Super Unlimited · B2C · free VPN app
Start on the cloud, then move heavy traffic to your own rented servers
Makes a free tier affordable; cloud still absorbs surges
Workedcost-structure
What they did
Start with standard cloud for speed to market. At scale, keep the control plane in mainstream cloud but run the data plane on bare-metal machines they control and wipe, since cloud bandwidth costs would 'lose our shirts'. Bare metal takes about a week to order, so cloud absorbs surges. Never cut costs in ways that hurt service quality.
What happened
Lower bandwidth costs support the freemium model (claim).
In their words
Sub Club by RevenueCat · How the World's #1 VPN App Reached 1 Billion Downloads – Tanuj Chatterjee, Super Unlimited“Our control plane is in the standard well-known cloud infrastructures. Our data plane is not because we lose our shirts because the bandwidth costs-”
“Now, if you're building a company or a mobile app, which is not a VPN, just go with cloud. And prove fastest way, do it, and then optimize later”
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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: Launch a new feature in 5 countries behind a switch, then expand
- 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