GTM Sauce

The Superwall Podcast · 2026-04-04

Dillion Verma - 0 to $300k/mo in 45 days with my ai app (just copy me)

Dillion Verma explains how Halo AI, an AI photo editor built in 2-3 weeks, hit $300K MRR in 45 days and 1.2B views in 120 days with a math-first UGC program: revenue = views x conversion, views = creators x videos x posts x views/post. He recruits creators from Reddit/Facebook UGC groups, runs 5-day $100 paid trials, uses one prank-story format cross-posted to 4 platforms, pays $20/video plus view-milestone bonuses (29 of 30 creators chose it over CPM), and coaches via a Discord AI agent. Funded by a $100K personal loan after seeing ~6x ROAS.

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13 tactics

Halo AI · B2C · AI photo editing app

600M views in 60 days, 1.2B in 120; $300K MRR in 45 days

Treats revenue = views x conversion rate, and total views = creators x videos per creator x posts per video (platforms) x views per post; pushes every variable up daily. Creators post on fresh US accounts (no followers needed) and cross-post each video to TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube Shorts. Scaled from ~10 creators to 25 in the initial ramp and 85 now, ~300 posts/day.

Workedugc-creatorsorganic-short-video
The Superwall Podcast · 2026-04-04

Halo AI · B2C · AI photo editing app

500-600 applicants at 30-50 a day; trial winners became the 85-creator roster

Joined Reddit UGC subs and hundreds of Facebook UGC groups and posted a job in every one (plus paid creator platforms). Screened for past UGC (ideally app/tech) experience and living in the US or using a US VPN; English as first language and Gen Z help. Paid trial in Discord with a private channel per creator: set up accounts, post 5 videos (x4 platforms = 20 posts) of the one fixed format over 5 days, $20/video = $100. No hard view threshold (virality is a power law); pass on consistency (posts daily), proactive communication, and visible viral editing (strong emotional hook, build-up, payoff).

Workedcreator-opsugc-creators
The Superwall Podcast · 2026-04-04

Halo AI · B2C · AI photo editing app

One format drove 1.2B views; ~5% of videos pass 100K, ~1% pass 1M

Only one format, no deviation: (1) an absurd AI-generated image as the hook with a prank caption (e.g. 'Pranking my dad, I cooked his koi fish'); (2) screen recording of generating it in the app, with a big loading screen showing the Halo AI name and logo for ~2 seconds as the only call to action; (3) a screen-recorded text conversation with the pranked person that builds up to a twist/payoff. Mostly pranks. A good format must be viral, repeatable and convert. Sounds matter; hashtags don't affect reach.

Workedorganic-short-videougc-creators
The Superwall Podcast · 2026-04-04

Halo AI · B2C · AI photo editing app

29 of 30 creators chose it over a better-paying CPM deal; effective CPM under $1

Compared four structures (flat retainer, capped CPM ~$1/1K views, base+CPM, base+milestone) and let 30 creators choose between CPM and base+milestone at roughly equal (CPM slightly higher) expected pay. Standardized on base+milestone for everyone: $20 per video (one video = 4 posts), bonuses of $60 at 20K, $200 at 100K, $500 at 500K, $800 at 1M views. Only one of the 4 cross-posts needs to hit a milestone and bonuses don't stack, so views on other platforms and between milestones are unpaid. Also simpler to operate than CPM (no re-checking view counts and paying differences).

Workedcreator-opsugc-creators
The Superwall Podcast · 2026-04-04

Halo AI · B2C · AI photo editing app

Top creators post 20+ videos a day (~80 posts); no rate limits seen on YouTube or Instagram

No posting cap for accepted creators; paid per video so volume is rewarded. YouTube and Instagram showed no penalty for unlimited posting. TikTok needs a ramp: 3/day, then 5, then 10 as the account warms up; after that no limit observed. Facebook still being learned.

Workedorganic-short-videocreator-ops
The Superwall Podcast · 2026-04-04

Halo AI · B2C · AI photo editing app

Creators use it daily for new scripts; no numbers

Downloaded every video with 1M+ views, ran them through Gemini for transcripts and summaries, stored as local text files for an OpenClaw agent in the creator Discord. Creators ask it for new scripts/ideas; it pattern-matches on what worked. Also pulls trending TikTok keywords and hashtags (via Scrape Creators) and fits trends (e.g. the Olympics) into the format.

Workedcreator-opsorganic-short-video
The Superwall Podcast · 2026-04-04

Halo AI · B2C · AI photo editing app

Produces big view spikes after each hit; no exact numbers

An automation posts each viral video to every creator in the Discord; all creators are expected to recreate it on their own accounts the same day, keeping the specific element that drove comments (e.g. the conversation twist).

Workedorganic-short-videocreator-ops
The Superwall Podcast · 2026-04-04

Halo AI · B2C · AI photo editing app

Founder says the camaraderie keeps creators motivated and sharing; no numbers

All creators in one Discord (plus a private channel each) with channels for wins, ideas and feedback; creators hang out in voice chat late at night, share learnings and ask each other for engagement to hit milestones.

