On the podcast I talk with Darrell about going from zero to an 8-figure ARR in just 18 months, building a product improvement loop combining user research and A/B testing, and why expecting failure is one of the keys to success.Top Takeaways📈 Going from 0 to an 8-figure ARR in 18 months is doable🙈 Sharing and selling data isn’t necessary to build and scale subscription apps🎰 Structuring product development as a “bet” liberates you from needing to be rightAbout Darrell Stone👨‍💻 Head of Product & Design at Citizen, the number one public safety app in the U.S.💪 Darrell defined and scaled Citizen's consumer subscription product with a dual focus on acquisition and retentive, life-saving features.💡 “Product [development] in consumer tech is very much a team sport. You have to approach it through the mindset that you're building a team that's going to win a thing.”👋  LinkedIn and TwitterLinks & Resources‣ Citizen App‣ Citizen’s Career Page Follow us on Twitter‣ David Barnard‣ Jacob Eiting‣ RevenueCat‣ Sub ClubEpisode Highlights[2:03] Leaving Uber to scale a startup: Darrell discusses the reasons why he left Uber to start a subscription app.[5:20] Making the world a safer place: Citizen is a “moderated safety app.” It has more than 100 people actively listening to police scanners to enable provide real-time information about what is happening in communities.[10:57] Charging for a public safety app: Darrell discusses the tension between monetization and Citizen’s mission of keeping people safe. He outlines the difference between the freemium and paid products.[19:15] Citizen on the world stage: Darrell talks about taking Citizen global and how the company “a safety marketplace” to the world.[22:20] World pricing: Darrell offers potential strategies for global cost and price differences.[24:52] Understanding users: Darrell gives insight into how user research shapes A/B testing, product development and the improvement loop.[30:05] Antifragile product development: One of Darrell’s go-to recommendation for people in product is Annie Duke’s interview on The Knowledge Project. Bumps are inevitable during the product development process — it’s how you manage it that matters.[33:14] Lessons learned for top unlocks: Darrell discusses tips for being more right than wrong to unlock a real value-add, and how this took the company from zero to eight figures in ARR.[37:45] Buy versus build: David and Darrell talk about how bringing on third party tooling can help achieve long-term company goals.[41:45] Aligning the team to the bigger vision: Darrell explains how clear goals, rapid feedback loops and celebrating incremental progress help keep teams motivated through the whole process.

On the podcast we talk with Phil about the thesis behind Tinder’s monetization strategy, the importance of product differentiation, and why some companies shouldn’t use subscriptions.Our guest today is Phil Schwarz, Partner at Corazon Capital, a leading Chicago-based venture fund investing in early stage tech companies. Prior to joining Corazon, Phil served as the Chief Marketing Officer at Tinder during the rollout of subscriptions. He was also previously Head of Growth Initiatives at Match Group.In this episode, you’ll learn:3 key innovations that propelled Tinder’s growthTips for optimizing your paywall strategyHow Tinder transitioned to a subscription-based modelLinks & ResourcesCorazon’s websiteFollow Corazon on TwitterCorazon’s LinkedIn pageContact CorazonPhil’s LinksPhil’s LinkedIn pageFollow us on Twitter:David BarnardJacob EitingRevenueCatSub Club

On the podcast we talk with Gessica about how to think about brand marketing for apps, finding product/channel/messaging fit, and why you shouldn’t even refer to Bill Gates in an ad campaign.Our guest today is Gessica Bicego, Chief Marketing Officer at Paired, the #1 app for couples. Prior to joining Paired, Gessica spent 6 years leading performance marketing and growth at Blinkist.In this episode, you’ll learn:How to build a moat around your brandPaired’s growth stack & favorite data collection toolsTips for allocating ad spending & measuring advertising campaignsWhy Bill Gates sent Gessica a cease and desist letterLinks & ResourcesAlbertTaboolaRuntasticFivetranAmplitudeRevenueCatSnowflakeLookerPhiture’s Mobile Growth Nightmares podcastSub Club Podcast episode 39: 8 Principles for Sustainable Growth — Sean Ellis & Ethan Garr, Breakout GrowthGessica’s LinksGet PairedCurrent job openings at PairedFollow Paired on InstagramFollow Gessica on TwitterGessica is on InstagramGessica’s LinkedIn pageFollow us on Twitter:David BarnardJacob EitingRevenueCatSub Club

On the podcast we talk with Giancarlo about soft vs. hard paywalls, how to think about product experiments, and why removing friction from onboarding didn’t actually help.Our guest today is Giancarlo Musetti, Growth Product Manager at Ad Hoc Labs. Ad Hoc Labs makes several apps including Firewall and Dialed, but is most well known for Burner, an app that allows you to create multiple phone numbers to protect your privacy and better manage communication.In this episode, you’ll learn:How to make a smooth transition to a subscription-based modelTips for optimizing your paywallHow to boost your app’s growth and user baseGiancarlo’s three-step process for testing new strategies and featuresGiancarlo’s LinksAd Hoc Labs’ websiteBurner appFirewall appDialed appAd Hoc Labs’ hiring pageGiancarlo’s LinkedIn pageFollow us on Twitter:David BarnardJacob EitingRevenueCatSub Club

