B2C · iPhone shortcut launcher app

How Launch Center Pro grows

3 tactics and 3 figures from 3 interviews.

Launch Center Pro is a paid-upfront iOS app whose revenue came mostly in spikes around big releases. Its maker bundled features into large updates to win Apple and press attention, rode a home screen customization trend once without following up, and later called his practice of hitting users with a paywall only after onboarding a mistake.

Launch Center Pro saved features for big paid-app updates that drew Apple and press attention, bringing about $60K in a launch week versus hundreds of dollars a day otherwise; the maker said this suits paid apps, not subscriptions.Launch Center Pro
A big release timed to the iOS home screen customization trend made about $20K that month, but the team did not keep iterating and lost the market to widget apps.Launch Center Pro
The maker's apps skipped the paywall in onboarding and then blocked engaged users later, which he called a mistake that surprised users; Jacob Eiting countered that about 97% never pay, so an early paywall is fine.Launch Center Pro

Summary written 2026-10-09 from the tactics below. Figures are as founders stated them.

About Launch Center Pro

What it is: David's app that had a big release around iOS home screen customization
Business model: subscription

As described in the interviews, not independently verified.

Launch Center Pro's 3 tactics

Launch Center Pro · B2C · iPhone launcher app

Save features for big paid-app launches that spike revenue

Up to $60K in a launch week vs hundreds of dollars a day otherwise

For the paid-upfront Launch Center Pro, packaged features into big updates and leveraged them into Apple and press attention, producing revenue spikes. Works for paid apps, not subscriptions.

Workedpr-launch

Sub Club by RevenueCat · 2024-03-20

Launch Center Pro · B2C · iOS shortcut launcher app

Ship a big release that rides the home screen customization trend

~$20K that month, then lost the lead by not iterating

Launch Center Pro shipped a big release to capitalize on the iOS home screen customization trend, but the team did not learn from what worked or keep building features to retain users.

Mixedfeature-developmentpr-launch

Sub Club by RevenueCat · 2023-08-23

Launch Center Pro · B2C · iPhone shortcut launcher app

Skip the paywall during onboarding, then block users once they're using the app

Host calls it a mistake: a surprise block is 'a terrible experience'

The host's own apps didn't show a paywall in onboarding; users onboarded, got excited using the app, and then hit a paywall block. Jacob Eiting added a lesson from his Elevate boss Jesse Pickard: ~97% of users never pay, so showing them a paywall early is fine and makes the commerce clear.

Failedpaywallonboarding

Sub Club by RevenueCat · 2023-01-17

Launch Center Pro by the numbers

Metric	Value	Context	Said in
revenue	USD 60K/week approximate	Launch-week spike after a big update, vs hundreds of dollars a day otherwise	Sub Club by RevenueCat 2024-03-20 15:20
revenue	USD 20K/month approximate	Month of the home screen customization release	Sub Club by RevenueCat 2023-08-23 36:30
share	most of 2022 revenue approximate	Share of revenue from renewals while the product was not actively developed or marketed	Sub Club by RevenueCat 2023-01-17 55:58

Topics

Launching an app: waitlists, press and launch day2 App onboarding1 App paywall strategy1

Interviews

Lessons from a Lackluster Launch — David Barnard, Weather Up · Sub Club by RevenueCat · 2024-03-20
App Store Ethics, Dark Patterns, and Rule-Breakers — Steve P. Young, App Masters · Sub Club by RevenueCat · 2023-08-23
How’s Your App Really Doing? The State of Subscription Apps 2023 · Sub Club by RevenueCat · 2023-01-17