Subversive How Opal Reached $10M ARR with 11 Employees
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Dec 11, 2025 Kenneth Schlenker, founder and CEO of Opal, previously worked at Google and has a history of successful startups. He discusses how Opal evolved from a wellbeing app to the world's top screen-time tracker, achieving $10M ARR with just 11 employees. Kenneth reveals the impact of Apple's Screen Time API, which allowed Opal to track data more accurately. He highlights the importance of gamification for user retention and shares insights on their organic growth strategies. Lastly, Kenneth envisions a future where Opal scales to a billion users using AI.
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Mission: Attention Sovereignty
- Opal's mission is aligning technology with human well-being by restoring attention sovereignty.
- Kenneth believes the problem is solvable through design, not a fundamental tech limitation.
From Google To Opal's Pivot
- Kenneth started Opal after a decade of entrepreneurship and a stint at Google where he saw addictive product design firsthand.
- Opal evolved from an initial VPN concept into today's screen time product.
Data Enables Behavioral Influence
- Kenneth observed that large companies can predict and influence user behavior from extensive data.
- Smartphone ubiquity magnified those influences into large societal problems.