On the podcast we talk with Darrell and Jake about optimizing your app’s paywall, how to increase revenue by giving users a better experience, tips for pricing your app, and how to reduce subscriber churn.We’re with Darrell Stone and Jake Mor in front of a live audience at the App Promotion Summit in New York City. The App Promotion Summit is America’s leading app marketing conference. Darrell is the Head of Product & Design at Citizen, the number one public safety app in the U.S. Jake is the Founder & CEO of Superwall, the best way to build in test paywalls without having to update your app.In this episode, you’ll learn:Where to put your app’s paywallWhich features should you paywall?When to paywall all of your app’s featuresA clever way to win back users who cancel their subscriptionLinks & ResourcesRevenueCatPrevious webinar with Jake on YouTubeJake Mor’s LinksFollow Jake on TwitterSuperwall’s websiteFollow Superwall on TwitterDarrell Stone’s LinksFollow Darrell on TwitterCitizen’s websiteFollow Citizen on TwitterFollow us on Twitter:David BarnardJacob EitingRevenueCatSub Club

On the podcast we talk with Mark and Jeff about community led growth, how they improved trial starts by 25%, and why running ads for a blog post might actually perform better than sending people directly to the App Store.Mark is an RRCA Certified Distance Running Coach and created None to Run as a blog and personal outlet to stay in touch with his passion for exercise science and healthy living. Jeff has been developing iOS apps since 2009 and teamed up with Mark to build an app as the None to Run community started to take off and requests for an app could no longer be ignored.In this episode, you’ll learn:How to build momentum for your appDon’t launch your app until you’ve done thisTips for growing your audienceHow None to Run reached an 80% conversion rateLinks & ResourcesMighty NetworksSub Club podcast episode 35: From Indie Side Project to $1M in ARR — Curtis Herbert, SlopesAriel from AppfiguresLisa JhungJeff & Mark’s LinksNone to Run’s websiteFollow None to Run on TwitterGet the None to Run appJoin None to Run’s communityCheck out Jeff's fitness app, IntervalsFollow Jeff on TwitterFollow Mark on TwitterContact MarkFollow us on Twitter:David BarnardJacob EitingRevenueCatSub Club

On the podcast I talk with Sean and Ethan about the importance of a north star metric, optimizing for speed to value, and why product/market fit needs to be dialed in over time.Sean has worked on growth at some of the fastest growing companies in the world, like Dropbox, Lookout, and Eventbrite. He not only coined the term “growth hacking”, but literally wrote the book on it. Today, Sean helps companies around the globe accelerate customer and revenue growth through workshops, keynote presentations, and select advising roles.Ethan got his start in subscription apps working on product at TelTech, which was acquired by IAC in 2018. He co-invented and led the company's flagship app, RoboKiller and helped to grow TelTech's other top communications apps including TrapCall and TapeACall. Ethan now helps companies improve their growth trajectories through workshops, coaching, and as a trusted advisor.In this episode, you’ll learn:Sean & Ethan’s proven principles for achieving sustainable growth Tips for dialing in your product/market fitWhat metrics you should track for your subscription appHow to create a better onboarding experience for your usersSean & Ethan’s LinksBreakout Growth’s websiteCheck out The Breakout Growth PodcastDownload the Principles of Sustainable Growth PDFSean Ellis: Hacking Growth: How Today's Fastest-Growing Companies Drive Breakout SuccessFollow Ethan on TwitterEthan’s LinkedIn pageSean’s websiteFollow Sean on TwitterSean’s LinkedIn pageFollow us on Twitter:David BarnardJacob EitingRevenueCatSub Club

On the podcast we talk with Mike about building a principled, mission driven app, keeping product development focused on the right customers, and how ClassDojo scaled to tens of millions of downloads without a marketing budget.Our guest today is Mike Overell, Revenue Lead at ClassDojo. Having founded his own company as well as working at McKinsey and Lyft, Mike is now using that experience to help every kid on earth get an education they love with ClassDojo. Mike also invests in and helps foreign founders crack the US as co-founder of investment collective Antipodes.In this episode, you’ll learn:How ClassDojo reached 50M users with zero marketing spendTips for setting up the right paywall for your appHow to monetize your app without impeding growthClassDojo’s user-led growth strategyMike Overell’s LinksFollow Mike on TwitterClassDojo’s websiteFollow ClassDojo on TwitterClassDojo’s jobs pageMike’s LinkedIn pageFollow us on Twitter:David BarnardJacob EitingRevenueCatSub Club

On the podcast we talk with Cliff about the benefits of building for a niche, the one ad that changed things for Speechify, and why Cliff is now hiring comedians.Our guest today is Cliff Weitzman, the founder and CEO of Speechify. As someone with dyslexia, Cliff built Speechify to help himself learn by having text read aloud. Cliff went on to blitzscale Speechify with an irreverent approach to SaaS norms and a willingness to experiment.In this episode, you’ll learn:How Cliff found early traction for SpeechifyUnconventional ways to build a great teamHow Cliff got marketing tips from the top e-commerce CEOsThe art of successful cold callsCliff Weitzman’s LinksSpeechify’s websiteSpeechify for iOSSpeechify Chrome extensionSpeechify on Google PlayFollow Speechify on TwitterFollow Speechify on InstagramSpeechify is on MediumCheck out Speechify on YouTubeSpeechify’s LinkedIn pageCliff Weitzman: Read to You on SpotifyFollow Cliff on InstagramContact CliffFollow us on Twitter:David BarnardJacob EitingRevenueCatSub Club

Eric Stromberg, Founder & Managing Partner of Bedrock, discusses refining your pitch, building a moat in consumer SaaS, and the bright future of Consumer SaaS. They also delve into creating visual screenshot essays, conveying concise messages, challenges in measuring app performance, finding a niche and solving unique problems, and building a holding company of vertical FinTech businesses.