Flo · B2C · period and women's health app
Give the core app away free, then sell add-on modules as users' needs change
60M+ monthly users; thesis behind a $200M raise at a $1B+ valuation
Workedupsell-expansionpricingretention
What they did
Offer a free period-tracking product to users from their mid-teens and keep serving them free for as long as they need, building a data layer over their whole life (18 to 35-50, into perimenopause and menopause). Add paid modules (e.g. perimenopause, menopause, partner features) inside Flo Premium that users subscribe to when a life stage makes them relevant. Investor thesis: each new module widens the surface where the 60M MAU find a reason to subscribe; capturing 1-3% per module means hundreds of millions in revenue.
What happened
60M+ MAU with a fraction paying; the model underpinned General Atlantic's investment at a $1B+ valuation.
- Stage
- scale
In their words
Sub Club by RevenueCat · The Subscription App Industry Rebound — Eric Crowley, GP Bullhound“they will work with with females early on, when they're kind of like this the very beginning of their health journey, you know, 15, 16, 17, right, and they'll provide a free product.”
“you can just continue to stitch and add new offerings to the Flo to the Flo data layer, and then that just increases the surface area for where they're, you know, 60 million MAUs will find a reason to subscribe”
Related topics
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More from Flo Health
All 10 Flo Health tactics- Test many prices in each country; keep the one with the most revenue per userHalf-price variants sometimes won: 3x retention and much higher revenue per user
- Cut the price sharply in BrazilBrazil revenue up hundreds of percent in a year; now a top-4 market
- Sell higher tiers and extra features to people who already payCohort revenue retention ~60% in year one, then rising every year
- Set separate country prices for iPhone and Android usersAndroid's best price is ~15-20% below iPhone in US/UK; far bigger gap in Brazil
- Lower the local price so ads get enough sales to scale profitably in BrazilUnlocked profitable paid installs in Brazil; not possible at the higher price
- Give the full app free in 50+ countries where people can't pay20M+ free subscriptions given; no direct revenue or growth, but motivates staff and users
More from this episode
- Flo: Hire a bank to run a competitive raise, then take more than plannedSet out for $100M; raised $200M at a $1B+ valuation
- Email loyal subscribers before a price rise and explain what they get for itGuest says best-of-breed apps keep users through it; one of the main paths to positive NRR
- Spotify: Offer a family plan so one subscriber can add the rest of the householdCited as user expansion from a single acquired customer; no numbers
- onX: Sell an upgrade tier with nationwide maps on top of the single-state plan
- Quicken: Add estate planning tools (wills, trusts, document locker) as an upgradeGuest calls it an easy upgrade for users; no numbers
- Tinder: Sell packs of one-off boosts, like super likes or streak repairs, next to the subscriptionCited as extra revenue on top of subscriptions; no numbers
- AllTrails: Keep adding photos, reviews and social features to stay far ahead of Apple MapsGuest says Apple may take a few % of free users but not payers
- Nutracheck: Sell the subscription app to a big ad-funded publisher that needs subscriptionsGuest calls it a home run deal that answered the buyer's CAC questions
- Tractive: Show owners how far their dog walked compared with other dogs
- Fi: Advertise a pet supplement inside the app to people who already own the collarHost found the offer compelling; no numbers
- Offer a 10-20% cheaper web signup to skip the 30% App Store feeEvery client of the guest is exploring it; tools charge ~5-7% vs 30%