TalkingParents · B2C · co-parenting communication app
Fly a co-founder around the country to pitch judges and court clerks
About 60% of users are now ordered onto the app by a court
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What they did
Courts were treated as a channel/influencer rather than the customer. Co-founder Stephen Nixon, a former attorney, flew around the country to talk with judges and clerks of court, who then order co-parents onto the app. Part of ~$1M spent on revamping and marketing before monetization.
What happened
Roughly 60% of users are court-ordered.
- Effort
- Years of travel; part of ~$1M pre-monetization spend
Related topics
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More from this episode
- TalkingParents: Stop relying on ads and courts; charge the parents who use the appBecame the base of a ~$10M ARR subscription business
- TalkingParents: Keep the website free and charge a monthly fee for the mobile appsStarted at $4.99/month; founder now thinks it was priced too low
- TalkingParents: Ask customers what they'd pay for, then build those features into paid plansEvery price rise bundled features customers had asked for
- TalkingParents: Double the price for current subscribers, but add a feature they asked forLost about a quarter of subscribers vs. half expected; some came back
- TalkingParents: Add a $24.99 plan with video calls and a set bundle of minutesAttracted less price-sensitive customers, mostly on iPhone; some couples both pay $24.99
- TalkingParents: Charge each co-parent separately, so one's video calls nudge the other to upgrade
- TalkingParents: Sell free users copies of their records for court, digital or printed and bound
- TalkingParents: Track each visitor from first site visit to paying, using your own dataFounder says it's 'paying dividends' after two years; no numbers
- TalkingParents: Host regular webinars with outside experts who also take over your social and blog
- TalkingParents: Reply to every app review with a real, caring answer, even off-topic rantsFounder says people feel heard and stay subscribed; no numbers
- TalkingParents: Swap a cheap startup transcription vendor for one that scales and bills per callCut transcription cost in half and gained features
- TalkingParents: Run your main calling feature on a small startup vendor instead of TwilioStartup couldn't scale; flagship feature broke and they moved to Twilio
- TalkingParents: Use your consulting firm's income to pay for building your own appTook ~6 years and ~$1M before subscriptions worked; lean times along the way