Shepherd · B2C · Bible reading habit app
Build the app in two weeks while running a two-week content push
Reached #10 on the charts and $75K MRR despite a buggy app
Workedvalidation
What they did
Ideated with AI and a few calls, built in two weeks alongside a two-week growth sprint; nothing was optimized and the app broke a lot.
What happened
$75K MRR in 2 weeks and about a week at #10 on the charts, despite many bugs.
This shipped together with other changes, so the result can't be credited to this alone.
In their words
The Superwall Podcast · Daniel Kwon - He made $2.2M from building simple apps. Here's how (no-code)“We literally ideated or conceptualized with like AI and just some calls. It was like a two-week build. Two-week build alongside a two-week growth sprint. Yeah, I mean, the app broke a ton.”
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
- Conch: Stitch an already-viral classroom clip with better audio, then demo the app15-16M TikTok views in a day, 100M+ across platforms; drove a $500K month
- Conch: Make videos siding with students against pointless school busyworkOne such video got ~4M views (host's reading); guest says the style still works
- Conch: Have a co-founder make all the videos himself, faceless and low-budget~220M lifetime views and ~$2.2M revenue, mostly organic
- Conch: Test paid ads next to organic videosMargins were worse than organic; dropped
- Conch: Build a tool to get around AI detectors the night one launches$1M ARR within about 30 days
- Conch: Have UGC creators film inside Snapchat so videos look like real stories
- Conch: Put schools' logos on your website without askingGot cease-and-desist letters from several schools and a legal fight
- Conch: Talk to three or four buyers when selling the appSold, but some competitors posed as buyers just to pull information
- FinalBoss Sour: Post a scrappy 'we made way too much, so it's on sale' videoHit every time creators remade it; brand had views but no sales before
- FinalBoss Sour: Put a flash sale on a TikTok Shop item to reach more For You pagesGuest says it automatically boosts the product and brand; no numbers
- FinalBoss Sour: Film shop videos in the founder's kitchen or bedroom, even as a funded brandBrand became #1 in food and beverage on TikTok Shop; not isolated
- FinalBoss Sour: Pack visible value into product photos and release limited flavor dropsGuest says it made organic storytelling much easier; no numbers
- Arise: Post carousels about Solo Leveling fans wanting 'the system' in real lifeGuest's fastest cold start besides Shepherd; ~$7K/month early
- Arise: Pay influencers and meme pages $1-2 per 1,000 views$6-7 revenue per 1,000 views; grew to ~$50K/month at 70-80% margins
- Arise: Build the app fans already ask for when rivals just run adsReached ~$50K/month alongside influencer deals
- Shepherd: Stitch popular faith podcast clips and farmed hooks onto a quick app demo~7 videos: 20M views, 100K+ downloads and $75K MRR in 2 weeks
- Shepherd: Pitch a God-first lamb against Duolingo's AI-first owl during its backlash~10K Discord members from the launch push; later fans rejected an AI feature
- Shepherd: Replace the AI chat with a custom devotional and drop 'AI' from the copy
- Shepherd: Pause creator videos and build invites for prayer and accountability buddies
- Post about your app yourself; skip paid ads until five formats winGuest's rule from five or six cold starts; no numbers