The world's top apps use RevenueCat to build, analyze, and grow subscriptions on iOS, Android, and the web.

Josh Buckley

Nicolas Dessaigne

Y Combinator Continuity Fund

FundersClub

Adjacent

SaaStr

Oakhouse Partners

Index Ventures

Tobias Balling

RevenueCat

Should early-stage apps focus on user acquisition or monetization first?

There's a risk in delaying monetization. You might confirm user interest but not their willingness to pay.

Kenneth Schlenker, Founder and CEO of Opal, took a different approach: 

"Something amazing in this early stage of the business is that if you get people to pay for your products, that's a pretty strong signal that you have something valuable... Let's build something that's good enough for people to pay for, and let's figure out who these people are."

This monetization-first strategy was pivotal for Opal, skyrocketing from $0 to $5M in ARR in just a year.

Building an app business is hard. But you already knew that. In this blog, we hear from eight app founders about the realities of building an app business from the ground up.

As much as we can learn from other apps’ success stories, oftentimes we learn more from their trials. So we thank the contributors to this blog for sharing their challenges, setbacks, and hard-earned lessons.

You'll hear from:

▶ Alex Ross, CEO and Co-founder at Gregarious, Inc., Inc
▶ Olivier BERNAL, Founder of Currency Converter
▶ Lewis Dackam, Founder of Kupenda
▶ Stuart Hall, Co-founder and Co-CEO at Appbot
▶ David Barnard, Growth advocate at RevenueCat
▶ Ania W., Founder of Rootd
▶ Adam Allore, Founder & CEO of Wavve Boating Inc.
▶ Emmanuel Crouvisier, Founder of CardPointers

Learn why adaptability is essential, how plateaus and challenges can be springboards for growth, and more 👇 

#appgrowth #startupfounder 

App side projects are a win for everyone, says Stuart Hall, Appbot's co-founder and co-CEO. In this new guest blog, Stuart aims to convince why you (and the rest of your team) should experiment with building your own. 

Stuart's own apps have generated over a million $ in revenue. But profit's not the only thing that side projects have going for them. They'll allow you to:

▶ Broaden your skillset (it's definitely not just devs who should build their own apps) 
▶ Experiment with new technologies and tools 
▶ Do something about that idea that's been forever at the back of your mind!

And much else besides. Needless to say.... we agree!

In this blog, Stuart takes you on a journey through his own apps. You'll learn how to choose the right projects to work on, and how to plan, develop, monetize, and maintain them. 

If you're not already convinced, by the end of the blog you will be.

#appdevelopment #iosdeveloper #sidehustle

When you have a great app idea, your first thought shouldn't be, "how do I build it?" Your first thought should be, "how do I validate that people would buy — or even use it?"

That's what Adam Allore did with Wavve Boating Inc.. With a basic prototype hosted  on a web page, made to look like an app, he exhibited at a boat show to see what reaction the idea received. 

The positive feedback he received was the validation he needed to quit his job and turn this app into a reality. 

2024... Is this the year that apps that fail to adapt to AI will become obsolete? When retention becomes the greater focus, not acquisition? Or when the rules governing the app stores are rewritten?

We've asked 14 industry experts what they think. Their answers will likely change the way you think about growing your app business this year.

In this blog, you'll hear from:

🚀 Jenny Kay Pollock on why generative AI will continue to supercharge the app experience (and why the Sub Club podcast is still the "go-to place for the latest info on subscription apps!")

🤖 Phil Carter also on AI, who thinks that "consumer subscription companies that fail to adapt may quickly become obsolete"

🎥 Hannah Parvaz thinks that our feeds will become even more flooded with wacky influencer-led UGC — to the point where we'll crave more traditional advertising

🧲 Eric Crowley on why "locals" — your core, most-engaged user base — matter more than ever 

📊 Andy Carvell focuses on data, with more developers recognizing the value of first-party data and an increase in the personalization we see in paywalls and user journeys 

🔍 Reid DeRamus thinks that acquisition will become harder and more effort will be placed on retention, pricing, and cost-saving

🌟 Seth Miller also advocates for retention, with more apps needing to "figure out how to convert a higher % of users to paid and focus on actual usage retention and delivering value"

🔄 Sylvain Gauchet on why more apps will combat declining trial conversion rates by experimenting with post-trial onboarding to improve activation

🎮 Ariel Michaeli thinks that more games will turn to subcriptions as their main revenue channel "causing prices to normalize"

💲 Thomas Petit meanwhile thinks the trend of increasing average subscription prices will continue and that more apps will experiment with hybrid monetization models

🏆 Jake Mor shares that as the app space continues to become more competitive, only the best will survive (customer support, niche problem-solving, and high-quality)

🌱 Jacob Rushfinn on why more apps will spin out tangential new apps as they find it harder to scale their user base — "Having multiple small to medium-sized wins will be much easier"

📈 Steve P. Young thinks along the same lines: "Niche apps are going to make a comeback. My theory and our approach to building apps is to build a portfolio of apps making $5-10K MTR instead of trying to build one app making $100K MTR."

✂️ And finally, Rosie Hoggmascall 🐝 thinks that tighter budgets will continue into 2024 and that apps will have to learn to do more with less (such as more paywall testing, discounts, CRM, and PLG via referrals) 
 
That's a lot of experts! Read their full predictions 👇 

RevenueCat provides solutions for managing in-app purchases, customer data, and revenue growth across iOS, Android, and the web. Trusted by over 32,000 apps, it offers reliable cross-platform data, growth tools, and simplified implementation of in-app subscriptions.

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