How MonAI grows

Only three high-quality, story-driven videos per month on the creator's main channel, since they take long to make; the creator comes up with the ideas. First video was a simple app walkthrough (worked because the audience hadn't seen the idea). Later hits: the story of Apple inviting them to WWDC together, and a story around a much-requested new feature. Views are rarely in the millions, but they convert at a fairly high rate.

Partnered long-term with a single, fairly big Colombian tech/lifestyle creator under a contract. Started with a percentage of revenue, which didn't scale well, then switched to a percentage of profits plus a fixed monthly retainer, so his payout is mostly profit-based. This makes him act like a partner rather than a contractor: he owns the video ideas and keeps thinking about how to grow the app. Percentages and retainer amount not disclosed.

Was freemium; A/B tested (RevenueCat) against a hard paywall with a free trial. Now only offers a 7-day free trial behind a hard paywall.

Added the founder's social handles to the app/profile. The creator who became the growth partner found them in the app and reached out, which gave Flo a better negotiating position. Flo recommends this as one of the first things to do after building an app.

German founder partnered with a Colombian creator rather than limiting himself to US creators. Chose him for charisma, for replying to his viewers' comments (important when viewers have app questions), and for a tech-plus-lifestyle audience that cares about his story and aesthetics, not just specs, which fit a minimalist, aesthetic AI app.

After avoiding Meta ads out of fear of wasting money, started a few weeks ago using the partner creator's videos as ad creatives for easy experiments. Flo wishes he had started sooner.

Built after quitting many cumbersome expense apps: voice input ('Coffee at Starbucks, 50 bucks') creates a tagged, categorized transaction; an Apple Pay automation via Shortcuts logs payments automatically; no tabs, minimal UI; AI reports answer questions about your spending. Shipped a first version in 1-2 months and iterated.