This Breathing App Sold to Peloton for $2M

Breathwrk launched as a breathing-exercises app only, not a general meditation app. Its home screen put breathing exercises up top, with other content tailored to the user's goals and led by its own trainers. The host frames it as a 'bottoms-up' strategy: build downloads and revenue in the niche, then expand towards meditation, anxiety relief or wider wellness.

Targeted the niche's own search terms, 'breath work' (spelled as the app name, 'Breathwrk', is not) and 'breathing exercises', rather than the broader 'meditation'.

Breathwrk's onboarding animates most screens: elements fall into place on the welcome screen, the goals question animates, and transitions between steps are animated. Kept largely unchanged after the Peloton acquisition.

App Masters clients A/B test onboarding with and without animation. No details on which animations, which screens or test size.

A 'quick, little lung test' in onboarding: the user holds down a button while exhaling as long as they can, lets go, and gets an animated lung score (the host exhaled for 20 seconds and scored 70). Present both before and after the acquisition.

Onboarding asks 'What are your goals with breath work?', 'What would you like to do?' and 'When would you like to do it?' (e.g. morning), then shows a 'Just a second, did you know?' screen while it customizes the plan, then 'It's ready, go' before the paywall.

After the user picks a time of day (e.g. morning), the next screen says 'Great, we'll help you stay consistent' and asks for push notification permission.

At the end of onboarding the user hits a hard paywall with a free trial, and only then the sign-up screen (sign-up could be skipped in the pre-acquisition version). In the current version a discount is offered after the paywall, then sign-up; content stays locked for non-Peloton members.

After the acquisition, Breathwrk is free for Peloton All-Access and App+ members: onboarding asks whether you are a Peloton member, members sign in and authorize, and skip the paywall. Non-members still face the paywall. The home screen now features Peloton instructors and daily classes.