BPM · B2C · dating app for sporty singles
Start Meta ads at €20/day after week one to keep new users flowing
Profitable; main growth driver to 140K MRR
Workedpaid-socialpositioning-niche
What they did
Started paid ads after week one: one Meta campaign at 20 EUR/day, to keep steady growth rather than spiky organic (a social app can't have 1 user Friday, 10 Saturday, 0 Sunday or users churn). Rule of thumb: non-social apps can grow on organic TikTok and skip paid UA early (fine for ~5K MRR); social apps and anything aiming at ~100K MRR need paid UA.
What happened
Paid ads are profitable and were the main growth driver to 140K MRR.
- Stage
- Launch (week 1 after launch)
Related topics
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New tactics from the week's founder interviews, each linked to where it was said.
More from this episode
- BPM: Run a singles-only run club to test a dating app ideaDemand confirmed; couples formed; runners became the launch audience
- BPM: Make your own Reels and boost a couple of posts to fill an eventGrew to ~500 followers; people signed up for runs
- BPM: Build a 3K waitlist before launch and have regulars make profiles early~500 installs on launch weekend
- BPM: Launch a dating app in one country only, so users are close together140K MRR in six months from France alone
- BPM: Download every competitor app and copy what works in each part
- BPM: Launch free, then turn on subscriptions about a month later1K MRR by the next Monday, 10K MRR 30 days later; no before/after comparison
- BPM: Set up Meta ad campaigns to get the most installsReached 20K MRR, but founder calls it the worst choice in hindsight
- BPM: Test ad tracking with $5, start at $50/day, add ad sets once costs holdStable costs; some ads ran profitably for months
- BPM: Make your first video ads from event footage, then test agency videos against themAn agency's videos worked well; no numbers
- BPM: Split co-founder equity unevenly so one person has the final say
- BPM: Ask everyone you know for a technical co-founder; work together a few weeks first
- BPM: Run the company with two founders who both use Claude daily
- BPM: Build a dating app only for people who play sport every weekPassed App Review; 140K MRR in six months
- Albo: Grow a social app only through a big creator program
- Surf: Get a brand deal with a sports event like Hyrox for a dating app
- Footsteps with Jesus: Show the paywall before asking people to create an account+52% sales