Recently we had an opportunity to speak with Christy Laurence , the Founder, Head Cheese at Plann about Plann

Please share with us the backstory of what motivated you to create this app.

Being a creative person obsessed with Instagram myself, I started using it as an online portfolio of my illustration work.

I have a professional background in marketing/advertising and once I saw the potential of just how much more money people could make by taking more care in how their overall feed looks, I needed to make Plann to help the creative community.

My mission has always been to help empower people with their own craft, and Plann was my way of being able to deliver it to the mass.

Do you have any recommendations or advice for others wanting to create a mobile app?

Don't do it.

Hahaha, no seriously, it's such a thrill, much more time consuming than you could ever imagine, but the BEST advice I could give is to find a team that you can trust.

I was burnt early on with two different development teams and now that I have found a team that understands my mission, respects what I'm trying to do and is super proactive - I'm ready to conquer the world!

How did you decide which platforms to release your app on and do you plan on releasing your app to other platforms?

I wanted to make Plann accessible for everyone, so we're already on iOS, iPad, Android and tablets.

Probably a naive move to go gangbusters on all platforms at once (read again: TESTING!!!), but that's what I'm like - all or nothing! I was completely in right from the beginning.

How is your app different than the rest of the market? Which unique need does it fill?

Plann understands that Instagram is an incredibly visual platform, there was no tool out there that allows users to visually plan out their gallery using using a simple drag & drop feature, right from your smartphone.

When people visit your instagram feed, they make a snap decision about whether or not they're going to follow you, and something I think is really important for you as the business owner to have control over.

..and everyone needs an easier solution to Instagram scheduling!

What features do you hope to roll out to your app in the future?

I have a list as long as my arm that I'd like to add, but the best thing for me is being led by the user. I regularly ask them what they have trouble with, and I'll then create a solution, rather than asking 'what do you want'.

The next creative challenge to solve is definitely how to choose hashtags, analytics and a few other things but I'm going to keep those a secret for a little longer ;)

What has been the most rewarding aspect of the creation of this app?

The most rewarding thing about making Plann has definitely been the amount of people I've been able to help. Some of the feedback I get about how people have decided to come back to, or even join instagram in the first place because I've been able to take all the stress out of what to post next, or how to design an approachable Instagram gallery.

What is the coolest or most innovative feature of your app?

I love how beautifully simple, easy and effective it is to use!

The hours spent in learning UI/UX was worth it, and so much time was spent working out the easiest way it could all work together. (Whenever someone says 'but it's so simple?', it actually makes my heart sing!)

Hashtag storage is also a real problem for a lot of people, so I came up with a way users could not only store them, but also label them in groups and easily copy/paste into Instagram.

What surprised you most in your journey to create this app?

Wow. Everything. If I had to name just one thing? TESTING!

Testing is out of this world.

With over 10,000 Android devices alone, then add Apple devices and everyone using different operating systems, couple with memory and other apps on the devices - the amount of testing we need to run has surprised (read: frustrated!) me more than anything.

It has been the hardest thing to swallow that even though you and your developers can test for hours, a 3rd party test group and then user beta testing (for EVERY update), some people come across weirdly wonderful little bugs.

It's something I have had to accept and surprisingly has been the hardest to (spoken like a true perfectionist).

Which other mobile apps or technology have inspired you?

I've always had an interest in creative technology, and marketing.

Major inspiration came from the team at @abeautifulmess (image editing apps), as they were the only people I could find actually making apps that looked good, and appealed to the highly visual person.

Canva has been a large inspiration for me, the easy way they've been able to bring elegant design to everyone. (www.canva.com)

Collabosaurus has this great way to match businesses together for collaborations, and Jess the founder has become my software business bestie. (www.collabosaurus.com)

Linklay is also a massive inspiration as they're in the same 'just started' space as Plann and it's nice to have someone going through the same crazy ride. Linklay allows businesses to create images where you can actually click the items in the photo and add straight to cart (www.linklay.com

For more information, visit: http://www.plannthat.com