Launched

On the podcast, I talk with Jordan about the power of seasonal business cycles, why refining your ad strategy can unlock growth, and how passion-driven apps can still find market fit without a huge marketing budget.Top Takeaways:🎯 Understand Your Seasonal Business Cycles Jordan's app, Elite Hoops, thrives during basketball season, with the bulk of revenue generated from October to March. Recognizing and aligning your business to seasonal trends is key to maximizing growth during peak times.💡 Optimize Your Ads for SuccessAfter spending $16K on ads with little success, Jordan realized his strategy needed an overhaul. With help from a marketing agency, he’s now refining his approach with stronger creatives, proper attribution, and new tools like the Facebook SDK to drive more effective, scalable campaigns.🛠 Reinvest in Your Business to Fuel Growth With Elite Hoops generating consistent revenue, Jordan plans to reinvest in marketing and development to accelerate growth and maximize the business’s potential. Treat your business as a growing asset and reinvest in it to reach new heights.🎨 Craft Apps You’re Proud OfJordan’s approach with apps like Elite Hoops and Alyx is a mix of business focus and creative fulfillment. Whether it's solving a real-world problem or building an app for personal enjoyment, passion and craftsmanship always shine through.🌍 Don’t Overlook the Power of Organic GrowthElite Hoops grew without a large marketing budget or paid ads, relying heavily on word of mouth within the coaching community. Focus on delivering a product that resonates with your users, and let them help you grow your brand naturally.About Jordan Morgan:🎤 Indie App Developer & Developer Advocate📱 Jordan Morgan is a seasoned indie app developer and product builder known for creating thoughtfully crafted apps like Elite Hoops and Alyx. With a deep appreciation for design, platform-native experiences, and long-term sustainability, Jordan blends craftsmanship with business pragmatism. After years of building, selling, and reacquiring apps—and working as a developer advocate—he continues to explore what it means to build software that lasts, balancing growth, seasonality, and joy in the creative process.👋 LinkedIn💭 Follow Jordan on X - @JordanMorgan10Follow us on X: Charlie Chapman - @_chuckycRevenueCat - @RevenueCatLaunched - @LaunchedFM Episode Highlights: [0:00] Jordan’s transition from indie app development to developer advocate.[3:20] The creation of Elite Hoops and its focus on helping basketball coaches.[7:05] The challenges of marketing niche apps and refining paid ad strategies.[12:30] Understanding seasonal revenue cycles and how they impact app growth.[17:10] Working with a marketing agency to improve ad creatives and attribution.[22:45] The emotional journey of reacquiring Spint Stack after selling it.[28:00] Balancing passion projects with sustainable business growth.[33:30] The importance of craftsmanship and solving real problems in app development.[40:15] How word-of-mouth and organic growth fueled Elite Hoops’ success.[45:50] The technical challenges of scaling an indie app with limited resources.[50:25] Staying motivated and focused on building apps users genuinely appreciate.[55:00] What’s next for Jordan’s apps and his future in indie development.

