I Left College to Build This Niche App (Now I Make $20K/Month)

Started marketing with organic posts. Took content ideas from social pages in the same niche and adapted them. First video showed a UFC fighter before and after a weight cut, with a call to action at the end giving viewers a reason to download the app. Views were low but viewers were high-intent.

Because the niche had few big influencers, sourced small creators by scrolling the TikTok For You page and Instagram Reels and DMing them to ask for a partnership. Started with creators getting ~1,000-10,000 views per video, then moved to creators getting 20,000+ views per video. Terms/pay not stated.

Took the videos made by partnered influencers and put them into paid ads as an experiment. Platforms, budget and setup not stated.

Gave the one-month MVP to his wrestling club to beta test. V1 had coaches hand weight-cut plans to athletes; the club didn't use it because of friction. Over July-August rebuilt it so the app generates plans for athletes directly, tested the weight cuts on himself, redesigned, and released in September.

Picked a problem from his own competitive background: cutting weight quickly and safely for judo/wrestling bouts, which he had only learned from a coach's plan. Built a narrow app for combat-sport athletes and launched in September as wrestling season began; demand rose mid-season when athletes had to make weight.