A consumer app in stealth · B2C · guest's newest app
Mock up a new feature in Figma, have creators post it, build it only if it goes viral
Founder's default way to test features now; no numbers
Unknownvalidationugc-creatorsfeature-development
What they did
With a creator network already in place (~800 active creators on the stealth app), new feature ideas are built as a Figma mockup or in the team's own content creation portal first. Creators post content about it; only features whose content goes viral get built into the app.
“if we want to experiment with a new feature, we will build it out in Figma or our own content creation portal first. Have people do it. If it goes viral, then we can put it into the app”
Related topics
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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
- 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