Founder Playbook · Starter Story
8 tactics from Louie
My Mobile App Made $800K in 365 Days
Watch the full episode“We just kind of started looking at TikTok makeup videos and looking at the comment section and with these comments we kind of started doing content around this idea... By looking at comment section you really just feel what people are wanting and you just try to come in and solve whatever they're asking for.”
Read The Comment Sections Under Viral Niche Videos To Surface The Exact Pain Customers Beg To Solve
Louie picked the makeup niche because it was huge on TikTok, then read the comments under top videos to surface the exact pains and product questions people kept asking. He turned those recurring asks into content angles before writing a line of code — sensing demand instead of guessing it.
“We did content first because for most of my other apps before we were just building and building without showing to user what we had and it always failed... it kind of just went viral. So we kind of knew that we had an idea that would work. So I kind of just built the app super quickly super MVP style.”
Post Content Before You Build So The Market Validates The Idea For You
Louie's 10 prior apps failed because he built first and marketed last. With Glow Up he flipped it — pushed TikToks around the idea, watched them go viral, and only then sprinted to build an MVP, knowing distribution was already proven. Content-first turns the 'will anyone want this' question into a falsifiable test that costs nothing.
“Step one is you're just warming up a TikTok account in the USA with a new iPhone. You just buy a USA SIM card... you buy a VPN that is in the US 24/7. And then you download TikTok. You create your account and you start watching videos in your niche. Scroll and like some videos comment on things for 15 to 30 minutes per day... You do that for around 3 days.”
Warm Every New TikTok Account For Three Days With A US SIM, VPN, And Niche Scrolling
Before posting a single video, Louie spent three days on a fresh USA-geoed iPhone (SIM + VPN) consuming his niche 15-30 min/day so the algorithm classified the account as a real human in the target market. Skipping this step is why most app TikToks get throttled out of the gate.
“When a video start getting good views let's say couple of thousand or 100K you can add a anchor link to the video which is a download now button... Most of our downloads came from our anchor link... But mostly when the video is going viral if you put it under a,000 views it will just kill the video.”
Add The TikTok Anchor Download Link Only After A Video Has Already Crossed 100K Views
TikTok's anchor link drove most of Glow Up's installs because it skips the bio detour and opens the App Store directly. But adding it too early suppresses the video — Louie waits for clear traction (couple thousand to 100K views) before attaching it. Timing the CTA is what makes the difference between a viral video and a throttled one.
“In the app we say to the user if you invite three friends you'll get a free makeup look and user would see the video then download the app see that they can share the code and just come back to the video rewatch it and share the code in the comments that really exploded the engagement.”
Build A Referral That Forces Users Back To The Original TikTok To Drop Their Code
The 48M-view video that drove $12.5K in one day worked because the app's invite-3-friends reward sent users back to the same TikTok to drop their referral code, pumping comments and re-watches. The product itself was designed to feed the algorithm by giving viewers a reason to engage twice — viral acquisition embedded as a retention loop.
“We do subscription model so we do a $9.99 per week And then you get access to unlimited uh AI makeup looks... The app is subscription based So we do $9.99 per week or $39.99 per year for unlimited makeup look And that's our only way of making money”
Monetize Through A Single Weekly Subscription At $9.99 With A $39.99 Annual Anchor
Glow Up monetizes purely through a weekly subscription at $9.99 (or $39.99 annually) for unlimited AI makeup try-ons. This single paywall model produced 70K paying customers, $15K MRR equivalent, and roughly 90% profit margins on a 2M-user base — a pure consumer-mobile playbook with no tiers.
“The onboarding is quite long The goal is to kind of make the user feel it's personalized So a couple of questions about sensitive skin wrinkles what makeup look you like what's your skin tone and these are all used to get the actual results and then we do ask to leave a rating a review Usually they leave a fivestar review”
Use A Long Personalised Quiz With A Mid-Flow Rating Prompt To Stack Five-Star Reviews
Glow Up intentionally uses a long onboarding quiz (sensitive skin, wrinkles, preferred looks, skin tone) so users feel the result is personalized to them. Mid-onboarding — before showing results — the app prompts for a rating, which consistently lands five stars and pushes App Store ranking up. Effort before reward is the lever.
“Our profit margin are around 90%... back end is like a,000 a month AI could be 500 bucks a month and marketing could be zero if you're posting or more if you're using a VA or using GC or influencer”
Hit 90 Percent Margins By Running The Entire App On Flutterflow Plus Self-Posted Organic TikTok
Glow Up runs on Flutterflow (drag-and-drop), Firebase, Superwall, and Mixpanel — about $1K/month backend plus $500 AI. Marketing is $0 when the founders post organic TikTok themselves. At $9.99/week with 70K paying users, margins land near 90%. If you have no money, post yourself; UGC and influencers only once cash is in.