from no app downloads for 2 years, to 100,000 in 14 days Focus Tree: A Content-First App Growth Strategy This blog post summarizes key insights from an interview with the founders of Focus Tree, a study app that achieved 100,000 downloads in just 15 days. Their success hinges on a unique content-first approach, leveraging creator-led content on platforms like TikTok to drive app downloads and user engagement. App Growth in a Disrupted Market - Creator-led content: Small teams are disrupting massive app categories by rapidly building engaging content using AI-powered tools. Media-first, product-second: Focus Tree validates its product through media, prioritizing content creation before focusing solely on app development. Leveraging offshore talent: The founders utilize Talent Fiber to efficiently hire skilled offshore talent, including AI automation specialists and Facebook ad specialists. This allows for cost-effective scaling and access to a wider talent pool. Focus Tree's rapid growth: The app boasts over 110,000 weekly active users within two months of launch, demonstrating the effectiveness of their strategy. The Shift to Content-Based Algorithms - Algorithm change: The shift from algorithm-based to content-based platforms (like TikTok) significantly impacts app growth. Success now depends on consistent, engaging content rather than solely relying on algorithm favor. Competition and opportunity: The rapid evolution of short-form video on platforms like Instagram, LinkedIn, and X creates both challenges and opportunities for app developers. Adapting to the TikTok model is crucial for survival. E-commerce origins: Many successful mobile app founders started with e-commerce, particularly leveraging TikTok Shop. However, many are shifting to apps due to improved margins and direct user relationships. B2B applicability: The content-first strategy isn't limited to consumer apps. It can be effectively applied to B2B contexts on platforms like LinkedIn. Growth Strategy and Challenges - Mobile-first approach: Focus Tree prioritizes mobile app consumption, driving users from engaging content to the app. Distribution challenges: The founders initially struggled with app distribution, experimenting with various channels before finding success. Reddit limitations: While effective for certain niches, Reddit's limited reach poses challenges for broader app growth. B2B applications may find LinkedIn more suitable. Global Reach and Creator Identification - Unexpected international success: Focus Tree's English-only content unexpectedly went viral in several countries, including Germany. Creator outreach: The founders utilize various methods to identify creators, including TikTok, Discord, and Twitter. Creator selection: A crucial step is carefully selecting creators who align with the app's brand and target audience. The founders prioritize quality over quantity. Creator Selection and Niche Domination - Quality over quantity: The founders focus on collaborating with a smaller number of high-performing creators rather than a large number of less effective ones. Outlier creators: They identify creators with a high hit rate (e.g., 20% of videos achieving significant views). Niche understanding: Deeply understanding the target niche is crucial for selecting appropriate creators and tailoring content. This involves extensive time spent analyzing content within the niche. Funding and Product Vision - Competitive funding landscape: Securing funding is challenging in the current competitive app market. Passion-driven development: The founders' passion for self-development and their shared vision fueled the creation of Focus Tree. Early signals and trends: Identifying early trends and validating the product vision through social media played a significant role in their success. Product Development and Market Analysis - Social listening: The founders actively monitor social media to identify trends and unmet needs, informing their product development strategy. Market saturation: The focus app market is highly competitive, with numerous new apps launching frequently. Target audience: Focus Tree targets two distinct audiences: tech-savvy individuals and a broader mainstream audience (Gen Z). User Onboarding and Retention - Community building: Focus Tree utilizes WhatsApp groups and one-on-one coaching to foster a strong community among its users. Multi-channel communication: They leverage various communication channels (push notifications, email, SMS) for user engagement and retention. Onboarding process: The founders initially used a short onboarding process but found a longer, more comprehensive approach improved user retention. They emphasize the value proposition and integrate social features early on. App Usage and Future Plans - Daily vs. weekly usage: The app aims to encourage daily or weekly usage, similar to Duolingo, but acknowledges that the nature of the product may lead to less frequent use. Niche exploration: The founders continue to explore new niches and learn from successful apps in various categories. Winning formats: Identifying and adapting to winning content formats is crucial for sustained growth. These formats tend to have a relatively short lifespan, requiring constant adaptation. Creator coaching and format discovery: The founders rely on their team of creators to identify and adapt to successful content formats, emphasizing the importance of analyzing user comments. Key Takeaways Focus Tree's success highlights the power of a content-first approach to app growth. By prioritizing engaging creator-led content, leveraging social media for market research and user acquisition, and building a strong community, the founders have achieved remarkable results. Their journey emphasizes the importance of adapting to evolving algorithm changes, understanding your target audience, and constantly iterating on your product and marketing strategies. The founders' transparency about their challenges and successes provides valuable lessons for aspiring app developers. from no app downloads for 2 years, to 100,000 in 14 days Disruption in App Categories: Small teams are disrupting large app categories by rapidly building creator-led page content using AI-powered applications. 