GlamUp · B2C · face-scan makeup app
Swap text makeup tips for a face scan showing your before and after
Went viral on TikTok; app hit 1M users in 6 months
Workedproduct-viralityfeature-developmentorganic-short-video
What they did
First version: scan your face, get text-based makeup tutorials. It did not work on social media. Changed the core feature so users scan their face and see a before/after of how they would look with specific makeup looks, a visual result that suits TikTok content. The team usually tests a few candidate features; once a feature is viral it works ~10x better and you know within the first week.
What happened
The visual before/after feature worked really well on TikTok and the app started going viral; GlamUp reached 1M users in its first 6 months
- Stage
- Growth (early, after 3-4 months without traction)
This shipped together with other changes, so the result can't be credited to this alone.
“But I remember the first the first feature was probably you scan your face, and we give you certain like tutorials, or it's very text-based. And we realized that doesn't really work on social media.”
“So you can scan your face, and you can see the before and after of how you will look like with certain makeup looks. That worked really well for TikTok. So, you know, we just started going really viral with it.”
Related topics
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More from GlamUp
All 28 GlamUp tactics- 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
- Let users skip paying by inviting 3 friends with a code1.6M share/code requests; codes flooded TikTok comments; conversion barely dropped
- Triple the weekly price from $3 to $9Conversion rate went up despite the 3x price
- Build the women's version of a hit looksmaxing app for men1M users in 6 months; peak $150K MRR
- Rebuild a hit men's looks app for women, launching a rough MVP in a month1M users in 6 months; ~$150K MRR peak
- Post faceless slideshows and videos on TikTok and InstagramPeak month: 40-50M TikTok and ~200M Instagram views; 1M users in 6 months
More from this episode
- GlamUp: Push a text-only feature through influencers, faceless accounts, own videos, Reddit and DiscordDidn't work over 3-4 months; the feature itself was the problem
- Mock up a new feature in Figma, have creators post it, build it only if it goes viralFounder's default way to test features now; no numbers
- Pay creators $10-30 a post once it hits 500 views, plus bonuses at 10K-50K+ viewsThe standard deal across consumer apps; no results given
- Recruit creators from Discord groups, friends' referrals, and small influencers averaging ~10K views
- Have creators open new accounts and warm them up for 3 days by following small niche accounts
- GlamUp: Interview every creator yourself and accept about half or fewer
- Give every creator a 30-60 minute video course and a bank of ready scripts
- GlamUp: Make the videos yourself until one goes viral, then hire creators to copy itFounder says it's how every app started; no numbers
- Copy formats from tiny accounts that got one 1M-view video, not from influencers
- Test the same video idea at 10, 25 and 30 seconds with different hooks
- GlamUp: Ask 10+ onboarding questions about the user's goals so the app feels made for themFounder says it primes users to pay; no numbers
- GlamUp: After each answer, show a stat like '80% of our users have acne too'
- Sprout: Make people pay before they can swipe right to apply for a jobFounder says it works well; app reached $250K MRR by month 8
- GlamUp: Raise prices by 20-40% and check whether more people payOften converts better, founder says; no exact numbers
- Re-test the paywall and prices every couple of months
- Delete features and improve the few that matter
- GlamUp: Start with $10-20K, skip paid ads, and put all revenue back into apps99% of growth came from organic; funded later apps
- Pick a niche with lots of TikTok content but few apps, some making $50-100K a month
- Spend day one researching the niche and day two sketching the screen meant to go viral
- Focus on making the product good so people tell friends and familyFriend-and-family users convert about 2x better
- Test $9.99 against $6.99 a week, with a $50 yearly plan$9.99 slightly ahead on small numbers; more people pick yearly
- Lower the price after no one subscribesStill zero subscribers; hosts blame the weak paywall, not the price