On the podcast I talk with Taiwo about building games that are meant to be deleted, finding success by leaning into low retention instead of fighting it, and how a single unconventional idea led to Apple featuring his work and changing his career.Top Takeaways🎨 Creativity Can Beat the Odds The games industry is so well-established that at first glance it may seem almost useless to try to enter the market as an indie developer, but all it can take is a truly original idea to pry open the gates and gain a foothold. 📣 Lean Into Building In PublicThere’s little as scary as putting yourself and your work out there for feedback but building publicly and sharing updates on platforms like Twitter provides both an accountability boost and can be a treasure trove of free insights from your future audience. 💪 The Power Of PersistenceMaking a living from building apps can take time, patience, and a dash of luck. When that persistence does pay off though, it can translate into a much stronger app creation pipeline once going full-time becomes an option. 💭 Defy Imposter SyndromeNowadays, more than ever, a technical background in coding is no longer a hard prerequisite to building great apps. Thanks to new tools, app creators can come from all spheres, and what unites them is one (or more) great idea(s). 📚 Educate And Inspire Everyone needs to make a living, but often the most rewarding part of the app creation journey is the opportunity to educate and inspire people. These non-profit activities help lower the barrier for budding app creators and enrich the industry as a whole.  About Taiwo Omisore:  🎮 Indie iOS Game Developer.📱 Taiwo has built 15 mobile apps mixing creativity and simplicity. His viral hit One Chance sparked a full-time indie career shaped by small experiments, real-world playtesting, and a deep focus on joy, community, and meaningful interaction.👋 LinkedInFollow us on X: Charlie Chapman - @_chuckycRevenueCat - @RevenueCatResources:Tai’s Website - https://www.taiomi.com/ Taiwo feature on the App Store - https://apps.apple.com/gb/story/id1586633273 Tai’s inspirationsShaun Donnelly - https://codakuma.com/ Lena Stöxen - https://fancygoose.dev/about/ Josh Newton - https://www.joshua.design/aboutFollow us on X: Charlie Chapman - @_chuckycRevenueCat - @RevenueCatLaunched - @LaunchedFM Episode Highlights: [0:00] A game meant to be deleted after one play[2:19] From art school to coding apps on a 3-hour commute[4:12] Why Taiwo tested his first game on train passengers[7:09] The moment he got hooked on shipping apps[12:36] Designing a digital art exhibit from a simple app idea[18:16] The unexpected breakout of One Chance and what triggered it[23:06] Going from a side hustle to being featured on the App Store front page[29:35] Making revenue without chasing retention or daily active users[35:08] Why Taiwo shifted to subscriptions with MultiWords and 10 Games[42:11] Building and promoting apps in public, from TikTok to sidewalks[51:44] Why Taiwo shares his indie journey online and in real life

On the podcast, I talk to Aja Beckett about the challenges of building for the community you belong to, the power of organic growth, the user feedback that helped shape the app, and the support gap for GLP-1 users.Top Takeaways: 🛠️ Build with Authenticity Aja’s journey from social anxiety to a GLP-1 tracking app started with solving her own problem. By deeply understanding her community's pain points, she created a product that resonates with real users, not just the market.📈 Community-Driven Growth Rather than relying on paid ads, Aja grew the app through organic word of mouth. The GLP-1 medication subreddit became a launchpad, with users eager to share and promote the app. This grassroots, authentic growth drove both engagement and loyalty.📊 Focus on Data-Driven Insights Aja's app uses data visualization to help users track their medication journey, creating a tangible, shareable experience. By making health tracking both personal and visual, users are motivated to share their progress, which amplifies the app's visibility.📲 Lean Into What Works Aja learned the importance of App Store Optimization (ASO). By focusing on search terms like "GLP-1 tracker," the app naturally found its audience. It’s a clear reminder that effective product discovery often comes from aligning with what people are already searching for.💡 Start Small, Think BigAja pivoted from a small, personal project to a scalable business by expanding her team when needed. Whether it's through funding or hiring the right talent, knowing when to take the leap and grow is key to maintaining momentum in a fast-moving space.⚖️ Balance Profit with PurposeWhen raising funds, Aja ensured her investors shared the same vision of prioritizing user needs over short-term profits. Building a sustainable business model centered on real value for users, while avoiding a "cash grab" mentality, allowed her to stay true to the mission.About Aja Beckett:  🛫 Founder of Shotsy  📱 Aja Beckett created Shotsy, the go-to mobile app for GLP-1 medication tracking. She turned her personal health journey into a product loved by thousands, focusing on authenticity, user-first design, and a mission to empower people on similar paths.👋LinkedIn Follow us on X: Charlie Chapman - @_chuckycRevenueCat - @RevenueCatLaunched - @LaunchedFM Episode Highlights: [0:00] The elevator pitch: tracking GLP-1 treatment with Shotsy[1:26] From film and animation to a self-taught developer[4:49] The painful shutdown of a promising moderation platform[6:02] Learning to code out of necessity at TED[10:05] Shutting down a startup and painting over the logo[12:18] Why mobile apps became the best way forward[18:03] Shifting from language learning to citizenship prep to health[23:45] Solving her own GLP-1 tracking needs with data[32:35] Beta launch insights: side effects, customization, and community[36:59] Keeping core features free for a mission-driven business model[47:35] How staying user-first helps Shotsy avoid paid ads[58:26] Fundraising to compete with copycats and stay true to the mission

