Flamme · B2C · couples app
Launch alongside a TechCrunch Startup Battlefield feature
800% organic growth in one month; stopped by a trademark letter
Mixedpr-launch
What they did
Launched the first version (Sparks, a date planner) in October 2022 while being featured on TechCrunch as a Startup Battlefield company; no TikTok or paid. Follow-up AI relaunch got TechCrunch (Valentine's Day) and LA Times coverage.
What happened
Grew 800% organically in the first month, but the app had 0.8% D30 retention and was pulled after a cease-and-desist; later press didn't fix retention.
Related topics
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More from this episode
- Flamme: Relaunch the date planner as an AI relationship coach right after ChatGPT came outDay-30 retention rose from 0.8% to 4.2%, still too low; press but no traction
- Flamme: Make the daily question for couples the main thing on the home screenDay-30 retention went from 4.2% to ~30%, then 50%, with streak reminders
- Flamme: Send a friendly morning reminder, then an evening 'your partner will be sad' nudgeDay-30 retention went from 4.2% to ~50% alongside the daily-question redesign
- Flamme: Hide your partner's answer until you answer the question yourselfCreated a back-and-forth loop credited with lifting retention; no separate number
- Flamme: Add a home-screen widget showing distance to your partner and days togetherWorked well, per the founder; copied from a competitor; no numbers
- Flamme: Start charging in a free app when the money runs outBarely survived; the early '15% conversion' counted renewals, so it was inflated
- Flamme: Pitch big investors on great retention before you have a way to get usersFailed; top firms asked about distribution and no term sheets came
- Flamme: Scroll TikTok 4 hours a day for 2 months to learn what worksGot the first account getting views, then copied the approach across accounts
- Flamme: Run 20-30 TikTok accounts on numbered iPhones, 3-4 accounts per phone~50M organic views; host cites ~150K users
- Flamme: Use one Apple ID on every farm phone to skip repaying for the proxy appFailed: TikTok linked the accounts, one flag hit all; lost 120 work hours
- Flamme: Under 300 views means a broken account; 300-1,000 means fix the contentTheir working rule for which accounts and formats to fix; no numbers on impact
- Flamme: Judge app videos by likes and question slideshows by shares and savesLow-like videos rarely drove downloads, even at 1M+ views
- Flamme: Post slideshows of '5 uncomfortable but healthy questions to ask your partner'Shared a lot, but only 0.05-0.2% of viewers downloaded
- Flamme: Post videos that show the app in use, not memesApp demos convert 0.5-1% of views vs 0.05-0.2% for memes and slideshows
- Flamme: Give AI a 10-page brief with product details, winning scripts and a master promptTeam posts ~200 pieces a day from it; winners are fed back in
- Flamme: Log every post by hand in a spreadsheet and review it every morningForces the team to study why posts fail; no numbers given
- Flamme: Copy only formats that went viral on small accounts and get 'what app?' commentsAdopted after 50M views brought few conversions; C part learned late
- Run real 'what do I text back?' Reddit screenshots through the app on videoJust started; guest expects 0.5-1% of viewers to download
- Design the app's screens and loading animation to look good on TikTok