Pushcroll · B2C · push-ups to unlock social media
Post a 'Should I build this?' video about the app before building it
Blew up on TikTok; MVP shipped 2 weeks later to a waiting audience
Workedvalidationorganic-short-video
What they did
Before any product existed, posted a short video pitching the concept as if it were real: the doomscrolling pain point, then borrowed YouTube footage (googled 'AI push-up counter') of an AI skeleton overlay counting push-ups, explained as 'no push-ups, no scrolling', ending with 'Should I build this? Let me know in the comments. I post every day.' Simple language and a clear visual of the concept. It flopped on a new, unwarmed Instagram account but went viral on TikTok. Then found a technical co-founder on YC Co-Founder Matching and built a two-screen MVP in ~2 weeks. Recommends making one or several such videos and only building once one goes viral.
What happened
The video blew up with many people asking them to build it; the idea was validated, a co-founder was found and the app launched 14 days later.
- Stage
- Pre-launch (pre-product)
- Effort
- One concept video
“If you could stop your doomscrolling addiction by doing 20 push-ups. There's this AI thing that can actually track how many push-ups you do.”
“Just YouTube. I I just googled AI push-up counter, and you know, that's it.”
“I would always suggest, before you even build a product, you pretend you already built it, or you find something that is very similar to it, and then you just basically you know make a video about it”
“So, you know, it actually didn't go viral on Instagram, but probably that was because I had a pretty new account, wasn't very warmed up.”
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
- Pushcroll: Launch with a video giving free lifetime premium to anyone who installs this week~20K downloads from ~175K views (~10%); only ~$1-2K revenue afterward
- Pushcroll: Move your launch followers into a Discord for feedback, bug reports and videos3-4K members; best feature ideas and user videos came from it
- Pushcroll: Let your community vote on designs, and build what they ask for 20+ timesPicked a better logo and shaped features; 'minute debt' was asked for 50+ times
- Pushcroll: DM 2,000 influencers and pay $800 flat for 4 videosDidn't work: ~138K views drove only 200-500 downloads; lost ~$2K
- Pushcroll: Rebuild push-up tracking to work from the front so faces show on video
- Pushcroll: Film a stranger-style 'what is this guy doing?' clip, then demo the appKept going viral; the main driver of $30K/month profit
- Pushcroll: End videos with 'comment app' and auto-DM the download linkUp to 62K comments on one video; ~90K DMs sent, 33% clicked
- Pushcroll: Sell the app openly in videos instead of hiding the adFull-ad videos converted far better than a cinematic version
- Pushcroll: Put 80% of effort into the hook; aim for under ~18% skippingTheir breakout video had a ~19% skip rate; 30% means switch format
- Pushcroll: Build onboarding as a conversation: goals, pain, past attempts, then your fixConversion rose from ~7% to ~16%; paywall reach ~70%
- Pushcroll: Let people try push-up counting and pick workout times before the paywallFounders say it builds trust and lifts paywall conversion; no numbers
- Pushcroll: Pay founders you admire to review your onboardingFounders call it their highest-ROI spend; 'completely changed our trajectory'
- Pushcroll: Test a 7-day free trial against a 3-day one7-day trial won clearly
- Pushcroll: Test a weekly plan against a monthly oneWeekly won, but only slightly more ARPU
- Pushcroll: Put a short video of someone using the app on the paywallWon its test, but by a small margin
- Pushcroll: Offer about 80% off when someone closes the paywallCalled one of their two biggest tests; no result given
- Pushcroll: Build an Android version if most of your viewers are in EuropeAndroid earns as much as iOS or more; 120K vs 40K users
- Pushcroll: Post from a remote-controlled US phone to reach American viewersDidn't work; shadowbanned even with the remote US phone
- Pushcroll: Pay US students about $1,000 a month to post your winning formatJust started; no results shared
- Pushcroll: Let people close the paywall, then charge when they want more scroll time