Connor Burd - This 23 Yr Old Genius Makes $1M/Year with No-Code Apps. Here's How

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.'

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.

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.

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'.

Don't DM larger creators: notifications are off and they get a million a month. Look for an email instead. If it's not on Instagram, check their YouTube channel's 'view email address' button (behind a captcha, so few bots scrape it). Self-managed creators with a personal inbox, not an agency, reply much more often. Pitch with their account and a specific app idea for their audience. It's a volume game: many won't reply. A track record ('here's an app I built with another creator, here are the numbers') makes outreach easier over time.

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.

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.

Treat niche choice as an optimization. Broad categories (beauty, fashion) have more people but bigger competitors bidding for attention; ultra-niche ideas (an app teaching dogs handstands) find nobody to pay. Go to the middle, then slightly more niche. He sizes each new app for $30K to a couple hundred thousand dollars a month, not $10M/month, and pairs it with mid-size niche creators (~100K followers) who can still drive tens of thousands of downloads.

The posture app earned $4-5K over a couple of months with no distribution. He is talking to creators with a couple million followers about replacing every illustrated exercise figure with photos of the creator, making it 'their app'. He would give 60-70% equity so the creator drives their audience and he doesn't have to handle distribution; he hopes for ~$10K/month. Fallback: sell it (he'd take ~$10K) rather than keep it from sunk-cost attachment.

A friend's mountain-bike app partnered with Instagram creators on equity deals before launch, including Justin (~100K followers, mountain-bike hacks). His launch video mixes a strong hook, a founder story and a competitor comparison: stranded on a trail at dusk, stuck on Trailforks' sign-up screen, so 'what if I made a better ride-tracking app', then the features (find and track trails, compete with riders worldwide).