Coconote · B2C · AI note-taker for students
Hire engineers who can also do backend or a second platform
Small engineering team ships a lot; with 50%+ EBITDA margins
Workedteam-process
What they did
Hire engineers who flex beyond their main area: iOS engineers also do some backend, web engineers some backend, or one person covers iOS and Android. All apps are native (no cross-platform). AI tooling adds leverage.
What happened
Kept the team small (host says four engineers) while shipping native apps; the business ran at over 50% EBITDA
In their words
The Superwall Podcast · Brett Bauman & Zack Hargett - COPY this ai app's $6.7m/yr marketing strategy“something that I always look for in hiring them is being able to flex uh across more than just their one uh like strength of ownership.”
Related topics
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New tactics from the week's founder interviews, each linked to where it was said.
More from Coconote
All 31 Coconote tactics- When people cancel, offer 7 more free days instead of a discountSaved 25% of cancellers; beat a 30% discount and a 3-month pause
- Double onboarding to ~15 screens with more questions and social proof+16% trial starts
- Ask people to log in after the paywall, not on the first screenBiggest onboarding win; removed ~10% drop-off
- Charge students $99/year and push the annual plan~80% chose annual
- Launch a viral 'PDF to brain rot video' side site to funnel users~41M views on one video, but no paying users; shut down
- Raise the annual price from $99 to $129More users and more revenue at the same time
More from this episode
- Coconote: Build a novelty free tool (text to brainrot video) and push it on TikTok100-200M views and 3,000 trials in days, but only ~$25K revenue
- Coconote: Post short videos that show the app solving a real student problemSeveral ~20M-view videos, ~99% organic, converting far better than viral novelty content
- Coconote: Mix a known game (2048) with studying and promote a catchy URL in videosOne video reached ~2M views; no conversion numbers
- Coconote: Build hidden app screens only creators use, made to look good on cameraUsed in the 18M-view video; no separate numbers
- Coconote: Keep a small team of 10-12 part-time creators, led by a proven oneLead creator drove hundreds of millions of views; founders say it worked
- Coconote: Recruit creators who aren't influencers via Handshake, DMs, email and referralsA Spanish tutor with no content experience became a top creator in 9 months
- Coconote: Double onboarding from 5 to about 13 screens in one big changeTrial conversion up 16%; one-or-two-screen tests had only given small wins
- Coconote: Let people pay before creating an account; move login after the paywallFounder calls it significant; no separate number
- Coconote: Let users record a whole lecture before asking them to payCalled a big win; no number given
- Coconote: Put a little ad money behind organic videos that already went viralNot much success; ~99% of views stayed organic
- Coconote: Pitch the app as great for ADHD in videos and the first App Store screenshotUsers say it helps their ADHD; no numbers
- Coconote: When trial users cancel, offer them 7 more free daysKeeps 27% of cancellers in their trial; a smaller share later pay
- Coconote: Hire an investment bank to run the sale so you keep buildingSold to Quizlet ~18 months after launch; bank ran it end to end
- Crew: Post creator-style TikToks and Reels to drive app signupsHundreds of thousands of signups for an earlier app
- Coconote: Track each creator's results with a dedicated tool (viral.app)Only one of 5-6 tools tried that worked for them