Runify · B2C · ranked running app
Pick a space where 1-3 apps already make $100K+ a month, then twist the idea
Liftoff at $200-300K/month led to Runify; sold within a month of launch
Workedmarket-selectionvalidation
What they did
Checklist: 1-3 apps each at $100K+/month (not one monopolist; $5K/month is not enough), steady for ~12 months; build an adjacent version rather than a direct clone (ranked gym -> ranked running) and copy their distribution. Discount VC-funded apps (e.g., Reframe raised $24M) whose revenue may be bought at a loss. Also prefers a problem he is personally into (running, gaming) after UriBrave.
What happened
Used to pick Runify; now applied to a new women's health and fitness app.
- Stage
- Pre-launch (ideation)
In their words
The Superwall Podcast · Caleb Dean - I speedran an ai app from 0 to $100k exit in 26 days“I want to be getting into a space where there's like anywhere from one to three apps that are at least doing 100k a month.”
“But like if Liftoff was doing 5k a month, like that's not enough validation for me to build on that.”
“And two, um one thing that I think people don't like think about enough is like a lot of apps are VC-funded.”
Related topics
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More from this episode
- Runify: Copy a proven app's viral Reels format for your niche before buildingMillions of views; one copy hit 2M; ~50 videos drove the whole waitlist
- Runify: Charge $5 for early access on a one-page site before writing any code2,000 waitlist emails and 90+ paid $5 in about 2 weeks
- Runify: Post 9 Reels a day on Instagram instead of flooding TikTokInstagram held 5-10K avg views, 1 in 10 over 500K; TikTok views fell to ~5
- Runify: Build a tool that turns one video template into thousands of versions10,000 variations in a minute; fed ~5M views in month one
- Runify: Put your app up for pre-order so thousands download it on launch day3,000 pre-orders in ~2 weeks; leaderboard hit its 1,000 cap in an hour
- Runify: Rewrite onboarding to promise a result (becoming a better runner), not just ranksChanged because first onboarding converted poorly; no after numbers given
- Runify: Email your waitlist two updates, then a launch video with a half-price codeDiscount codes brought most launch-day revenue; 32% of emails hit spam, 20% opened
- Runify: Message every paying early adopter yourself and make them your beta testers~20 testers on WhatsApp; founder says their feedback was invaluable
- Runify: Ask your Instagram followers in Story polls which features to buildTracking answers split evenly across Garmin, Apple Watch and Strava, so they built all three
- Runify: On launch day, tease on Instagram Stories, post on Reddit, and tweet a demo videoFounder's X demo got ~50K views; mostly exposure, not core users
- Runify: Tweet openly and confidently about your app's goals, even from a tiny accountCold acquisition DM 1-2 weeks after launch, from a ~200-follower account
- Runify: Sell a month-old app at ~5x yearly revenue but keep 30% of itSix-figure sale ~26 days after launch, plus 6-month earn-out and cash bonus
- Runify: Design every screen and button in Figma before developers startCore design done in 3 days; CTO built it in about 6 weeks
- UriBrave: Rank in App Store search for a rare condition's name (shy bladder)Most users and revenue came from search; 30%+ conversion; $5-10K lifetime