Andy Weekes

Andy turned his interest in developing ‘Apps’ for mobile phones and tablet computers into a successful full-time career. Back in 2008 Andy was a music teacher while at the same time developing his enthusiasm around the emerging technology of Apps.

The success of his business, iCandi Apps ®, has largely been the result of ‘Night Sky’, which enables users to identify stars, planets and even satellites just by pointing their device at the sky. It proved to be an immediate hit, selling almost 30 million copies to date.

Andy’s drive didn’t stop there and he pushed iCandi Apps ® forward to release a second edition called Night Sky 2 which saw similar success by hitting number 1 spots worldwide. Night Sky 2 also had the honour of being installed onto every Apple Retail iPad device worldwide, so customers could experience one of the most magical apps on the iPad.

Andy’s personal success has been recognised by De Montfort University in Leicester and Birmingham City University. In 2013 Andy was awarded Alumni of the Year in Enterprise and Innovation by De Montfort University. In 2014 Andy received the same award from Birmingham City University. An unprecedented achievement, being awarded the same Alumni of the Year award by two separate universities in two consecutive years.

Andy said: “Due to my teaching career, I was already an Apple Mac enthusiast as they were used heavily in Music Technology. In 2008 one of my biggest idols, Steve Jobs, announced the iPhone App Store, something I had been anticipating for over a year before launch. I was instantly inspired from his App Store and development kit presentation, and immediately downloaded the free development software from the Apple website. I then played with it, learned a lot in my spare time, and it was a hobby that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Perseverance is the key to success. I made 33 apps before The Night Sky, and was it not for this perseverance, learning along the way, I would never have seen the success The Night Sky brought me. The original version of The Night Sky was created in my tiny bedroom in my parents house. It just shows how accessible success is today, all you need is a computer, an Internet connection, but most importantly, a passion.

Some people say it was luck, no it wasn’t. I could have stopped making apps at my 10th app, I persevered. I would have made 100 apps if Night Sky hadn’t have come along and blew me away.

If you are passionate about something keep at it, keep pushing forward, and never allow set backs to get in the way, with a true passion this will just happen, quite naturally.”