How Payout grows

Brands paying a creator effectively fund format experiments. Gelato (print-on-demand) booked ~5 videos; the best got ~1M organic views (24K likes). A week later Casper reused the exact hook and structure for Payout, changing only the number: 'Watch me make up to $900 in just 30 seconds. First I go to Google and search class action... or an easier way could be using an app where you select a bunch of companies you've used... Here's up to $500 from T-Mobile, 250 from Mitsubishi, and 147 from Cash App... Just comment claim and I'll send you the app.'

When the pure how-to format dried up, Casper made a skit: 'Hey Temu, is it true that I can make $1,000 from your lawsuit?' / 'Yeah, and some people can make up to $5,000.' / 'How can I apply?' / 'Fine, but you didn't hear this from me.' The 'company' character then walks through the steps: 'First, you go to this app, find the Temu lawsuit... click claim... fill out a simple form... Just comment claim and I'll send you the app.' Skit is the first ~30-40%, the rest is how-to. Swap in any sued company.

End Instagram videos with 'Just comment claim and I'll send you the app.' ManyChat auto-DMs the App Store link to everyone who comments; the unread DM notification pushes them to open it. On the how-to video ~13,000 people requested the link.

On YouTube Shorts and TikTok (no ManyChat), cut the video shorter with no CTA and pin a comment: 'There's many apps you can use to do this, but the one I use in the video is called Payout.' Viewers search it on the App Store. Tried 'click my profile / link in bio' on YouTube and people didn't do it. CTAs reduce retention on these platforms.

Casper's videos are short scripted skits ('Bro, is it true I can make $1,000 from your lawsuit?'), then a walkthrough: find the Temu lawsuit in the app, tap claim, see the deadline and proof needed, fill in a simple form, get paid when the settlement ends. They close with 'Just comment claim and I'll send you the app'. ManyChat automatically DMs the link to everyone who comments, alongside the link in bio. It works even though the app is named and shown in the video, because viewers want the exact link.

Developer (Connor) builds and runs product/paywalls; creator (Casper) owns distribution, 50/50 equity. Make it low-effort for the creator to say yes: build it, ask for one video, no expectations. Casper's suggested pitch to other creators: 'We built this app for you based on this ad or brand deal that went well for you. Here it is. I want to give you 50%. All you have to do is make these videos over and over again,' plus proof a friend did it; optionally 'try one video, I'll give you 100% of the revenue'. Equity keeps the creator inventing new formats when old ones dry up and supplies free ad creatives.

After a winner, make more videos with the same idea, structure and flow; swap the number ('$800' instead of '$900', '45 seconds' instead of '30'), change the first-screen background to avoid creative/ad fatigue. When the format dries up, invent a new one.

Script says 'First, you go to this app' or 'I just use this app' instead of 'First I go to the Payout app'. Naming the app triggers 'ad, ad, scroll'. Casper has never said Payout's name out loud in a video; learned from paid brand deals.

Met creator Casper (life-hack/savings finance content) through a mutual connection and partnered with him for equity on an app built specifically for his audience. Casper owns the content format: scripted skits that end in an app demo, a hard integration rather than a subtle mention. He posts often with no per-post fee because both own the app. Connor uses a different creator partner for each app, with terms that depend on the creator's size and how complex the app is. Pitch: creators on brand deals and affiliate links have unstable income and want to own something with value. Once his apps made enough, he switched to paying creators and keeps equity only for creators who can also run distribution/UGC.

After a first FaceTime call with the creator, Connor worked out what the audience looks for and made Figma mock-ups for about five app ideas that could convert with that audience. He asked the creator which one resonated most, and they narrowed to one and built it. With new creators he opens with 'this is your account, this is what I think we could build.'

Every link they post (ManyChat DMs, link in bio) goes to its own App Store custom product page, so App Store analytics show installs per source. On posting days they compare traffic through ManyChat links with organic installs. YouTube posts use a non-ManyChat CTA, so clicks there can't be seen; they rely on download spikes on posting days instead.

Now that some apps make enough, Connor pays creators instead of offering equity: ~$1,500 per video for creators with 500K-1M followers (a good rate via his partner's connections), and he'd pay up to a couple thousand. He asks for hard integrations that really sell the app and expects those videos to get fewer views than the creator's usual posts. You can ask creators how past brand deals converted, but mostly he judges fit from their content quality and how naturally they work in an app. Plan: build a full app studio with hired engineers and distribution staff within about a year, and stop per-app influencer equity deals.