On the podcast, we talk with Ryan Jones about the power of product-driven growth, why traditional marketing strategies often fall short, and the challenges of acquiring users while staying focused on building great products. Top Takeaways: ✈️ Product is the growth engine Flighty doesn’t run ads or chase growth hacks. Instead, it builds features that users love enough to share. When the product delights, users do the marketing. Growth follows craft.📲 Design for shareability Virality isn’t an accident. Flighty’s most powerful loop came from obsessing over a digital flight log that people are proud to show off, building for moments users want to share, and driving organic reach without paid spend.🛠️ Stick to your superpowerTry traditional growth tactics, then walk away. Every time the team moved attention from product to marketing, growth stalled. Knowing your edge (and staying there) beats chasing trends outside your zone.📈 ASO over adsApp Store Optimization remains Flighty’s only paid channel. Beautiful screenshots, clear messaging, and owning key search terms outperform broad ad campaigns and let the product speak for itself.📵 Say no to distraction Ignore the conventional playbook: no Facebook ads, no paid UA, no spray-and-pray marketing. Flighty’s team builds what they’d want to use, stays close to user problems, and lets clarity guide the roadmap.About Ryan Jones:  🛫 CEO & Co-founder of Flighty.📱 Ryan leads the product, design, and growth strategy behind Flighty. It is one of the most loved travel apps in the world. He’s built Flighty into a top-ranked app through obsessive attention to detail, viral feature design, and user-first thinking.💡 “Every time we focused on product, we grew. Every time we chased marketing tactics, we stalled. We just keep building what users love—and they do the rest.”👋 LinkedInFollow us on X: Charlie Chapman - @_chuckycRevenueCat - @RevenueCatLaunched - @LaunchedFM Episode Highlights: [0:00] The elevator pitch: giving flyers real-time confidence[2:14] How Flighty’s digital passport became a viral growth engine[4:37] The unexpected power users: pilots, flight attendants, and crew[5:48] Why building product beats running ads (and how Flighty proved it)[10:03] Designing frictionless sharing for one-to-one and one-to-many moments[10:49] From failed “Spotify Wrapped” to viral success: the passport playbook[14:29] Why screenshots are Flighty’s most underrated growth lever[15:12] Owning App Store search: inside Flighty’s ASO strategy[17:51] How Flighty landed in Apple keynotes and why it matters less[19:58] Building for the dynamic island before users knew they wanted it[21:22] What’s next: exclusive features, new foundations, and staying ahead of copycats

Klemens Strasser joins the show to talk about his indie iOS game development career, winning an Apple Design Award, and how he built and launched his latest game The Art of Fauna. Video Version Watch the video version on YouTube Links & Show Notes Klemens on Bluesky Klemens on Mastodon Klemens on Twitter Klemens website The Art of Fauna Flexibits Ryan McLeod Vidit Bhargava Patterned Alba ARCtic Conference AppleVis Riveo Josh Mobley Music Leo Mehlig Jordi Bruin Hidde van der Ploeg Andy Allen Frederik Riedel More Launched Youtube Channel Website - launchedfm.com Bluesky - @launchedfm.com Mastodon - @[email protected] Threads - @LaunchedFM Twitter - @LaunchedFM