Bloom · B2C · learn-to-invest app for Gen Z
Post Reddit-story videos over gameplay listing 'underrated iPhone apps', including yours
Founder says the Reddit carousel did really well in 2024
What they did
What happened
- Stage
- growth
In their words
Jae Hwang - This App Makes $2M/Year With This Viral TikTok Strategy
Jae HwangYeah, I think 2024 has been a big year for us for organic growth. Um In 2023 we massively scaled TikTok paid ads and then we saw that, you know, CAC is actually not performing as well as, you know, mid-2023, and by 2023 end of 2023 it really tailored down. We doubled down on like scaling our organic growth, and I think 2024 narrative was how to get rich, I think, was pretty much the theme for us, right, like.
Jae HwangSo we would, you know, make HeyGen videos and a lot of videos where like, "Oh, what does the billionaire nanny do, right, for their kids?" And I think that narrative really, really did well last year. And then obviously the Reddit carousel did really well. But come this year, I think people realize that relatability is something big. So we're targeting a lot of study talk groups where like actually relatable for college students on how to get, you know, good score, and how to actually invest money properly. And I think that really
Jae Hwangdid well for us for past uh 6 months of this year.
VideoUnderrated iPhone apps. The Bloom app lets you buy stock, while also holding your hand through the process. You can also get rewarded with free stock when you complete their educational materials. Some of my friends were smart enough to take advantage of this and already have made tens of thousands by tea-
Jae HwangSo these kind of videos obviously is worked really well cuz like brain rot to PDF was pretty big last year, and also leading into this year. So we use similar formats and then we indirect CTA this, and then towards the end of the video, you will see a small disclaimer, "Download Bloom," so that it's most people will think this is organic and then later on it leads to download CTA. That's how we kind of scaled our business using paid and, you know, kind of making the valley and peak a little flatter uh and then making it go right and up, right? Um So yeah.
JosephThat That This is so insane. I feel like oh like I feel like most people who run paid ads It's like if you're a marketer, you follow the classic marketing frameworks. Like pain, agitate, solution. Or, big dream outcome, handle objections, and show value prop, or whatever. It's like this l- this ad literally feels like a TikTok like that you would just scroll. So I like I imagine you're like scrolling through the feed, and you just see this. And …
Get tactics like this every Monday
New tactics from the week's founder interviews, each linked to where it was said.
More from this episode
- Scale TikTok ads hard, then switch focus to organic when costs climbCustomer cost worsened from mid-2023; organic became the 2024 focus
- Post TikToks on how billionaires raise their kids, ending on early investingRan about 6 months; founder says retention held despite the get-rich hook
- Post AI videos twice a day per account; copy any hit to 20 accountsFounder says it scaled views; no conversion numbers given
- Never say 'download' in organic videos; have a team name the app in commentsFounder says viewers flow into the app organically; no numbers
- Hire small creators whose videos look right, not ones with big followingsFounder credits it for scaling faster; no numbers
- Pay creators $500-$1,000 a month for 60 videos, plus $2-4 per 1,000 viewsPure pay-per-view lost many creators early; adding a retainer kept them
- Give each creator 2 accounts, then post both daily videos on whichever grows
- When a viral TikTok's views fade, run it as an ad to the right age and countryFounder says it flattened download spikes into steady growth; no numbers
- Add a 15-second app demo ending 'download now to flex on your friends'Founder says these ads worked pretty well; no numbers
- Post relatable study tips for college students that lead into investingGot views, but conversion was lower because the app isn't a study app
- Split one wordy onboarding screen into tap-through slides like Instagram storiesLifted signups from download to entering personal details; no numbers given
- Open onboarding with 'start at 18, have $1M at 65'; end with reviewsFounder says this order converts downloads to signups well; newest version not live
- Give $2-4 of free stock at signup; let users earn up to $75 moreFounder says free stock beat cash for building a long-term mindset; no numbers
- Test the headline free-stock reward at $40, $60 and $75Amount barely changed subscriptions; $75 now being tested
- Test Bible and self-care angles for investing on 1-2 TikTok accounts
- Aim ads and content at Christians while the app itself stays secularHost says the app recently hit $100-200K a month
- Make AI videos of dream houses and cars captioned 'if you invested in Netflix'
Tags: tiktok, brainrot, reddit-story, carousel, indirect-cta