GlamUp · B2C · AI makeup glow-up app
Strip makeup off Pinterest photos, then add it back in-app for big contrast
Contrast made the slideshows go viral; founder claim
Workedorganic-short-video
What they did
Found photos of attractive women on Pinterest, ran them ~10 times through a separate makeup-removal app until plain, then enhanced with GlamUp's makeup to create maximum before/after contrast. Used as app demos rather than real users' photos (privacy).
What happened
Speaker says the contrast is what made the posts go viral.
In their words
The Superwall Podcast · Nicole Cheung - she makes $400k/mo from ai apps (while in college)“we went on Pinterest. We found a bunch of like pretty girls. We downloaded another app that can remove their makeup. So, we would go to that app, and we would remove their makeup like 10 times”
“So, we have this huge contrast, and then we post on social media, and it goes viral.”
Related topics
Get tactics like this every Monday
New tactics from the week's founder interviews, each linked to where it was said.
More from GlamUp
All 20 GlamUp tactics- Build the women's version of a hit looksmaxing app for men1M users in 6 months; peak $150K MRR
- Post faceless slideshows and videos on TikTok and InstagramPeak month: 40-50M TikTok and ~200M Instagram views; 1M users in 6 months
- Run the same creator playbook on each new app you launchTwo new apps at ~$200K MRR combined within 3 months
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- Try each social format for 2-3 weeks, then pour everything into the winnerFounder credits it for all four apps; no per-format numbers
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More from this episode
- GlamUp: Post the same before/after makeup slideshow with one fixed hook, caption and audioFirst post hit 10M views; millions of views a day at peak
- GlamUp: Find a viral format on your own accounts first, then hire creators to copy itFounder went viral first on all four apps; scaled GlamUp to 30-40 creators
- GlamUp: Let users skip paying by inviting 3 friends with a code1.6M share/code requests; codes flooded TikTok comments; conversion barely dropped
- GlamUp: Put the app name in the copy-paste referral message so TikTok search ranks itSearching 'GlamUp' on TikTok shows only their content; founder claim
- GlamUp: Triple the weekly price from $3 to $9Conversion rate went up despite the 3x price
- Raise monthly and annual prices 20%, then test another 20%Conversion and revenue per download both rose; second +20% in test
- GlamUp: When people close the paywall, show the same plans at 50% off
- GlamUp: Limit scans per week by plan, and offer a bigger plan when they run out
- GlamUp: Show a fake 'analyzing' scan with blurred results, and run the AI only after payment
- GlamUp: Ask for a rating mid-onboarding; make users tap 'I rated' to continueOther founders who copied it say ratings improved; softer version still works
- GlamUp: After each onboarding question, show a screen on how the app beats the alternativesFounder says it primes users to convert; no numbers
- Sprout: Skip the annual plan for a job-search app; sell weekly and monthly via Stripe
- Sprout: Show the paywall right after onboarding, before users can open the app+50% conversion vs letting users try features first
- Sprout: Put every new creator through a video course with a quiz after each moduleOver half go viral within 2 weeks; 100M monthly views at 200+ active creators
- Sprout: Recruit creators in influencer-run Discords and on Handshake, then vibe-check them in 15 minutesMany top creators had no experience; founder claim
- Sprout: Pay creators $10-30 per post plus view bonuses that shrink per view at scaleFounder says the decreasing tiers work best; no numbers
- Sprout: Give creators line-by-line scripts with the emotion and camera shot for each lineTrained creators averaged hundreds of thousands to millions of views per video
- Sprout: Film a 6.7-second 'War is over' clip flipping a job tracker cell to 'Accepted'Hundreds of millions of views and many conversions (not attributable)
- GlamUp: Rebuild a hit men's looks app for women, launching a rough MVP in a month1M users in 6 months; ~$150K MRR peak