Hevy · B2C · gym workout tracking app
Keep contacting Apple after launch to get featured on the App Store
Got 'Apps We Love' in the US; COVID closed gyms the next day, erasing the boost
Unknownpr-launch
What they did
In the months after the July 2019 launch, the founders worked hard to get in touch with Apple for a feature. They got their first big one, 'Apps We Love' in the US, in March 2020.
What happened
The day after the feature the US locked down and gyms closed; momentum stalled for about a year.
In their words
Sub Club by RevenueCat · Cultivating Organic Growth with Viral Loops — Guillem Ros Salvador, Hevy“We're trying so hard during those like first initial months to get in touch with Apple, get a feature, get a little boost. And we got Apps We Love feature, which for us was our first biggest feature by Apple.”
“Like the whole world shut down, all the gyms closed, and this momentum that we had going into 2020 just like got completely shut down by COVID.”
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 this episode
- Hevy: At launch, go after the same search keywords your competitors use5-10 downloads a day at first, slowly growing
- Hevy: Let users follow each other's workouts and suggest the most active users to newcomersStrangers formed their own groups in-app; main growth engine behind 2M users
- Hevy: Charge $24 a year and don't keep testing prices, so users happily tell friendsGrew to 2M users on word of mouth; guest admits revenue isn't maximized
- Hevy: Pick three core pillars and ship a bare version of each, cutting everything elseShipped 1.0 quickly; some features designed then are still unbuilt years later
- Hevy: Keep building the gym app through COVID instead of switching to home workoutsRough 2020-early 2021, then compounding growth to 2M users
- Hevy: Ask for feedback inside the app all the time and stay in email contact with usersGuest calls it a great way to gather feedback; no numbers
- Hevy: Live on unemployment benefits, then at your parents' home, until the app paysReached ramen profitability about 1-1.5 years after launching paid plan
- Hevy: Spend almost nothing on ads, then hire a head of marketing to test paidUnder $15K ever spent, mostly ad credits; paid ads not cracked yet
- Hevy: Hire support first, then devs, a designer and a marketer, instead of staying two foundersTeam of 10; bigger vision and far fewer co-founder arguments