Super Unlimited · B2C · free VPN app
Launch a new feature in 5 countries behind a switch, then expand
Unknownfeature-developmentexperimentation
What they did
The per-country server/protocol selection algorithm would have taken months to build for all markets. Instead they shipped the version they believed right for five countries behind feature flags, planning to iterate on bugs or wrong assumptions and extend to other countries over time.
In their words
Sub Club by RevenueCat · How the World's #1 VPN App Reached 1 Billion Downloads – Tanuj Chatterjee, Super Unlimited“Do we have this algorithm what we think is right for these five countries? Let's just launch it." So, we used feature flags and we used it just for those five countries”
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
- Super Unlimited: Read your reviews and rivals' reviews, then fix what people complain aboutCredited as the main driver to #1 for 'VPN'; no single number tied to it
- Super Unlimited: Let people use the app right away: no login, one tap to connectVisits last ~30 seconds; guest credits it for organic volume and ratings
- Super Unlimited: Ask for a rating only after the app has done its job2M+ high ratings on the App Store; no before/after given
- Super Unlimited: Test modern, prettier store screenshots against your plain old onesModern designs lost 80% of tests; winners gave no meaningful lift, so old ones stayed
- Super Unlimited: Hire an SEO agency that knows your field to publish programmatic pages~1,600 app downloads a month; poor conversion; some AI-search traffic, not top 5
- Super Unlimited: Give away an unlimited free version, paid for with an ad or twoLow paid conversion, but 1M+ mostly organic downloads a day and very profitable
- Super Unlimited: Don't show any ads the first time someone opens the app
- Super Unlimited: Keep the free service running in poor and censored countries, even at a loss15M downloads in 4 days during a Turkey Instagram ban; each spike leaves a higher baseline
- Super Unlimited: Charge for no ads, faster servers, more locations and use on every deviceCompany growing and very profitable; no conversion numbers
- Super Unlimited: Show an ad for your new eSIM app to all existing VPN usersDidn't work: no travel intent; now planning timed promos before summer
- Super Unlimited: Buy search ads in Apple and Google stores only where the return holds upSpend capped by ROAS; some cannibalization of organic installs accepted
- Super Unlimited: Have the head of support report to the head of productGuest says product hears about problems right away; no numbers
- Super Unlimited: Walk into elevators with a debug build to test dropped connections
- Super Unlimited: Compare your ratings country by country and dig into the low onesGuest says it helped a lot; no numbers
- Super Unlimited: Start on the cloud, then move heavy traffic to your own rented serversMakes a free tier affordable; cloud still absorbs surges
- Super Unlimited: Launch a Windows version and promote it to your mobile usersNamed biggest win of the year; people buy on the website directly, no numbers
- RevenueCat: Build the product so free users cost almost nothing to supportLets the company keep a generous free tier; no numbers