Starter Story · 2026-07-26

$18K/Month From This Ridiculously Simple App Idea

Ryan, a former product designer, built Cat on Chair with his illustrator girlfriend using AI coding: a Pomodoro timer where a cat jumps on your chair while you focus and leaves a gift afterwards. First app; launched Aug 27 2025 after a REDnote beta, reached 127K downloads, ~$80K revenue in 8-9 months and $18K in the last 30 days, mainly in Chinese/Taiwanese markets. Growth came from REDnote virality and an Instagram app-collection post (2M views) reshared on Threads in Taiwan.

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7 tactics

Cat on Chair · B2C · cat-themed focus timer app

Invite dozens of REDnote followers to beta test for a month before launch

~3,000 downloads in launch week, but serious bugs remained for months

Once the first version was ready in August 2025, invited dozens of people on REDnote (where the co-founder already had an illustration audience) to beta test. Spent about a month gathering feedback, fixing bugs and iterating, then launched on Aug 27.

Mixedvalidationcommunity

Starter Story · 2026-07-26

Cat on Chair · B2C · cat-themed focus timer app

Launch first on REDnote, where your co-founder already has followers

~3,000 first-week downloads; a few small viral moments; users still mostly Chinese/Taiwanese

The co-founder (girlfriend, the illustrator) already had a REDnote account showing her illustrations with some followers, so they started there: beta recruitment and early promotion happened on REDnote, making Chinese and Taiwanese users the core market. Now expanding to English/worldwide audiences.

Workedfounder-brandmarket-selection

Starter Story · 2026-07-26

Cat on Chair · B2C · cat-themed focus timer app

Get your app into Instagram creators' 'favorite apps' roundup posts

One post hit 2M+ views; a Threads reshare doubled downloads and revenue overnight

Instagram influencers shared app-collection (roundup) posts featuring the app; one exploded past 2 million views. Someone in Taiwan then shared the app on Threads, where it went viral again. No outreach or payment was described; it appears organic.

Workedinfluencerword-of-mouth

Starter Story · 2026-07-26

Cat on Chair · B2C · cat-themed focus timer app

Turn a plain Pomodoro timer into a cat game with collectible furniture and cats

Over $18K in the last 30 days; 127K downloads in a crowded category

Instead of competing on timer features, themed the app around cats: a hand-illustrated cat jumps on the chair while you focus. Borrowed Animal Crossing-style customization (different cats, furniture, animated backgrounds) bought with rewards from sessions, gave each cat quotes based on its backstory and personality, and used the co-founder's distinctive illustration style. Guiding question: how to replicate the physical experience of having a cat in a digital app. Ryan advises studying competitors' reviews and remixing mechanics from games.

Workedpositioning-nicheproduct-activation

Starter Story · 2026-07-26

Cat on Chair · B2C · cat-themed focus timer app

Have the cat leave a gift after a finished session, and trash if you quit

Inspired by memes of cats bringing dead mice to owners: after a successful focus session the cat leaves a gift; a failed session leaves trash. Gifts are collected and can be sold for fish (in-app currency) to buy cats, furniture and backgrounds in the shop. Users can also extend focus by 10 more minutes instead of taking the break.

Unknownretentionproduct-activation

Starter Story · 2026-07-26

Cat on Chair · B2C · cat-themed focus timer app

Give the app away free; sell pro features for $29.99 lifetime or $19.99 a year

Most sales come from the $29.99 lifetime plan

Free download with pro features behind a paywall (managed in RevenueCat). Plans: $29.99 lifetime, $19.99 annual, and family share usable by up to six people.

Workedpricingpaywall

Starter Story · 2026-07-26

Cat on Chair · B2C · cat-themed focus timer app

Let users pet the cat: it meows when tapped or when you say its name

Collected feedback via UserDroid (free feedback board). Users asked to interact with the cat, so a meow animation was added that triggers when you tap the cat or say its name out loud.

Unknownfeature-developmentretention

Starter Story · 2026-07-26

Numbers mentioned

Who	Metric	Value	Context	When
Cat on Chair	downloads	127K downloads approximate		1:25
Cat on Chair	revenue	USD 80K approximate	Close to $80K over 8-9 months since launch	1:25
Cat on Chair	revenue	USD 18K/month approximate	Last 30 days from April 13 (2026); 'over 18K'	1:25
Cat on Chair	downloads	24K downloads/month approximate	First-time downloads in the same last-30-days window	1:25
Cat on Chair	price	USD 29.99/one-time	Lifetime plan; most sales come from it	1:25
Cat on Chair	price	USD 19.99/year	Annual plan	1:25
Cat on Chair	count	6 people	Family share plan can be shared with up to 6 people	1:25
Cat on Chair	share	most sales approximate	Share of sales from the lifetime plan	1:25
Cat on Chair	rank	3 rank	Peak rank, free productivity apps, Taiwan App Store	1:25
Cat on Chair	rank	11 rank	Peak rank, all free apps, Taiwan App Store	1:25
Cat on Chair	downloads	3,000 downloads/week approximate	First week after launch	4:16
Cat on Chair	time to milestone	3–4 months approximate	May 2025 start to first version ready in August; launched Aug 27	4:16
Cat on Chair	views	2M viewsper post approximate	Instagram influencer app-collection post featuring the app	4:16
Cat on Chair	growth rate	roughly doubled overnight approximate	Downloads and revenue after the Instagram post and the Taiwanese Threads reshare	4:16