How Locked grows

Search Instagram/TikTok for niche terms (gym, self-improvement, day in the life), open each creator profile, paste the template DM, send, repeat. Each account hits a rate limit around 100 DMs/day, so run multiple sender accounts; buy 1,000+ followers for each and get it verified so it looks legitimate. Team sent 500+ DMs/day at peak; 5,000-10,000+ creators contacted in total.

Message opens with 'Paid promo?' so it stands out among hundreds of DMs, then: 'Hey, I'm the founder of Locked. We're looking to partner with a select group of day in the life or self-improvement creators. Would you be down to hop on a call and discuss a deal?' When creators suggest DMs, push for a call; almost never negotiate over DMs.

Pay e.g. $1,000 per post with a 500,000-view minimum; size the clause at a $1-2 CPM (an $800 deal -> 400K-800K views). If the first video falls short, the creator keeps posting until videos collectively reach the benchmark. Alternative offered: stop early and be paid pro rata (e.g. $400 for a 400K clause, 50K views -> $50). Anchoring on the full amount motivates creators.

Compute RPM (revenue per 1,000 views) from past videos: ~$3-4 for Locked (~10% download-to-sub, $30/yr or $7/wk). Offer CPM deals of $1-2 per 1,000 views, always with a payout cap (e.g. $500) set upfront, so paid CPM stays under RPM.

Bonus deal: ~$250 base; if the video reaches 250,000 views, pay another $250. Bonus can be combined with the flat, CPM or minimum-view deals.

Because Instagram can't carry a trackable link, the founder (or a personal account) comments something like 'I need this. What's the app called?'; the creator replies with the app name and pins the comment so curious viewers see it at the top of the comments.

Measured revenue per 1,000 views of influencer content (RPM ~$2-3) and only closed creators at a lower CPM, typically $1-1.50. Example: Jeremiah Jones, whose motivational content about 'staying locked in' matched the app, was paid ~$800 with a 600,000-minimum-view clause; if views fall short he posts more videos until he hits it. The app appears within the first 15 seconds. If a deal converts, move the creator to a bigger deal. Influencers were the only growth channel; no paid ads.

Four deal types: (1) Flat rate, e.g. $500 for one reel or $1,200 for four; only for creators who consistently get enough views to hit your target CPM. (2) CPM deal: $1-2 per 1,000 views, always with a cap (e.g. $500 even if the video gets 10M views). (3) Minimum-view-clause deal: e.g. $500 for 500,000 views; creator posts more videos until reached. This is the one he almost always uses. (4) Bonus deal: $500 per video plus another $500 if it hits 1M views.

Main paywall: $40/year with a 3-day free trial, or $7/week. If the user closes or escapes it, a 'transaction abandoned' paywall appears offering $20/year. Paywalls run on Superwall, used for A/B testing.

Tested creator niches within health/fitness: self-improvement, gym and day-in-the-life. Day-in-the-life worked best: the creator walks through the day's tasks and, after each one, opens Locked, taps 'add task', types it and checks it off, showing the XP/gamified UI to a Gen Z audience. Example: Jeremiah Jones, hook 'This schedule will keep you locked in for 2026', with the app name big in the top-left of the task screen.

Standard deal: ~$500 for one video or $1,200 for four. Used only with creators who consistently pull very high views.

Brief: integrate the app within the first 15 seconds (earlier feels like an ad, later loses retention); otherwise give creators fair creative freedom; they send the post for approval before publishing; send a contract. Judge performance by revenue/download spikes (Instagram links can't be attributed). If a creator is profitable, renew the same deal repeatedly, then renegotiate a bigger one.

Ignore follower count. Require creators pulling at least ~5,000 views per video (up to millions). Read the comment sections: people should comment about the video, ask questions, reply to each other and like comments; lots of emoji-only comments is a red flag.

Search a niche-related term on Instagram or TikTok, scroll the videos, open creator accounts, and send every creator the same message, always starting with 'Paid promo?'. Get interested creators on a call and close them on a deal where their CPM is below your RPM.

Choose creators whose videos have strong engagement and high-quality comments (sign of a real audience, 'arguably the most important factor') and whose content matches the app's theme, so the integration feels natural. Send video requirements and a contract; require the app shown within the first 15 seconds; give a one-week deadline for the first video; keep working with creators who generate revenue.

The founder's TikTok account started for his unblocked-games site Evanclever, then was switched to ProblemPal (homework helper), then to Locked. For ProblemPal he posted a direct pitch video: 'How to finish your homework very quickly' in 10 seconds using ProblemPal. Earlier he had grown the Totally Science account from ~30K to ~100K followers with simple videos.

Rather than 'another boring habit tracker', Locked makes users pick a character at onboarding, awards 100 XP per completed task, and adds levels, badges, all-time/7-day/daily leaderboards and a motivational screen featuring the creator Jeremiah Jones.

At launch, tested Reddit marketing, X marketing, influencer marketing and paid ads; quickly judged influencers most effective and concentrated effort there.

Idea came from a friend who struggled to focus. Designed onboarding and main screens in Figma with co-founder Alex Malaj, then built with Claude. Applied video-game mechanics (XP, competing with others) to daily tasks.