“Building again from that and trying to build a second app comes with very similar risks to the first app and there's no guarantee you'll do it again. Which is why I would encourage a lot of founders out there to actually start exploring buying apps. Here it's much easier to measure the ROI of your dollars spent.”

Most founders should buy their second app, not build it

Founders who hit one win overestimate their ability to repeat the playbook. Josh's framework: compare the ROI of $1 invested in your current app vs. $1 invested in acquiring one. Apps in the $10-30K MRR range often haven't even paywall-tested or run paid; if you have a distribution edge, you can buy that traction far cheaper than you can rebuild it from zero.