Coffee With: Mobile App Entrepreneur Sheena Allen

Sheena Allen
Location: Bi-coastal (currently between New York and California)
Job: CEO and Founder, Sheena Allen Apps and InstaFunds
Education: B.S. in Psychology and B.A. in Film with a minor in marketing, University of Southern Mississippi
Twitter: @whoissheena , @sheenaallenapps

What was your first “real” job before becoming a tech entrepreneur?

The closest I ever got to a "real” job was working at McAlister's Deli in high school in small town Mississippi. I started Sheena Allen Apps during my senior year of college, and I’ve been a full-time entrepreneur ever since.

How did you start coding?

It was completely random. After leaving Walmart one afternoon with my college roommate, I got an idea for a checkbook app that has since evolved into what’s now InstaFunds. I had no idea how to create an app, and my first one had only about 50 downloads after a few months. I figured this would be nothing more than a passion project.

A few million downloads later and that clearly hasn’t been the case. How did you learn to create apps that people did want to download?

I’m self-taught and have learned a lot through studying the code of apps I initially hired freelance developers to work on, and also through free online training platforms like Code Academy. School doesn’t teach experience – life does. While trial and error can sometimes hurt, the times when things break or don’t go smoothly have ultimately given me many of the experiences I needed to run my companies.

Tell us about what you do now and what apps you’ve created to date.

I spend most of my days creating, designing, thinking, and strategizing. I have a suite of six apps that have combined for more than two million downloads. All of the apps allow users to get really creative with digital tools. For example, one of my apps, PicSlit, allows Instagram users to create picture puzzles.

Your apps have been used by some cool celebrities. How’d you find out they were fans of your app, and how does that make you feel?

Sometimes they’ll include the #PicSlit hashtag in the caption, or I have even had some reach out to me directly. Before 49ers wide receiver Stevie Johnson deleted his previous Instagram, his entire account was created using PicSlit. He reached out to me and said how much he liked the app and that he thought what I was doing was dope. Whenever people like K. Michelle or Trey Songz, or anyone, does the banner on their Instagram, I will usually get someone who tags the PicSlit Instagram page or my personal page. The feedback is both good and bad, but I love when people appreciate it for what it is. That’s the beauty of it. I’m a kid from a small town in Mississippi. Anytime I see someone (famous or not) using one of my apps, I’m just appreciative.

Any advice to your younger self?

I wish I would have told myself to put my pride and stubbornness to the side and ask for help early and often. No one does it alone. Networking and building key relationships are vital to building a successful business.

I also think I understand why Bill Gates said he never took a day off in his 20s. Although I have days when I take a mental break and enjoy family and friends, when you have set the bar so high for yourself and you're passionate about what you do, you're not focused on having days off.

What life event has influenced your career the most?

My late grandmother, Flora, and great grandmother, Frankie, have been huge influences on my professional career. Neither of them really understood what I was doing, but they were my biggest supporters. They both would keep all of the newspapers and magazines I was in beside their beds. They always encouraged me to keep pushing. I focused strictly on making money when I first started out, but losing them taught me that making money isn't everything. No amount of money I had in bank could have bought me more time with them. However, to follow my passion and create something that will outlast me – that's a successful career. The money will come, but the appreciation for the process, the creative platform, and mostly for those around you, is priceless.

What do you love about your job?

I was once having a bad day – the type all entrepreneurs have. Things just weren't going the way I wanted, and I was thinking of just throwing in the towel on my project. Late that night, I received an email from a little girl who wanted me to know that she had used one my apps and she thought it was so cool that her favorite app was created by a girl. She was in middle school, and she was told me how she now wanted to create apps for a living. I love that.

Do you have a favorite mantra?

Don't focus on proving the next person wrong. Keep working and focus on proving yourself right.

Images courtesy of Sheena Allen