Summer months can be slow at a startup. Longer days put a drag not just on business development, but on you and your team members’ daily productivity. How do you push through and get work done, but still take advantage of those coveted half-day Fridays, travel and barbecue?
To find out, I asked 12 entrepreneurs the following:
What’s one app that’s helping you get more done this summer?
Their favorite apps are below.
1. POP
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POP is a new app prototyping tool that is absolutely incredible. It allows you to manually draw out user interfaces the old-fashioned way (with pen and paper), then capture an image and add functional buttons. This means that you can manually step through all of the necessary pages and have them interact with each other, which creates a surprisingly functional prototype in just minutes.
If you have screenshots or images of pages that are designed but not yet programmed, you can upload the images, add buttons/links and get a true feel for the workflow.
– Adam Callinan, PiCK Ventures, Inc.
2. QuickVoice Recorder
QuickVoice Recorder is one of the best apps for taking voice notes for new business ideas and reminders, especially when you’re on the go. It allows you to send voice messages, as well. With its latest update, you can use other apps while recording.
– Andrew Schrage, Money Crashers Personal Finance
3. MakeMe
MakeMe is a fantastic app for pushing you to get things done when you might otherwise procrastinate.
The whole experience is gamified, so there’s an element of fun peer pressure that is amazingly effective for inspiring action. Beta invites are available.
4. iDoneThis
iDoneThis allows you to reply to an evening email reminder with what you did that day. The next day, it sends you a digest with what everyone on the team got done.
It’s that simple. No hassle, no micromanagement. Get stuff done, and celebrate it with your team.
– Brett Farmiloe, Digital Marketing Agency
5. Kingsoft Office
Keeping up with my busy schedule and getting things done during the summer months is often more challenging than I like. After doing some research and trying out different mobile apps, I found that the best for my needs is actually Kingsoft Office.
It allows me to work with every file type I need, including Microsoft files, and it provides me with iCloud support. Because the mobile app is free and I can access and edit files on the go, it is perfect for my needs. I do not need to spend a small fortune for the services, which allows me to put my budget toward other necessities.
– Jay Wu, Best Drug Rehabilitation
6. SuperCalendar
SuperCalendar has given me a virtual assistant to manage my calendar, so I don’t feel guilty for emailing at random times of the day.
It’s a service that I can adapt around to continue leveraging on an ongoing basis. It also helps the rest of my team, and customers get the most out of me.
– Robert Castaneda, ServiceRocket
7. Brook
I love Twittter, but sometimes I spend too much time sorting through everything. Brook helps me keep tabs on my favorite people, companies and publications. I get the information I want, but I spend less time on social media and more time getting stuff done.
8. Fancy Hands
I use Fancy Hands as my virtual assistant service when I have tasks I don’t want to spend any time on myself. All I have to do is open the mobile app, describe what I want done and send it to the team at Fancy Hands. Within a few hours, they’ll have it taken care of.
The best part is that they don’t close a task until you are completely satisfied with the outcome and/or effort put in to it.
9. Mailbox
Mailbox helps me cut down on time spent dealing with email. Being a fast and efficient emailer can really make you stand out as a responsive and on-the-ball founder.
10. WunWun
There’s this app that I have recently become obsessed with. It’s called WunWun. It’s an on-demand helper. As soon as you open the app, you say what you want, and they’ll assign someone to go and do it for you immediately.
It’s only in New York right now, but I feel like it’s definitely going to help me out this summer.
11. Trello
Although I like to try out lots of new tech, I’ve already found the software that keeps me efficient. Probably the newest thing I’ve integrated is Trello. I’m making a concerted effort to fit the same amount of work into less time.
With Trello, I implemented a system for getting the things I need to do done. Whenever I hit one of those lulls where I say, “What should I work on next?” the answer is in Trello.
– Peter Baumgartner, Lincoln Loop
12. Skyscanner
Skyscanner allows you to easily search all major airlines in one unified request. There’s no fumbling around through multiple airline sites with a dozen tabs open in your browser — just a quick and efficient price/time categorization across your desired airlines on the day you’re looking to book for.
The service is available both as a mobile app and a Web app. You can even take advantage of special promotions and secure a rental car or hotel at the same time you book your flights.
– Michael Costigan, Youth Leadership Specialist
The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, the YEC recently launched #StartupLab, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses via live video chats, an expert content library and email lessons.
Header image credit: Thinkstock
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