Apollo · B2C · Reddit app for iPhone
Build each month whatever your app's subreddit complains about most
Founder says it shaped the app and worked well for about 9 years; no numbers
Workedfeature-developmentcommunity
What they did
Ran a dedicated subreddit next to the app, so feedback had no friction. Instead of a formal roadmap, each month he put whatever users were most vocal about on the roadmap, built it, and repeated for years, while using the app heavily himself and keeping final say on direction.
What happened
Feedback shaped Apollo into more than his own ideal; acted like a team managing him and a North Star when he drifted.
- Stage
- growth
In their words
Sub Club by RevenueCat · The Advantages of Working On an App You Care About — Christian Selig, Apollo“It It kind of made it easy because you could like the feedback loop was so close by.”
“Like, whatever they're yelling about that month is probably something I'll put on the roadmap, work on that, and it was kind of like rinse, repeat for years and years and years, and it worked out pretty well.”
Related topics
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More from this episode
- Apollo: Post an early beta in a popular subreddit, then launch to the waiting crowdBeta filled up; lots of launch-day downloads and paid upgrades, profitable from day one
- Apollo: Turn down popular feature requests by explaining why, not just saying noUsers mostly agreed once they heard the reasons
- Apollo: Charge the same $2.99 one-time price as the main rival appProfitable from day one, but founder calls the price too low in hindsight
- Apollo: Raise the lifetime price from $19.99 to $30-40Take rate didn't change at all
- Apollo: Live cheaply with roommates and build full-time on savings until a set dateMade it to a launch that paid from day one; savings almost gone
- Juno: Build the YouTube app YouTube skipped for Vision Pro, in two weeks, for launch dayStill earns about $100 on some days months after launch