Founder Playbook · Starter Story
11 tactics from Anya
This App Made Over $1M
Watch the full episode“things were really either clinical or there were hypnosis based apps and it just really wasn't what I was looking for so that's why I figured I had something to launch here”
Spot The Gap Between Clinical Apps And Hypnosis Apps In A Niche
Anya identified her audience by trying every existing panic-attack app and finding they were either too clinical or hypnosis-based. That gap between two extremes neither of which spoke to her is what convinced her there was room for Rooted.
“My idea at the time was to download and try existing apps and I noticed a common theme in the user reviews that there was this gap when it came to identifying what a panic attack is and also solutions for how to basically get through a panic attack in the moment.”
Mine Competitor App-Store Reviews For The Same Unmet Need Repeated Over And Over
Anya validated Rooted by downloading every existing panic-attack app and mining the user reviews for unmet needs. The recurring complaint — no clear explanation of what a panic attack is or how to stop one in the moment — became the wedge for her MVP.
“I put together a really early version of Rooted a prototype an MVP type solution and the first few hundred users said that even though there was still some lagging some bugs some incomplete parts they really wanted me to keep going with it and that was super encouraging.”
A Few Hundred Users Saying "Keep Going" Despite Bugs Is The Signal To Commit
Anya launched a buggy, incomplete prototype rather than waiting for polish. The first few hundred users telling her to keep going, despite the rough edges, was the signal she needed to push past the naysayers and commit.
“I basically started taking what I thought would be helpful and I started drawing it out in a notebook and I was thinking about the way I wanted the information to be presented... I taught myself how to basically create them as wireframes in Photoshop and Illustrator and then I went to an agency and I could not afford to work with the agency... then at one point a student developer said that he would love to work with me and so that's how I was able to finally launch that first MVP.”
Notebook Sketches → Photoshop Wireframes → A Student Developer = MVP
With no technical background, Anya sketched flows in a notebook, taught herself Photoshop and Illustrator to turn them into wireframes, and after being priced out by an agency, partnered with a student developer to ship Rooted. Doing the design and content prep upfront meant the build itself only took a few months.
“The first prototype of Rooted was essentially the panic attack button that would walk you through a panic attack and that actually hasn't changed a ton over the years because it's really the core of Rooted it's the aha moment that really resonates with users.”
Keep The Core MVP Feature Untouched Through Four Million Downloads
Anya's first build was a single button that guided a user through a panic attack in real time. Years and millions of downloads later, that exact feature is still the heart of the app while the surrounding design evolved around it.
“What I did was I just put in all my savings you know as a non-technical founder it just took a few months once I actually had the developer... when I first started Rooted I was working 4 days a week and I had told my employers at the time that I was starting Rooted I'm doing this like Rooted 3 days a week and this other job 4 days a week so I basically had no weekends or social life for quite a few years.”
Sink Personal Savings And Stay On A 4-Day Job To Fund The First Build
Anya couldn't afford an agency, so she poured her personal savings into hiring a student developer and built Rooted on the side of a four-day-a-week job. She gave up weekends for years until revenue could comfortably replace her salary.
“I would find people online journalists that wrote about mental health and then I would read it reach out to them either on LinkedIn or try to get their email and send pitches that way it was a ton of work because not many people would ever respond to me but what ended up happening is every now and then we'd get featured in a pretty major way for small apps so we were in Cosmopolitan we've been in Women's Health we were even in Time magazine.”
Cold-Pitch Journalists Who Already Cover Your Niche And You Land Time, Cosmo, Women's Health
Anya hunted down journalists already writing about mental health, found their LinkedIn or email, and cold-pitched her story. Most ignored her, but the hit rate produced features in Cosmopolitan, Women's Health, and Time — outsized payoff for a small app driven entirely by organic cold outreach.
“making sure that the product matches what the users are looking for they see on your product page they download the app they use it and then they use the same keywords to describe their experience via the user reviews that was like the holy circle and if you can get that loop going it I think it's a really strong presence for app store optimization”
Close The ASO Loop: Page Promise, In-App Experience, Review Keywords All Match
Anya treats ASO as a closed loop rather than a keyword exercise. When the product page promise, the in-app experience, and the language users naturally use in reviews all line up on the same keywords, the store algorithm reinforces itself.
“not leading with hey this is my app go download it but actually maybe even answering something like a question online that your app answers i would almost take something like from a rooted lesson so let's say there's somebody makes a post saying that you know they had this like horrible experience with anxiety on a run today then I could like kind of share like why that might have happened and why you know it's normal it's okay and whatnot”
Drop The Download Pitch — Answer The Exact Question Your App Solves Online
Anya's social playbook is to reply to public anxiety posts with a genuinely useful explanation lifted from a Rooted lesson, instead of dropping a download link. The content does double duty: it helps a real person in the moment and quietly positions Rooted as the source of the expertise.
“for me and I think especially being in the mental health space it's been about user reviews so our rating we've been able to maintain a 4.8 out of five rating and this is really really important to me... i think actually our focus on tracking user reviews and the quality of rooted over revenue has been a big factor as to why we've grown”
Track User Reviews As North Star, Not Revenue, To Maintain A 4.8 Rating Across Millions
Anya treats user reviews, not revenue or downloads, as Rooted's primary metric. Maintaining a 4.8 rating by listening to review feedback became the compounding driver behind retention, word of mouth, and ultimately growth past 4M downloads.
“I think there were definitely quite a few points where I almost reached burnout I was building something really intense and that level of intensity was with me at all times and I think I looking back I wish I celebrated a few of the smaller moments more because now I realize that those were like the most awesome moments whereas really I was just focus on the next thing.”
Celebrate The Small Wins Before Burnout Steals The Moment
Anya almost burned out chasing the next milestone for years on end. Looking back, she wishes she'd paused to celebrate the small wins because, in hindsight, those were the most rewarding moments of the whole journey.