Some believe that success comes as a stroke of luck, something happening when you least expect it. However, success is more than just a word; it is rather a journey that you decide to go through from the very beginning with no turning back. With many surprises and effort exerted, it can be a life-changing journey. This article will follow the journeys of five of the most successful and best apps in the world, which may inspire you to start your own!

1. Amazon

Amazon (formerly Cadabra) started as a limited website that initially aimed to be an online bookshop and remained this way for five years until the year 1999, when they started to expand horizons one step at a time and started selling toys and electronic products. The website was able to have one million users by 1996, which was a huge breakthrough back then.

Jeff Bezos and Amazon always focus on adapting to new technologies and processes that improve the customer experience. Their great focus on innovation was a major success factor, as their bravery to always adapt to changes without the fear of failure is what made Amazon trustworthy to all customers. Jeff Bezos claims that failure will eventually happen, but trying new things will lead to success in the long run.

The Amazon shopping app skyrocketed when it became available on the App Store and Google Play, with many more categories and a wide range of products. The concept of making purchases from the comfort of our own homes with the option of same-day delivery was novel to us, as was the concept of e-commerce for the majority of people.

2021 was the peak year for Amazon; it witnessed a great increase of 37.6% in revenue in 2020, reaching 386 billion US dollars, making it the third-largest company by revenue in the world. This was their major revenue hit, but Amazon continued to dominate the market afterward and is still flourishing with many other services they offer and new ones they are developing.

2. My Fitness Pal

Life’s cycle and the daily whirlwind of stress often sweep us away. I mean, who wouldn’t like a clear, quiet mind for even an hour? Away from all life’s complications and loudness.

The demand for fitness and meditation apps, which started in 2017, has grown over the past several years, reaching its peak in 2020. As people started exploring more and more with plenty of time ahead and nothing to do, they started to realize the great importance of health and meditation and became fully aware of the significant impact it has and its astonishing results. Meditation and fitness are skills you need to acquire, and these apps have helped many people by guiding them through a life-changing experience.

My Fitness Pal was probably the first app to provide fitness and health services on a website and an app, and it paved the way for this market to grow. It began as a personal experience for the founder, Mike Lee, who built the app for personal use to track his weight before deciding to take it on as a full-time job with the support of his family and friends until the idea flourished.

My Fitness Pal first launched on iOS in 2009. It immediately hit the charts as one of the most downloaded apps this year. After that, it continued its great success in the following years as it reached 80 million active users. In 2021, it made 171 million dollars. Also, it had more than 200 million registered users, making it the most downloaded health and fitness app of all time.

3. WhatsApp

Nearly everyone around the world is using WhatsApp at the moment, making it roughly a “must-have” application or something mandatory. The principle “No ads! No gimmicks!” founded WhatsApp. This simple, clear communication of the app’s mission and vision drove it to become one of the best apps in the world. Brian Acton and Jan Koum founded WhatsApp in 2009; they previously worked for Yahoo but left their job to start working on the idea they truly believed in. Little did they know the bright future waiting ahead.

The origin story of WhatsApp is the perfect example of rising after failing. In the first stages and after developing the first version of an iOS app, Koum tested the application on some friends and family. As a result, Koum came back with a bunch of bugs and major problems that lowered Koum’s self-esteem. Also, made him consider giving up on the whole idea. However, with an accidental opportunity, Koum started working on version 2.0 and launched it, and within a few months, WhatsApp reached a significant number of users—250,000—which was unpredictable.

By October 2011, nearly a year later, WhatsApp users were sending one billion messages per day. And now, with two billion users worldwide and revenue of $8.7 billion, practically all from WhatsApp business, WhatsApp is one of the most successful apps ever made.

4. Netflix

Netflix is viewed as one of the top streaming service apps in the world. It now offers services in more than 290 countries with more than 222 million subscribers and $24.9 billion in revenue. Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph founded Netflix in 1997 as a DVD shipping service, inspired by blockbusters that dominated the video industry at the time, and came up with the idea of ordering a movie online and receiving it by mail. By the end of 1997, Netflix was launched using Reed Hastings’ and a few investors’ capital.

Netflix achieved great success almost immediately. They then offered a monthly subscription of $19.95 with unlimited access to all movies. Their well-established delivery system helped make this possible. Over the years, Netflix continued to achieve major success. By 2001, they hit a million subscribers. Their true shining moment came when they began streaming content. They delivered it directly to TVs, computers, and tablets. Their majorly successful app and production company, both under the same name, created original content. With one major success following another, Netflix seems to have no intention of ever stopping this chain of success.

5. Spotify

Spotify’s tagline since its establishment has been “Music for Everyone.” It is considered one of the most successful apps at the moment, with a great library of varied selections containing over 70 million songs and 2.9 million podcasts.

Spotify began its journey to success in Stockholm, Sweden. The idea first originated in 2006; however, it was officially launched in 2008. Spotify came to solve two problems: the availability of an offline music library and music piracy, which was a huge challenge at the moment.

Spotify cleverly solved these two major problems, changing the music streaming service industry forever. They first offered their service completely for free. But they continued to do so by limiting the features. So that only monthly subscribers could enjoy the offline feature and no ad interruptions.

To broaden their target audience, the founders considered including artists, not just listeners. They launched Spotify for Artists, a platform for artists to share, promote, and manage their music on Spotify. This platform includes an audience statistics tool. It provides information on audience size, demographics, and track performance. Spotify now has 422 million active users, 182 million of them on monthly subscriptions, and generates $9.66 billion in revenue, maintaining its status as one of the most popular apps in the music streaming industry.