowsZomato, the ultimate restaurant, bar and food finder is for those busy entrepreneurs who didn’t pack a lunch for the day or can’t figure what restaurant to hold the client meeting at or need to check how expensive the cocktails are going to be at the decided venue of the client meeting. The Zomato app not only offers you a list of places to order from but also the updated menu, pictures and customer reviews of the place, all on the go!
Did we miss out on a few apps that could come handy for entrepreneurs? Or do you know cool alternatives to the ones we’ve mentioned? Let us know in the comments section.
Note: Mobile applications have been arranged in alphabetical order. The list does not indicate any rank system or hierarchy.