100,000 Downloads in 15 Days: The guest on the show achieved 100,000 app downloads in just 15 days using a specific strategy. This strategy focuses on "media first, product second," validating the product through media engagement before focusing on product development. Rapid App Growth: The guest's app experienced explosive growth, reaching 110,000 weekly active users in just two months, with daily increases. Shift to Content-Based Algorithm: The guest discusses the significant shift from algorithm-based to content-based platforms, exemplified by TikTok's reliance on the success of individual videos. This shift creates opportunities for those who can adapt. E-commerce Background and Mobile App Renaissance: Many app founders are coming from e-commerce backgrounds, particularly after the rise of TikTok Shop. They're finding success in building mobile apps, and this strategy can be applied to B2B contexts on platforms like LinkedIn. Content-Driven Growth: The guest emphasizes the importance of content in driving app growth. Mobile app consumption is primarily driven by mobile media, making content strategy crucial. Challenges and Reddit's Limitations: The guest shares their struggles with app growth, initially using Reddit, but finding its limitations in reaching a broader audience. While effective for B2B, Reddit's reach is smaller than that needed for consumer apps. Global Reach with English Content: Despite the app being entirely in English, the guest experienced viral success in multiple countries, including Germany and other European nations. This highlights the reach of English content in a global market. Creator Identification and Selection : The guest discusses the process of identifying and selecting creators, using methods like TikTok, Discord, and Twitter. The selection process emphasizes finding creators who are a good fit for the app's goals. Creator Selection Criteria: The guest prioritizes quality over quantity in creator selection, aiming for a smaller number of high-performing creators rather than a large number of less effective ones. They look for creators with a high "hit rate" (percentage of successful videos) and a strong understanding of the niche. Niche Understanding and Audience Analysis: Thorough understanding of the niche, including audience demographics and preferences (e.g., color palettes in the study/talk niche), is crucial for selecting the right creators. Funding and Market Landscape : The guest describes the current funding landscape as chaotic and competitive, making securing institutional capital challenging. Their own funding process took a considerable amount of time. Product Selection and Early Signals: The guest explains their decision to build Focus Tree, driven by personal passion and early trends observed on social media. They identified a rising search volume for relevant keywords as a key signal. Competitive Landscape and Target Audience: The guest discusses the crowded market of focus apps, highlighting the difference between apps built for founders (often minimalist and boring) and apps designed for a mainstream audience (mostly women and Gen Z). Onboarding and User Activation: The guest details their onboarding process, including the use of WhatsApp groups for community building and communication, and the importance of a longer onboarding process to improve user retention. Improving User Retention: Strategies to increase MAU (monthly active users) and DAU (daily active users) are discussed, focusing on adding social features, push notifications, and SMS follow-ups. The guest shares their mistakes with email-only onboarding and the benefits of SMS. Onboarding Flow and User Acquisition: The guest describes their improved onboarding flow, emphasizing the use of SMS for verification and a longer process to ensure users understand the app's value proposition. They also highlight the importance of contact syncing for virality. App Usage and Comparison to Duolingo: The guest compares their app's usage patterns to Duolingo, noting that it's not necessarily a daily-use app, but rather a product used several times a week, similar to language learning apps. Niche Discovery and Learning from Competitors: The guest discusses their approach to discovering new niches, emphasizing learning from existing successful apps and analyzing market trends. Winning Formats and Niche Saturation: The guest explains the importance of identifying winning content formats and the challenges of maintaining their effectiveness in saturated niches. Formats can last anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. Format Discovery Process: The guest explains their process for discovering new content formats, relying on their team of creators and analyzing comments and feedback from users. They emphasize the importance of reading comment sections for insights. Sharing Knowledge and Community Engagement: The guest shares their strategy for sharing knowledge and engaging with the community, primarily through X (formerly Twitter), offering free advice and templates. from no app downloads for 2 years, to 100,000 in 14 days AI technology: Artificial intelligence, the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems. This includes learning, reasoning, and self-correction. Daily Active Users (DAU): A key metric in app analytics representing the average number of unique users who use the app each day. Weekly Active Users (WAU): A key metric in app analytics representing the average number of unique users who use the app each week. Organic content: Content created and shared without paid promotion or advertising. Offshore talent: Hiring employees or contractors located in a country different from the company's primary location, often to reduce labor costs. 