Hevy · B2C · gym workout tracking app
Spend almost nothing on ads, then hire a head of marketing to test paid
Under $15K ever spent, mostly ad credits; paid ads not cracked yet
Failedpaid-socialteam-process
What they did
Hevy has spent under $15K on ads in total, much of it credit from collaborations. Having grown on product and word of mouth, it hired a head of marketing to start experimenting with paid advertising, pricing and funnel tests. Co-host argues organic-first means each paid dollar later goes further.
What happened
Paid acquisition hasn't worked so far ('we haven't been able to crack yet'); new marketing hire is starting experiments.
- Effort
- Under $15K total, mostly collaboration credits
In their words
Sub Club by RevenueCat · Cultivating Organic Growth with Viral Loops — Guillem Ros Salvador, Hevy“So, we've probably spent under 15k in ads ever.”
“It's just that so far, paid acquisition, we haven't been able to crack yet.”
“So yeah, I think that's kind of the role of the new head of marketing that just joined us, to start experimenting with a lot of these channels and seeing how paid could potentially accelerate the growth that we're seeing.”
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: 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: 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