Workedcreator-opscommunity
The Superwall Podcast · 2026-04-04

Halo AI · B2C · AI photo editing app

Two paywalls together beat one hard paywall in repeated tests; each converts 16.5%

Onboarding paywall is skippable; users can browse templates (hairstyles, decor, tattoos, cartoons) and upload a photo and write a prompt. On tapping send, they are asked to sign in and then hit a gated paywall; the core feature can't be used without paying.

Workedpaywallonboarding
The Superwall Podcast · 2026-04-04

Halo AI · B2C · AI photo editing app

Weekly has worked best so far; yearly tested and dropped for now

Standard two-page paywall ('try Halo for free, we'll notify you when your trial ends') defaulting to $8.99/week with free trial; no annual on this variant. Yearly was tested and dropped (to be retested). Extra paywalls for exit offer, abandoned purchase and trial cancellation.

Workedpricingpaywall
The Superwall Podcast · 2026-04-04

Halo AI · B2C · AI photo editing app

Scaled at break-even for ~4-5 weeks, then ~50% margin at $300K MRR

Measured early UGC returns (ROAS / LTV:CAC ~5-6x, with a constant view-to-download rate per format), then emptied his bank account and took a ~$100K personal loan to pay creators. Scaled at break-even (every dollar in came back out) and reinvested all revenue into growth.

Workedfinancingugc-creators
The Superwall Podcast · 2026-04-04

Halo AI · B2C · AI photo editing app

Forecast a $300K MRR plateau and hit exactly that

Uses the views x conversion model together with growth and churn rates to forecast where MRR will plateau.

Workedanalytics-attribution
The Superwall Podcast · 2026-04-04

Halo AI · B2C · AI photo editing app

Plans to run existing viral, converting content as Meta ads first, then build creative diversity for different awareness levels, aiming for $1M/month by June.

Unknownpaid-social
The Superwall Podcast · 2026-04-04

Numbers mentioned

WhoMetricValueContextWhen
Halo AImrrUSD 300K/month
approximate
reached in 45 days of scale-up; then plateaued2:26
Halo AIviews600M views
approximate
social views in first 60 days5:46
Halo AIviews1,200M views
approximate
social views in first 120 days, all from one format5:46
Halo AIcount85 creatorsactive UGC creators now (about 10 at start, 25 during initial scale-up)5:09
Halo AIcount300 posts/day
approximate
posts per day across creators and platforms25:02
Halo AIconversion rate0.25–0.3%
approximate
video view -> download; stays constant for a given format (e.g. hook-and-demo)6:22
Halo AIshare5%
approximate
share of videos passing 100K views24:31
Halo AIshare1%
approximate
share of videos passing 1M views24:31
Halo AIcount500–600 applicants
approximate
creator applicants from job posts in UGC groups (30-50 per day)12:00
Halo AIcount30–50 applicants/day
approximate
creator applicants per day from job posts12:54
Halo AIcreator payUSD 20per videobase rate per video (one video = 4 posts across platforms)12:38
Halo AIcreator payUSD 100per creator /one-time5-day paid trial: 5 videos at $20, 20 posts across 4 platforms12:38
Halo AIcreator payUSD 60–800per video
approximate
view-milestone bonuses: $60 at 20K, $200 at 100K, $500 at 500K, $800 at 1M views; one post of the four must hit; not stacking36:04
Halo AIcpmUSD 1
approximate
expected creator-pay CPM under base+milestone; actual is lower (unpaid views between milestones, only one of 4 posts paid)36:19
Halo AIshare29 creators29 of 30 creators chose base+milestone over a slightly higher-paying CPM contract1:36
Halo AIcount20 videosper creator /day
approximate
top creators' daily video output under uncapped posting (~80 posts across 4 platforms)18:39
Halo AIroas5–6 x
approximate
early UGC return (ROAS or LTV:CAC) that justified the loan50:35
Halo AIdebtUSD 100K/one-time
approximate
personal loan used to pay creators48:04
Halo AItime to milestone4–5 weeks
approximate
time scaling at break-even before turning profitable51:14
Halo AImargin50%
approximate
51:30
Halo AIprofitUSD 150K/month
estimate
host's arithmetic: 50% margin on $300K MRR51:33
Halo AIpriceUSD 8.99/weekdefault weekly plan with free trial40:47
Halo AIconversion rate16.5%conversion of each paywall: skippable onboarding paywall and gated in-app paywall (both 16.5%)41:54
Halo AImrrUSD 1M/month
goal
target by June via paid ads52:29
marketUS people with both Instagram and an iPhone (guest's TAM framing for UGC)market size100M people
approximate
8:52
marketmonthly active users of major social platforms (Facebook 3B, WhatsApp 3B, YouTube 2.6B, TikTok 2B)users2,000M–3,000M users/month
approximate
8:17