Hevy · B2C · gym workout tracking app
Live on unemployment benefits, then at your parents' home, until the app pays
Reached ramen profitability about 1-1.5 years after launching paid plan
Workedfinancing
What they did
After being laid off from 8fit in Germany, Guillem lived on German unemployment benefits while Hevy made no money. When they ran out before revenue covered costs, he moved back home. The low personal burn let the founders think long-term instead of chasing short-term revenue.
What happened
Became ramen profitable roughly 1-1.5 years after launching Hevy Pro.
In their words
Sub Club by RevenueCat · Cultivating Organic Growth with Viral Loops — Guillem Ros Salvador, Hevy“But I have to say that when I got laid off from my job, Germany is fantastic, and there were unemployment benefits that could be taken advantage of, and, you know, while there was no revenue coming in, that was, yeah, extremely helpful.”
“cuz unemployment ran out and we still weren't making enough money, like I moved back home”
Related topics
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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 contacting Apple after launch to get featured on the App StoreGot 'Apps We Love' in the US; COVID closed gyms the next day, erasing the boost
- 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: 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