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I Built A $14K/Month App In 4 Months
Evan built and scaled Locked, a gamified health/fitness habit-tracking app, to \$14,000 per month in just four months. He achieved rapid growth without an existing audience or running traditional p...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWeoSKLt_fc
I Built A $14K/Month App In 4 Months

TL;DR

Evan built and scaled Locked, a gamified health/fitness habit-tracking app, to $14,000 per month in just four months. He achieved rapid growth without an existing audience or running traditional paid ads, instead executing a highly structured influencer marketing playbook on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube Shorts.

The Founder’s Story

Evan has been obsessed with entrepreneurship since childhood. At age 9, while his friends played Roblox, he was busy developing Roblox games. He tried and failed at several businesses—dropshipping, reselling, clipping, and vending machines. Following a suggestion from his older brother, Zach, he entered the mobile app space.

  • His first app, Problem Pal, peaked at $2,000/month and was recently sold.
  • His second app, Clear AI, failed to gain traction.
  • After hearing a friend struggle to stay motivated and on-task, Evan decided to build a gamified habit tracker rather than a boring utility app.

The Building Process

Evan and his team focused heavily on creating an engaging, gamified user experience:

  • Design: Took 2 weeks in Figma, building a custom interface with leaderboards, badges, character selection, and motivational screens from scratch.
  • Development: Took 1.5 months to write the code and compile it in Xcode.
  • Tools: They leveraged Xcode, YouTube tutorials, and Claude Code ($200/mo subscription) to write and debug the app from idea to App Store submission.

Launch & Marketing Strategy

Evan’s growth strategy relies 100% on organic short-form creator partnerships (TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube Shorts) structured to maximize ROI:

  1. CPM Arbitrage: Since the app’s RPM (Revenue Per Mille views) was around $2–$3, Evan targeted creator deals with a CPM lower than that ($1–$1.50 range).
  2. Influencer Outreach: Evan reaches out to creators using a standard direct message on TikTok or Instagram starting with: "paid promo question mark".
  3. Structured Deals Playbook:
    • Minimum View Clause (MVC): Evan’s preferred deal (e.g., $500 for a 500k minimum view clause). If a creator fails to hit the minimum view count, they must post additional videos.
    • CPM Deals: e.g., $1-$2 per 1,000 views, but always with a cost cap (e.g., capping payouts at $500).
    • Flat Rate: e.g., $500 per reel or $1,200 for 4 reels, used only for highly consistent, proven creators.
    • Bonus Structure: e.g., $500 base plus an extra $500 if the video hits 1M views.
  4. Integration Requirements: Influencers must show the app in action within the first 15 seconds of the video. The content must feel authentic and contextual (e.g., showing how creator Jeremiah Jones uses it to stay “locked in”).
  5. Abandoned Paywall Discount: Locked charges $40/year (with a 3-day free trial) or $7/week. If a user exits the paywall, the app triggers a “transaction abandoned paywall” offering a discounted annual rate of $20/year.

Tech Stack & Costs

  • Design: Figma
  • Development: Claude Code IDE, Xcode
  • Database/Backend: Supabase (Free tier)
  • Paywall A/B Testing: Superwall (takes 1% of earnings)

Key Quotes, Stats & Metrics

  • Current MRR: $14,000/month (achieved within 4 months of launch).
  • Campaign Performance: Jeremiah Jones’ video generated ~1,800 downloads and ~$3,000 in revenue from 1M views, costing $800.
  • Pricing: $40/year or $7/week (with $20/year downsell).
  • “The big advantage here is that most influencers already have trust with their audience, and when they recommend an app, it feels way more authentic.”
  • “I would tell myself to worry less about school and put more time into building my business… If you can see through that [traditional path] early, you gain a huge advantage.”

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