Opal · B2C · screen time app
Build for iPhone only and hold off on Android and Mac
Reached $5M ARR without an Android app
Workedmarket-selectionfeature-development
What they did
Stayed iOS-only to figure out product and onboarding on one platform with limited resources, timed to Apple's new Screen Time API (iOS 16), which Opal was first to build on. Android, Mac and other devices deferred to a later expansion phase.
What happened
Reached $5M ARR with no Android app.
“There's just so much to do to figure out the right kind of product and the right kind of way to onboard people that we felt it was better to do it on one platform than multiple platforms.”
“we were the first app to benefit from this API and to build on this API, so the focus was very clear”
Related topics
Get tactics like this every Monday
New tactics from the week's founder interviews, each linked to where it was said.
More from Opal
All 29 Opal tactics- Test how many app blocks free users get; settle where free users still love it3 free blocks gave free users a great experience while power users still pay
- License a stranger's viral video about phone overuse and run it as your adSeen by dozens of millions; still running 1-2 years later
- Hire a user who posted about you to run her own educational channel for you0 to ~700K followers and millions of views in a few months
- Drop the hard paywall and give the core app away for freePaying share of users fell 20% to 9%, but organic growth, 1M+ DAUs and revenue rose
- Sell the app to schools as a phone policy after students asked for itGrew from one school to many US high schools; front-page LA Times coverage
- Add focus streaks with an animated flame and gemstone rewards at milestonesBiggest win of the year for retention and growth; no numbers
More from this episode
- Opal: Judge everything by 8-day ad return; raise spend weekly while above 100%Near zero to $5M ARR in about a year, no separate marketing budget
- Opal: Ask new users where they heard about you, and split results by answerFounder calls it the most reliable attribution, beating paid tools
- Opal: Ship a new app version every Monday, without exceptionSet the rhythm behind 121 A/B tests
- Opal: Charge about $100 a year from the start, after launching at $69Credited with reaching 100% 8-day ad return quickly
- Opal: Pay a creator to run their existing video about your cause as an adTook over all campaigns; mission-led ads keep working
- Opal: Hire one person to make ads with creators who already love the appWorks better than the agencies tried before; no numbers
- Opal: Hide or shrink the close button on the onboarding paywallA winning test when optimizing for 8-day ad return
- Opal: Make the first paywall easier to skip so more people use the free appMore people activated; ARPU fell but stayed manageable, net positive
- Opal: Show the paywall right after a report on the years lost to phonesDownload-to-trial rose from 7% to 17% across iterations
- Opal: Show a trial timeline on the paywall: reminder on day 6, charge on day 7Dozens of challenger paywalls never beat it
- Opal: Set up a 9-to-5 weekday app block automatically during onboardingA huge win in tests; no numbers given
- Opal: Let new users choose how they want to block apps during setupFailed every time; one simple default won
- Opal: Try to bring people back after their first dayMost tests failed, except the offer to trial cancellers
- Opal: Give a free year for 5 invites and lifetime access for 2080% more users sent at least one invite
- Opal: Ask people's age and show a different setup or paywall by age
- Opal: When someone cancels their trial, send a 50% off offer by pushWorks quite well; the one re-engagement test that won
- Opal: Let users see their friends' screen time, with phone number sign-inSlight uplift in tests; some users invite friends
- Opal: Split users with Firebase and compare groups in AmplitudeAnswers in about 8 days; ran 121 tests with a team of 7