The Investor's View: Is The App Boom Over? Ramez Mohamed, CEO of Flat6Labs, gives his insight on whether the app marketplace ecosystem is still worth the investment.

By Ramez M. El-Serafy May 30, 2016

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

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Lately, in the entrepreneurial and tech-centric media, there's been some discussion on whether the app boom days are over, especially in light of the ever-climbing CAC costs reported by tech startups. We asked investors based in the Middle East, from angels to VCs, to talk back and give us their views on whether startups in the app space still have a chance to make it (and get looked at seriously for capital).

THE Q What is your opinion on the idea that the app boom has already gone through a life and death cycle, and that it's now an overly optimistic (and unlikely) area for entrepreneurs to succeed in?

"I don't think that the mobile apps businesses are witnessing a death. It's definitely a much more crowded market now, where the mobile app or the "app store only' business models might be declining because of the market saturation. However, I think we are also seeing a new era of how mobile app businesses are developing to be an essential channel rather just an end product, where many of the startups now think mobile first and are busy trying to deliver a smooth cross-platform experience to their users from day one."

Ramez M. El-Serafy

CEO, Flat6Labs

Ramez accumulates 10 years of experience in digital products production and management. Before managing Flat6Labs, Ramez was responsible for building and managing the mobile apps unit at Sarmady - a Vodafone Company. Prior to that, he initiated and led the product design team at eSpace, the leading software house in Alexandria, he also started his first company, Dynamix Solutions, with friends in 2006. Ramez holds a B.Sc degree in Computer Engineering from Alexandria University, Egypt.

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