An AI headshot maker · B2C · app audited on the show
Lower the price after no one subscribes
Still zero subscribers; hosts blame the weak paywall, not the price
Failedpricing
What they did
AI headshot app built in 2024 with an intro offer ($1.99 first month then $6.99). Nobody paid, so the developer lowered the price. Host and guest advised raising the price and fixing the plain-looking paywall instead.
What happened
Still no subscribers; app abandoned
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
- GlamUp: Swap text makeup tips for a face scan showing your before and afterWent viral on TikTok; app hit 1M users in 6 months
- 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