firm that buys and runs apps

How Momentum Labs grows

3 tactics and 1 figures from 1 interview.

Momentum Labs grew by buying apps with proven demand that ranked third to fifth in their category and moving them up the grossing charts. After each purchase it cleaned up the store listing once and then left it mostly alone, and its apps, such as Healthi, use a free tier with a paid plan rather than free trials.

From 2015, Momentum Labs bought apps ranked #3-5 in their category to lift each two or three spots, and reported revenue growth of 50% to 200% per app instead of 5-15%.Momentum Labs
After acquiring an app, Momentum Labs did heavy store listing work and cleanup up front, then barely touched it, favoring steady ranking over constant changes.Momentum Labs
None of the founder's apps, including Healthi, has offered a free trial; he said he has never seen a trial beat a free tier with a clear limit, though he gave no numbers.Momentum Labs

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

About Momentum Labs

What it is: Acquires, operates and scales mobile apps with the founders' own money; no LPs
Business model: Buys apps with proven product-market fit and grows them; has sold a couple
Funding: bootstrapped

As described in the interviews, not independently verified.

Momentum Labs's 3 tactics

Momentum Labs · firm that buys and runs apps

Buy apps ranked #3-5 in their category and move them up 2-3 spots

Revenue grew 50-200% per acquired app, not 5-15%

From 2015-2016, rather than build from scratch against incumbents, Momentum Labs bought apps with proven product-market fit that ranked 3rd, 4th or 5th in their category, aiming to move each up two or three spots. The logic: category share is a power law (#1 ~45%, #2 ~25%, #3 ~15%, #4 ~7%), so each spot roughly doubles revenue. They judge success on stable grossing-chart position, not bought download rank. Paid 'fair prices for great businesses'; stopped buying at end of 2019 when prices rose.

Workedportfolioexit-ma

Sub Club by RevenueCat · 2023-05-03

Momentum Labs · firm that buys and runs apps

Skip the free trial; give a useful free version with a clear limit instead

Guest says trials never beat plain freemium in his or mentored apps; no numbers

None of the guest's apps has ever offered a free trial; Healthi has a free tier and a paid Pro plan. His reasons: a card-upfront trial creates two moments of pause (entering the card, then deciding at day 7/14) and takes something away, while freemium lets users hit the upgrade screen from a positive experience with a clear free limit. He advises A/B testing which features sit behind the paywall ('put this feature on the side of the paywall, now move it free').

Workedpaywallpricing

Sub Club by RevenueCat · 2023-05-03

Momentum Labs · firm that buys and runs apps

Fix a bought app's store listing once, then mostly leave it alone

When Momentum Labs acquires an app, it does a lot of ASO work and cleanup up front, then deliberately barely touches it afterwards, prioritizing longevity and consistency of ranking performance.

Unknownaso

Sub Club by RevenueCat · 2023-05-03

Momentum Labs by the numbers

Metric	Value	Context	Said in
growth rate	+50–200% approximate	Revenue growth of acquired apps when moved up 2-3 spots from rank 3-5 in their category	Sub Club by RevenueCat 2023-05-03 9:34

Topics

App Store optimization (ASO)2 Buying and selling apps1 Running a portfolio of apps1 Hard paywall vs freemium1 App paywall strategy1 Pricing a subscription app1

Interviews

How Freemium Can Outperform Free Trials – Shaun Steingold, Momentum Labs · Sub Club by RevenueCat · 2023-05-03