Flashring: Review
What I love
This is a great idea. It solves one very specific, small problem, and it solves it well. I'm not in school anymore so it isn't for me personally, but it works very well and I like that it connects directly to your timetable. The app is clean, simple, and looks very good. I don't think the app itself needs to change at all.
The ads
The only thing I'd change is the ads. Their placement is unusual (not many apps do it this way), and they break the clean, straightforward feel of the app. More importantly, ads only make real money once you have thousands of users. I'd remove them for now. If you go for a mass-user strategy and actually reach those numbers, you can always add them back.
Business strategy: sell to schools
This is more business advice than development advice, but I think this is where the real money is:
- Make it premium, unlocked by a school code. Students can only use the app with a code from their school. That could be a simple access code, or a login through the platforms you already connect with (OAuth).
- Start with your own school. Pitch it as "your students will be on time more often." Think about what the school, the teachers, and the directors each get out of it. Ask a teacher to present the app to the school.
- Price for the buyer. A whole school could pay a one-off fee in the thousands of euros. If that's too big a first step, sell to one person, like a guidance counselor or the teacher with first-period classes, for around €20. They get a code and hand it out to their students.
- Teachers are your distribution. Once a school buys, the teachers spread the app for you, because it's simply a help for them.
Don't worry about being copied
A lot of people worry that someone will copy their app, but big companies usually don't. Building it themselves is too much work, so they buy instead. If you can grow this and show it makes a profit, the platforms you connect with (like PRONOTE) could become potential buyers.
Expansion
Once it works in France, expand to other French-speaking regions. Belgium is a natural place to start, followed by other francophone countries.
Bottom line
The app is great and works as is. Your challenge isn't the product, it's the business model. Lose the ads, go premium through schools, and show that people use it.