Download ~20 apps in the niche plus beautifully designed apps for inspiration. Screenshot every page of every onboarding and lay them in one line in a Figma file to see every question and graph; pick favorites from each and redesign them in your own theme. Spend as long on onboarding as on core features, since ~90% of users only see onboarding if the app is paywalled. Onboarding should: evoke emotion (purchases are emotional), show the strongest benefits and make buying simple, feel personalized, and include charts/graphs so it feels scientific and proven. Payout's onboarding asks for activity and notifications, shows social proof, then the paywall.

Before coding, write a text document explaining the app's data plus example JSON describing each attribute, and give it to the AI (Claude/Cursor) so it doesn't guess. Build the core functionality first, skipping onboarding. Drop design screenshots into Claude so it writes the full screen; iterate when it gets details wrong but don't be too picky: ship a version fast rather than a perfect app. Now uses only Claude (Claude Code) for coding.

On one call with his developer partner, Casper pitched ~5 ideas taken from companies that had tried to sponsor him but had low budgets or didn't work out. One was a class-action settlement app that offered $500 per video, which he declined as too low for his following. The developer judged it the easiest to build; they agreed to try it and move to another idea if it flopped.

Tested a version explaining the lawsuit itself ('Poppy's getting sued... because...'). It drew views but few signups. Switched every script to focus on how the viewer gets paid ('the bag'), which is what ~90% of viewers care about.

When a video does well organically, the creator hands the developer co-founder the file or the boosting code and it is tested as a Meta ad. With an equity creator, ad creatives are unlimited and free of usage-rights limits.

Casper coordinated five creator friends to post on one day. Aim for a top-20 category rank so people browsing the charts find the app, plus the bragging rights.

Casper does free videos for friends' companies, so when he asks them they post free or at big discounts. Booking is a text: 'Can you post a video next week?' then send the script. Friends who normally charge $6,000+ per video charged about $1,500.

Casper's channels cover saving money and side hustles. Saving-money videos are hit-or-miss (100K or 10M views); side-hustle videos reliably get 300K+. He chose a make-money app (Payout) for consistent demand, and an offer where users clearly get back more than they pay ($40/year vs an expected $200+ in settlements).

Each influencer video goes to TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts and Facebook. Instagram can auto-post a Reel to Facebook at upload, so there's no reason to skip it. Facebook is posted 'because why not'.

Before paying or partnering, read the comments on the creator's regular videos. Shallow 'wow, amazing' comments signal a For You page audience. Deep ones (fans asking about their family or wedding date, requesting specific content) signal a dedicated audience that will convert. Also check that the content is high quality and that the creator weaves apps in seamlessly. Avoid paying thousands to a creator who doesn't convert in your niche.

Ask the creator which apps already reach out to them for brand deals; any of those is an idea that works for that audience. Also browse the App Store in the category for what's doing well, and check TikTok for trends. Come up with a handful of concepts (e.g. a daily financial-tip widget, like daily quote widget apps) and pick the one trending best. For Payout he chose a class-action settlement finder: 'nothing too crazy unique', set apart only by storing no data and offering mail-in forms. No need to invent anything unless you're chasing a billion-dollar app.

Paywall at the end of onboarding shows a weekly and a yearly option, designed to prioritize the yearly plan because it has the highest lifetime value per customer. Uses RevenueCat for subscription analytics and pricing tests.

Once a creator video performs well, get more videos in the same format from other creators. The UGC builds a library of ads whose likely performance is known from organic results. Goal is always to reach paid ads, the most consistent revenue driver. On Facebook, entertaining videos get cheaper delivery, but the ad must still push the product, so balance entertainment with conversion.

Modified versions of existing apps are already validated; just make them your own. For brand-new ideas, search TikTok and Instagram to see whether people talk about the problem and ask 'how do I solve this?' in comments, which also signals an easy marketing path. Because building is now fast, skip the waitlist step and build the app.

Partnered with a content creator already in Payout's niche to promote the app to his existing audience, relying on the trust followers already have in him. Aim for relatable, viral content that feels natural and unprocessed.

Picks app ideas that tap core desires (be healthier, make more money, look attractive). Payout finds class action settlements users qualify for, so paying for it feels like an investment that will return money.

After his first app (social, Hotspot Events) took 6-8 months and failed, concluded social apps are very hard to scale and moved to utilities and tools, which are easier for one person to scale. Advice: build something simple with one to three good features and a great onboarding.