401(k): A retirement savings plan sponsored by employers, allowing employees to contribute a portion of their pre-tax salary. The employer may also match contributions. Headhunting agency: A recruitment agency specializing in finding and placing high-level or specialized personnel. Full-stack software engineer: A software engineer proficient in both front-end (user interface) and back-end (server-side) development. Algorithm-based: Referring to systems that utilize algorithms to determine content delivery, recommendations, or user experience. Content-based: Referring to systems that prioritize content relevance and quality over other factors like user engagement metrics. B2B (Business-to-Business): A business model where businesses sell products or services to other businesses. B2C (Business-to-Consumer): A business model where businesses sell products or services directly to consumers. E-commerce (Electronic Commerce): The buying and selling of goods or services over the internet. Drop shipping: A retail fulfillment method where a store doesn't keep the products it sells in stock. Instead, when a store sells a product, it purchases the item from a third party (a wholesaler or another retailer) who then ships it directly to the customer. Self-service application: A software application designed to allow users to perform tasks or access information without needing assistance from customer support. Web app: An application accessed through a web browser, rather than a dedicated software program installed on a computer. Funnel: A marketing term referring to the process of guiding potential customers through a series of steps to ultimately make a purchase or achieve a desired outcome. Mobile application: A software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet. Viral: The rapid spread of content or information through social media or other online channels. MAU (Monthly Active Users): A key metric in app analytics representing the average number of unique users who use the app each month. API (Application Programming Interface): A set of rules and specifications that software programs can follow to communicate with each other. Social layer: Features in an application that allow users to interact with each other, such as sharing content, commenting, or messaging. Drip nurture: A marketing technique that involves sending a series of automated emails or messages to potential customers over time to build relationships and guide them toward a purchase. SMS (Short Message Service): Text messaging. Onboarding: The process of integrating a new user or employee into a system or organization. Retention: The percentage of users who continue using an app or service over time. Value proposition: The unique benefits a product or service offers to customers. Contact sync: The ability to automatically import contacts from a user's device into an application. Search volume: The number of searches performed for a particular keyword or phrase within a given timeframe. Social listening tool: Software that monitors social media and other online channels to track mentions of a brand, product, or topic. from no app downloads for 2 years, to 100,000 in 14 days How sustainable is the current strategy of rapid app development and growth fueled by AI and creator-led content, given the fast-paced and ever-evolving nature of social media algorithms? What are the ethical considerations and potential pitfalls of leveraging offshore talent and outsourcing crucial aspects of app development and marketing? To what extent does the success of this app model depend on the continuous identification and adaptation to trending formats and algorithms on platforms like TikTok and Instagram? What are the long-term implications of a content-based approach to app growth, and how might this impact the overall app market and user experience? How can businesses effectively balance the need for rapid growth and adaptation with the development of a sustainable, high-quality product that caters to the evolving needs of its users? Prerequisites: Basic understanding of app development concepts. Familiarity with social media platforms, especially TikTok, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter). Some knowledge of marketing and advertising principles. Understanding of B2B and B2C business models. Learning Sequence: Understanding the Media-First Approach: Begin by grasping the core concept of prioritizing media creation and distribution before full-scale product development. Learn how to validate product ideas using initial media engagement. Mastering Creator-Led Content: Dive into the strategies for identifying and collaborating with relevant creators on platforms like TikTok. Understand how to leverage their existing audiences for app promotion. Learn how to analyze creator performance metrics (hit rate, viewership). Organic Growth Strategies: Study the techniques for organically growing an app using short-form video content. This includes understanding algorithm changes and adapting to the evolving media landscape. Talent Acquisition and Management: Explore efficient methods for finding and managing offshore talent, particularly through agencies like Talent Fiber. Learn about creating effective onboarding flows to maximize daily active users. App Development and Distribution: Gain knowledge about building and distributing a mobile application, focusing on user acquisition through various channels (e.g., Google Ads, App Store Optimization). Community Building: Learn how to foster a strong community around your app, using features like in-app social layers, WhatsApp groups, and other communication channels. Data Analysis and Iteration: Develop skills in analyzing app usage data (MAU, DAU) and user feedback to refine your product and marketing strategies. Understand A/B testing methodologies. Funding and Investment: Learn about securing funding for your app, particularly in the context of a rapidly evolving market. Practice Suggestions: Social Media Deep Dive: Spend significant time analyzing successful app launches on TikTok, Instagram, and X. Identify common strategies and patterns. Creator Collaboration: Experiment with collaborating with creators on a small scale to test different content formats and approaches. A/B Testing: Implement A/B testing on your app's onboarding flow, push notifications, and other key elements to optimize user engagement. Data Analysis: Regularly track key app metrics and user feedback to identify areas for improvement. Networking: Connect with other app developers and marketers to learn from their experiences and share best practices. Case Studies: Analyze case studies of successful app launches to understand the strategies that led to their success. Build a Minimum Viable Product (MVP): Create a basic version of your app to test your core concepts and gather user feedback before investing heavily in development.